The Stewpot Recipe Gallery

 Lait Lardé.

 (Le Menagier de Paris 1393)

Take milk of cows or ewes and put to boil on the fire, and cast in bits of bacon and some saffron: and take eggs, that is both whites and yolks, well-beaten and throw in all at once, without stirring, and make it all boil together, and then take it off the fire and leave it to turn; or without eggs, you may make it turn with verjuice. And when it is cool, tie it up stoutly in a piece of cloth or net and give it whatever shape you wish, flat or long, and weighted with a large rock let it cool on a side-board all night, and the next day release it and fry it in an iron pan, and it cooks by itself without added grease, or with grease if you wish; and it is placed on plates or in bowls like slices of bacon and stuck with cloves and pignon nuts. And if you would make it green, use turnsole. 

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon Whole Milk
1 pint heavy Cream
1/4 cup Verjuice
3/4 cups lemon juice (use a blend of fresh lemons and bottled juice)

Preparation Steps

Heat the milk and cream together over low heat, just until it reaches a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  This will be just warmer than body temperature, if you do not have a thermometer.  Remove from heat.  Add the verjuice and lemon juice, and stir well.  Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander.  Tie the corners of the cheesecloth into a knot, and hang the bag to drain for 1 to 2 hours or until the curds have stopped draining.  Remove the cheese from the cheesecloth, scraping it off the cloth where necessary.  It may be lightly seasoned with salt and herbs if desired.

Yield

About 1 1/2 lbs. cheese.

Redaction Notes

This is an interesting recipe for a type of cheese that can be made from milk, using an acidic substance to curdle the milk.  In this case, it is verjuice.  Because of the cost of verjuice, I have substituted lemon juice for some of the verjuice.  Rather than slicing and frying the cheese after it has been drained and pressed, I have opted to simply serve it in its natural state after draining it through cheesecloth.  This will give a mildly flavored spreadable cheese, with a slight lemony flavor.