Making Cheese

[kryptos1]

Dr Richard Fankhauser from the University of Cincinnati (Biology and Chemistry) posted all of his recipes and experience making cheese. I have spent hours on this page reading.

Dr Fankhauser's Cheese Page

[Rico]

So I have recently purchased Artisan Cheese Making at Home, and of course first came here to find all relevant cheese making knowledge my fellow eG'ers had bequeathed unto the forums.

And I'll start with the first question, hoping someone has some insight!

I'm making the cabecou from the book; it's a marinated goat cheese. Or, at least, it's supposed to be. What I'm getting is milk that's not coagulating. The recipe calls for:

1 drop liquid rennet (regular strength) diluted in 5 TBSP cool, unchlorinated water (check).

1/4 teaspoon mesophilic culture (check)

2 quarts goat milk (I am using Meyenberg, which is all I can find at the stores - Whole foods, Central Market, all of them. I can drive an hour to get some raw stuff, but I'm hoping that won't be necessary. One of my fears is that the high temps of pasteurization precludes the development of curds, but it appears others have had a decent amount of success with this particular milk)

And there are more ingredients to the recipe, but those are the only ones relevant to the current problem. I am heating the milk in a double boiler, slowly, to 75F (on the third try I tried 86F), adding the culture, waiting five minutes, whisking it in thoroughly but gently, then immediately adding the rennet in a similar fashion. I cover, but not airtight, and place the bowl in my utility room, which is registering between 70-73 degrees F.

18 hours later, I have milk. Maybe with a few dots that happened to cling together, but they fall apart even when gently ladled over butter muslin.

So am I cheese cursed or what?

[ninagluck]

Rico, if you use pasteurized milk, you should add Calziumchlorid, otherwise the curds will not form.

check out this side: http://www.cheesemaking.com/

I found it very helpful.

br

ninagluck

[Rico]

Thanks, Nina - I have read that in a place or two, but the recipe calls specifically for pasteurized goats milk and omits any mention of calcium chloride - I've refrained from getting any for that reason; it seems like a too-obvious ingredient to accidentally leave out, right?

[andiesenji]

You do need calcium chloride for pasteurized milk - actually the ultra-homogenized stuff - because otherwise curds will not be firm and your results will be a grainy mix which is unsuitable for making cheese.

I've been making my own cream cheese, chevre, and other fresh cheeses for decades and also made some aged cheeses in the past but no longer. At my age it is easier to order the good stuff.

I sold my big cheese press with which I could press several small cheeses or one large cheese so I no longer have the equipment for pressing them.

Edited June 26, 2013 by heidih (log)

[Rico]

Okay, so I'm adding Calcium Chloride to the Cabecou - what I've read seems to have volume ratios, but I'm gathering that as small an amount as 1/8 teaspoon should do it for 2 quarts of goat milk ... will report back unless soon instructed otherwise.

Meanwhile, though, my frustration got the best of me and I strayed. I made some mozzarella with a gallon of raw milk from a farm I'm lucky to have very near my house. Quick and easy, and paired with a tomato just pulled from the vine out back, it made for a nice lunch and a necessary success on this cheesemaking quest ...

Edited June 26, 2013 by Rico (log)

[nickrey]

Make sure you dissolve the calcium chloride in water before adding. I use a 32% solution.

Good looking mozzarella.

Edited June 26, 2013 by nickrey (log)

[Rico]

Thanks, Nick. It's nice to know I can at least fall back to mozzarella when I need a confidence boost.

I added the calcium chloride (dissolved in chlorine-free water), the culture, 2 drops rennet (also dissolved in chlorine-free water), and stirred gently. Didn't see any changes immediately. Should I have? The recipe says to wait 18 hours for the curds, so I imagine I shouldn't be worried.

Right?

[nickrey]

Thanks, Nick. It's nice to know I can at least fall back to mozzarella when I need a confidence boost.

I added the calcium chloride (dissolved in chlorine-free water), the culture, 2 drops rennet (also dissolved in chlorine-free water), and stirred gently. Didn't see any changes immediately. Should I have? The recipe says to wait 18 hours for the curds, so I imagine I shouldn't be worried.

Right?

With the calcium chloride it probably won't take 18 hours.

As Andiesenji said, it is likely homogenisation that is your problem. This blasts the fat particles into little bits and makes it really hard for them to knit together as curds; doubly so as it is goat's milk which doesn't form a curd anywhere near as easily as sheep or cow milk.

[Rico]

Okay, the calcium chloride seemed to work, but I didn't take into account my own lack of foresight when placing the ripening milk on top of the washing machine - much to my horror, I found the machine running not an hour later, giving the milk a good shake and ensuring no large curds formed.

So now I'm ordering more of the culture the recipe calls for, and have found myself wondering also about this Crescenza recipe - she says this is a cheese that is traditionally made from raw milk and is left overnight to ripen. Her recipe, however, calls for pasteurized milk, calcium chloride, and rennet. This leads me to a few questions ...

If I can get raw milk, should I just gently heat it to desired temp, add the cultures and let them do their thing?

If I get pasteurized milk, it's likely only going to be ultra-pasteurized. I can't seem to find the low-temp-pasteurized stuff anywhere. Would that mean I'd need to add extra calcium chloride to the 1/4 teaspoon the recipe calls for (to 1/4 teaspoon regular-strength liquid rennet)?

And last, how does calcium chloride affect cultures, if at all?

[glennbech]

Hi,

I made a nice soft cheese today from about 2 liters of whole milk. My plan was to use the curd further - to produce a mozzarella. I saw a basic recipe on youtube where the curd is added to 60c water. I tried this, and my curd dissolved into the water! Fail!

What went wrong?

[andiesenji]

Did you add any calcium chloride to the milk? If you are using regular supermarket milk, ultra pasteurized, you have to add calcium chloride to get a curd that is strong enough.

Here's a link to a page that explains it.

I also add a cup of heavy cream to each liter of "regular" milk to get a better end product and I save the whey to make ricotta - adding a bit of whole milk or half and half to the whey to increase the yield.

[nickrey]

Was the milk homogenised? If so, the fat globules are too dispersed to come together as a coherent curd. I think most people making cheese have done this once.

[glennbech]

Was the milk homogenised? If so, the fat globules are too dispersed to come together as a coherent curd. I think most people making cheese have done this once.

Definitly homognised milk yes. The curd was not very lumpy, but I strained it through a cheesecloth and the soft cheese firmed up good when I chilled it. Is it a problem making Mozerella from curd when the milk is homogenized?

[glennbech]

Did you add any calcium chloride to the milk? If you are using regular supermarket milk, ultra pasteurized, you have to add calcium chloride to get a curd that is strong enough.

Here's a link to a page that explains it.

I also add a cup of heavy cream to each liter of "regular" milk to get a better end product and I save the whey to make ricotta - adding a bit of whole milk or half and half to the whey to increase the yield.

Doh. The blogger fails to mention how much Calcium Chloride to add as a factor of the milk. Do you know?

[andiesenji]

Did you add any calcium chloride to the milk? If you are using regular supermarket milk, ultra pasteurized, you have to add calcium chloride to get a curd that is strong enough.

Here's a link to a page that explains it.

I also add a cup of heavy cream to each liter of "regular" milk to get a better end product and I save the whey to make ricotta - adding a bit of whole milk or half and half to the whey to increase the yield.

Doh. The blogger fails to mention how much Calcium Chloride to add as a factor of the milk. Do you know?

Sorry - I buy the liquid from New England Cheesemaking and I use 1/4 teaspoon per gallon as suggested but am not rigorous about it - sometimes a few drops more get into it.

They also suggest not using it for mozzarella, but I have and it certainly works better with it than without. Soft cheeses are okay without it but as I said, I like to use the whey to make ricotta and that ONLY works with the use of the calcium.

[nickrey]

Was the milk homogenised? If so, the fat globules are too dispersed to come together as a coherent curd. I think most people making cheese have done this once.

Definitly homognised milk yes. The curd was not very lumpy, but I strained it through a cheesecloth and the soft cheese firmed up good when I chilled it. Is it a problem making Mozerella from curd when the milk is homogenized?

That was your problem

Use non-homogenised milk and it will work.

[annabelle]

Aren't most cheeses produced with an ersatz rennet these days? 

[Plantes Vertes]

I have no idea about the percentages of cheese that use ersatz rather than natural rennet (from my experience this differs greatly from country to country), but real Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO is made with natural rennet as far as I know.

[Martin Fisher]

What matters is the pressure applied to the top of the cheese. Not the force applied!

For a specific diameter of 'hoop' (mould), the pressure produced will be proportional to the force applied. Change the hoop size (radius or diameter, the height doesn't matter), and the same specified force gives a different pressure!

In other words, PSI (pounds per square inch) is what really matters.

 

And with the Dutch Press, the weight is hung from the end of the lever arm. Consequently, with different presses, one needs to be aware of the lever lengths (or rather proportions) to calculate the force that the lever delivers to each press's piston.

You need to know the mechanical advantage. Mechanical advantage is usually expressed as 2:1, 3:1, 4;1 etc. it's the distance from where you hang your weight to the pivot point, divided by the distance from the pivot point to where the presser arm (that applies the weight to your cheese mold) is attached. In other words 4:1 mechanical advantage would mean that for every one pound of weight you hang at the end of the lever equals four pounds at the end of the presser arm.

[JohnT]

I was sent the following "recipe" for making a feta style cheese by a friend of mine. I have not tried it as yet but was wondering if anybody else had heard of this method. Here is how I received the instructions:

 

 

SALTWATER CHEESE

This is quite an amazing recipe (and amazingly simple), to make a basic cheese which is similar to feta.

1. Mix equal parts full cream milk to salt water. Bring to where it just starts to boil and it will separate curd from whey.
2. Pour into colander lined with a cheese cloth (or similar) to drain whey.
3. Gather up sides and squeeze out liquid. Tie it closed and put a tea kettle or heavy pot on top to press for about an hour or so.
4. You will have a cheese similar to feta

Tip: You can make the cheese equally well using full cream powdered milk and only filtered seawater. For example, if the milk powder instructions calls for one cup of powder to 3 cups water, use sea water, not fresh water, and cheese is perfectly salted.

You can crumble in pasta, pour some olive oil on it, serve on crackers or use in salad etc. etc.

Add lemon pepper or other flavourings (herbs) if you feel incline but on its own its super!

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, JohnT said:

I was sent the following "recipe" for making a feta style cheese by a friend of mine. I have not tried it as yet but was wondering if anybody else had heard of this method. Here is how I received the instructions:

 

 

 

I am not sure that without some acid it will actually separate into curds and whey. And I am afraid I have no clue what saltwater is without some sort of percentage of salt to water.   Let's see what others have to say about this.  

 

Here's a recipe that at least gives some idea of how salty the water must be.  So perhaps it will work without acid. 

Edited June 24, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[JohnT]

Thanks @Anna N for that link. I am going to give it a try later today and see what the results are. I will report back.

[Anna N]

22 minutes ago, JohnT said:

Thanks @Anna N for that link. I am going to give it a try later today and see what the results are. I will report back.

Look forward to hearing your results. I dabbled in cheese making for a time and found it to be a very satisfying endeavour. 

[JohnT]

REPORT-BACK TIME

 

Okay folks, do not waste your time, milk, water, salt and energy! I followed the instructions using a 3% salt solution (more-or-less equivalent to the salinity of sea water) and obtained about half a teaspoon of non-cheese tasting scum. No curds or separation observed. I actually did it twice - the first time I turned the liquid through the cheesecloth lined colander within a minute of it starting to boil and the second time I waited for the salty water/milk mix to cool substantially before straining. Same result both times! Maybe raw milk will react differently, but that is hard to obtain here.