{"id":7622,"date":"2021-06-23T16:47:32","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T20:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/?p=7622"},"modified":"2021-06-24T09:51:31","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T13:51:31","slug":"janu-siers-midsummer-means-making-cheese-at-home-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/2021\/06\/23\/janu-siers-midsummer-means-making-cheese-at-home-2\/","title":{"rendered":"J\u0101\u0146u Siers: Midsummer means making cheese at home"},"content":{"rendered":"
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J\u0101\u0146u Siers still wrapped in cheesecloth as it cools. Brown eggs give the caraway-speckled fresh cheese a yellow hue.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sweet smell of dairy in the house that comes from making cheese at home is one of my favourite things. Holding milk at 90 to 95C for 15 minutes so curd separates from whey is a sure way to create that warm and wonderful aroma.<\/h4>\n

The summer solstice has me preparing to make a caraway-speckled fresh cheese Latvians call J\u0101\u0146u Siers<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

Here are the ingredients: 3 litres of whole milk, 1.5 kilos dry pressed cottage cheese, 175 grams butter, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoons caraway seeds, and 1 tablespoon salt. After I make the cheese, I’ll add a few photos at the bottom of the post about the process.<\/p>\n

In Latvia, my native land, the cheese is a core element in celebrations marking the summer solstice, a festival called J\u0101\u0146i<\/em>. I like the cheese too much to eat it only once a year, so often I\u2019ll make it also at midwinter and giving small wheels as gifts to family and friends at Christmas.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I posted about the cheese a few years back:<\/p>\n

\u201cJ\u0101\u0146u siers<\/em>, what kind of cheese is that?\u201d you ask. It\u2019s a caraway-speckled fresh cheese that I make at home.<\/p>\n

J\u0101\u0146u siers<\/em> in Latvian, my native language, is, literally, John\u2019s cheese in English. In Latvia<\/a>, for more than a thousand years, it has been made at the summer solstice to mark the midsummer festival of J\u0101\u0146i<\/em>. That festival is celebrated on June 23 by Latvians all over the world on the eve of St. John\u2019s Day<\/a>. For many, it\u2019s the most important holiday of the year.<\/p>\n

In Latvia, farms are bedecked with garlands of oak and birch branches and meadow flowers. Nearly everyone leaves the city for the open air so that the shortest night of the year can be spent in the merry company of friends in the country. Bonfires are lit, special songs are sung, dancing is a universal element during the festival. The traditional caraway-seed cheese and lots of beer are on the menu.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This TV commercial for Aldaris beer will give you a taste of the festivities on J\u0101\u0146i<\/em>:<\/p>\n