There is some argument whether brunost/gjetost are technically cheeses for this reason, though. As Wikipedia says:
Mysost are a family of cheese-related foods made with whey and milk and/or cream. The main ingredient, whey, is a byproduct of the cheese making process, it is what is left when the cheese is removed from the milk. Therefore, brunost is not technically cheese, and it does not taste like cheese. However, it is produced by cheese makers, and is sold, handled and consumed in the same way as cheese. Therefore, it is generally regarded as a cheese.
I tend to think of it as closer to something like milk caramel than cheese. I guess maybe the more specific “whey cheese” works.
Yes, I was too general in my description of why it’s different; I should have clarified further in that the norwegian whey cheeses are technically not considered cheese at all since they’re not a product of coagulation of milk proteins but rather by concentration of them. That doesn’t apply to the other non-curd cheeses such as ricotta where the albumin is coagulated to form the product.
Though there are probably some other examples of other folks using that process to make their own customary concentrated whey products.
Thanks for pointing that out.
ETA: Whoops, I took too long composing that, lol. pulykamell beat me to it.
You actually detail about the protein coagulation. I was trying to figure out why brunost was different than ricotta and other whey cheeses – and I’ve made both, too! (And like real, leftover whey ricotta, not just milk + lemon juice or whatever “ricotta” recipes you can find on the net which are really a different type of cheese.)
I erred by generalizing that any coagulation of milk proteins was the same thing as curding. Mainly because I thought it was. Researching this topic taught me otherwise.
Next step: researching cheese molecular gastronomy!
You can, if you like, make both halloumi (from the curds) and ricotta (from the whey) during the same process. I have not been so ambitious as to try my own cheesemaking though.
I believe that was the point of ricotta — to use up the leftover whey from the cheese making processing to make another cheese. I think it can be made from the leftover whey of any other cheese — I don’t see why not. I’ve made it when making mozzarella.
If you like English Cheddar you need to see this YouTube video, an entry in the British Cheese board’s contest to find an “anthem” Completely safe to watch, and funny as all get out. An excellent parody set to the familiar tune of “Jerusalem”
