[Sca-cooks] A different "Fresh Cheese" question

Kerri Martinsen kerri.martinsen at gmail.com
Tue Jun 3 20:34:22 PDT 2008


Super jealous over you getting raw milk.  I'm trying to wrangle some up for
less than $6/gallon...
Be sure you write everything down when you are making cheese so you can
repeat it if it turns out.  Kind of milk, temps, amt of rennet, time of
sitting, etc.  A bit tedious, but very necessary for repeat results.

Vitha

On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 5:56 PM, euriol <euriol at ptd.net> wrote:

> Thank you Vitha, Dragon & Bear for your feedback.
>
> Making cheese is something very new to me (obviously) and I've been
> hesitant over the years to try. When I had easy access to a source of raw
> milk I thought it was time to give it a whirl. I'll be doing a little more
> reading and will be saving your notes to reference prior to my next
> attempt. I always find food science interesting and you've given me much to
> think upon.
>
> Euriol
>
> On Tue, 3 Jun 2008 12:15:19 -0400, "Kerri Martinsen"
> <kerri.martinsen at gmail.com> wrote:
> > also on rennet - always dilute the rennet (whether tablet or liquid) in
> 1/4
> > cup of water per gallon of milk.  This allows for a more consistant
> spread
> > of the rennet thru the milk and prevents shocking (kinda similar to
> > pouring
> > bleach directly onto clothes in your washer instead of into the water
> > first...)
> >
> >>From what I remember Junket is at best 1/2 as strong as cheese rennet...
> > And then what Dragon said.
> >
> > Vitha
> >
> >
> > On 6/3/08, Dragon <dragon at crimson-dragon.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Terry Decker wrote:
> >>
> >> So the question is. what is the science behind the different textures?
> >>>
> >>> Euriol
> >>>
> >>> I can't tell you precisely what is happening, but I can point out the
> >>> likely differences.
> >>>
> >>> Rennin is an enzyme, that in an acidic environment (such as that
> > created
> >>> by lactobacilli) catalyzes the coagulation of casein.  As I understand
> > it,
> >>> this is a slow conversion process that merely accelerates the natural
> >>> curdling of milk beyond sour cream and yougurt to the more solid cheese
> >>> curd.  Rennin enables and enhances the conversion, but is not bound up
> > in
> >>> the process
> >>>
> >>> Vinegar is acetic acid.  Strong acids "cook" proteins, causing them to
> >>> coagulate.  Acids produce a lot of hydrogen ions and I suspect that the
> >>> coagulation occurs because the hydrogen ions combine with the soluble
> >>> protein, but I don't have any texts to hand that would clarify the
> > point.
> >>>
> >> ---------------- End original message. ---------------------
> >>
> >> I believe Bear is essentially correct with this summary.
> >>
> >> A few more comments:
> >>
> >> The amount of acid needed to curdle a given quantity of milk for an acid
> >> set cheese is not a constant. You can't just measure some amount and add
> > it
> >> to the milk and expect it to work every time. Milk, lemon juice and even
> >> vinegar are variable products and you need to add enough acid to produce
> >> full coagulation. How much is enough? It's pretty easy to tell, when you
> > see
> >> the liquid go from opaque white to a pale, translucent yellow, you have
> >> added enough. This generally works out to about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of lemon
> >> juice when I do it but you really have to add it a little at a time and
> >> watch the reaction.
> >>
> >> The temperature for making an acid set cheese should also be about 165F
> > to
> >> 175F, at this temperature range, the acid performs best to cause all of
> > the
> >> proteins and milk fat to form curds. Below this range you do not get
> >> complete conversion, above it, you start to damage the curd.
> >>
> >> Don't use junket, it is really weak and not a good choice for trying to
> >> make any sort of cheese. Get liquid rennet (animal derived is best but
> >> vegetable types work OK too).
> >>
> >> When you use rennet, you still need to allow the milk to acidify prior
> > to
> >> adding the rennet. If you do not, you will get very rubbery curds. The
> >> amount of rennet needed is also variable, the same break from white to
> > pale
> >> yellow liquid is a good indicator of how much you should add. The
> >> acidification of the milk is most often done with a lactobacillus
> > culture.
> >> These cultures can be ordered from a cheese making supplier.
> >>
> >> Always stir in your coagulant gently. Too much agitation will break up
> > your
> >> curds into tiny pieces.
> >>
> >> Let the curds sit for at least 15 minutes, longer is better. This allows
> >> them to come together and be easily removed from the whey. Please note
> > that
> >> if you use goat milk, all you will get is very fine curds, it simply
> > does
> >> not set the same way as cow or sheep milk.
> >>
> >> Get some butter muslin. Especially if you are going to do goat cheese.
> > It
> >> is much finer weave than cheesecloth. And while we are at it, buy your
> >> cheesecloth from a cheese making supplier, not a grocery store, the
> >> difference in quality is worth the extra price. The better stuff is
> > washable
> >> and reusable for a long time, the cheap stuff will fall apart and leave
> > lint
> >> in your cheese.
> >>
> >> As for the specifics of temperature, cultures to use, maturing times,
> >> molding, aging, etc. I really suggest getting this book which has some
> >> excellent information and a lot of recipes:
> >>
> >> "Home Cheese Making" by Ricki Carrol (ISBN 9781580174640)
> >>
> >>
> >
>
> http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Home-Cheese-Making/Ricki-Carroll/e/9781580174640
> >>
> >> Dragon
> >>
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >>  Venimus, Saltavimus, Bibimus (et naribus canium capti sumus)
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Sca-cooks mailing list
> >> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> >> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
> >>
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sca-cooks mailing list
> > Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> > http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
>


More information about the Sca-cooks mailing list