Wiki: Stirring Tools

French Matfer Bourgeat Brand Large (5.5 x 16.5 in) Handle Stainless Steel Skimmer - CheeseForum.org

French Matfer Bourgeat Brand Large (5.5 x 16.5 in) Handle Stainless Steel Skimmer - CheeseForum.org
French Matfer Bourgeat Brand Large (5.5 x 16.5 in) Handle Stainless Steel Skimmer - CheeseForum.org
This Wiki Article discusses Stirring Tools used in different components of cheese making, depending on cheese type. This article is divided into the following sections:

Stirring Milk

  • Use – Generally the same stirring tool is used at the beginning stages of cheese making to stir milk for several reasons:
    • To minimize hot spots while heating milk.
    • To distribute initial additives such as direct acids, starter cultures, annatto, calcium chloride, and rennet.
    • After cutting rennet coagulated curds to help curds to expel whey and to stop clumping of cut curds.
  • Material
    • Food grade plastic or stainless steel.
    • Wooden utensils are not recommend as they harbor and can introduce unwanted microorganisms into the cheese.
  • Shape
    • Preferably with holes to aid in diffusion of additives into the milk.
    • Long enough so that tool does not sink below milk when left to rest in vat at an angle (not feasible with large vats).
  • Examples – Long household holed spoon or skimmer.

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Stirring Starter Culture Into Milk In Vat On Cooker - CheeseForum.org
Stirring Starter Culture Into Milk In Vat On Cooker - CheeseForum.org

Stirring Brine

  • Use – To stir and help dissolve dry crystalline salt in water or whey when making brine.
  • Material
    • Food grade, normally suitable plastic.
    • Wooden utensils are not recommend as they harbor and can introduce unwanted microorganisms into the cheese.
    • Stainless steel is not recommended unless very high quality as it will corrode.
  • Shape – Preferably with holes to aid in diffusion of additives into the milk.
  • Examples – Long household holed spoon or skimmer.

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Wiki: Thermometers

Cheap Uncalibratable Kitchen Digital Thermometer - CheeseForum.org

Kitchen Meat Thermometer - CheeseForum.org
Kitchen Meat Thermometer - CheeseForum.org
This Wiki Article discusses thermometers used in making and ripening cheese. Thermometers are used continuously during making, forming, and aging cheese, depending on cheese type. Historically artisan cheese makers of old did not have thermometers, thus even while through repetition they knew how to recognize their curds and subsequent cheeses development, their results varied significantly. Today a wide range of commercially made low cost thermometers are available, but which ones are best and why? It depends on their use, and while selection is a personal choice, the following is a guide to help your selection. This article is divided into the following sections:

Cheese Making Thermometers – Minimum Requirements

  • Will measure in common ~0-50 C/30-125 F range within 1-2 degrees accuracy.
  • Will stabilize reading quickly.
  • Can be immersed in liquid (milk, curds, whey, and brine or vat water jacket if using one) to a reasonably deep depth to obtain a representative reading and have a visible readout above the fluid.
  • Can be easily cleaned.
  • Are robust, not fragile (ie not glass).
  • Can be easily calibrated.

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Kitchen Glass & Mercury Candy & Frying Thermometer - CheeseForum.org
Kitchen Glass & Mercury Candy & Frying Thermometer - CheeseForum.org

Cheese Making Thermometers – Not Recommended

  • Most standard kitchen cooking thermometers are not recommended as they do not measure cool enough or with optimal accuracy and sadly are often only initially factory calibrated. Examples are:
    • Analog meat cooking probe type thermometers which while robust, do not read accurately enough at cooler temperatures, are slow to stabilize, and if used on meat, hard to get clean enough for cheese making.
    • Kitchen candy & frying analog glass & mercury type thermometers as they do not read accurately enough at cooler temperatures, are slow to stabilize, often fragile, and normally need to be withdrawn from the milk to read the hard to read gauge.
  • Remote infrared reading thermometers as only read the surface temperature of liquid and are often not highly accurate. You can vigorously stir the liquid to get an average temperature but often you do not want to do that such as with milk that is forming a curd or has been freshly cut.

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Cheap Uncalibratable Kitchen Digital Thermometer - CheeseForum.org
Cheap Uncalibratable Kitchen Digital Thermometer - CheeseForum.org

Cheese Making Thermometers – Recommended

  • Kitchen type instant read digital thermometer if it has calibration function.
  • Can read low required temperature range accurately.
  • Has a long probe for reading middle of the milk in vat’s temperature.
  • Stabilizes it’s temperature reading in a few seconds.
  • Easy to read, has long lasting batteries, and has beneficial features such as switch to toggle between C and F (for use with different recipes), button to memorize/hold the last reading, and auto-power off to save batteries.
  • Note, expensive thermometers with remote from readout via a cable probes(s)and have high/low audible alarms are not required.

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Cheese Aging Thermometers – Minimum Requirements

  • Will measure in common 10-15 C/50-60 F range within 1-2 degrees accuracy.
  • Are robust, not fragile.
  • Can be easily calibrated.
  • Are not prone to rust as often in high humidity environments.
  • Can be easily calibrated.

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Cheese Aging Thermometers – Not Recommended

  • Standard semi-permanent metal oven type thermometers as cannot go low enough.
  • As high humidity, non-sealed ones whose sensor is made from corrodible material.

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Cheese Aging Thermometers – Recommended

  • Analog if can be calibrated.
  • Digital if can be calibrated.

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Tricks & Traps

  • Ensure you regularly calibrate your thermometer, this cannot be stated enough, it can be devastating that after several cheese making batches and months of aging it is found that the cause of problems was an uncalibrated cheap thermometer. Calibration methods are easily found on the internet.
  • Always have a backup, calibrated, as they do break and/or batteries can go dead.
  • If buying a digital one, choose one with standard size batteries and order spares (LR44 is standard watch battery size).
  • A clip on the thermometer so that it can see hands free on the side of your vat is useful.

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Wiki: Vats

Expensive 40 US Quart (38 liter) Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat - CheeseForum.org

Expensive 40 US Quart (38 liter) Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat - CheeseForum.org
Expensive 40 US Quart (38 liter) Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat - CheeseForum.org
This Wiki Article discusses vats, the generic term for a device to hold milk or cream for common activities such as pasteurization (optional), heating, coagulating, dividing into curds and whey, and warming or cooking. Vats can be in many different shapes, sizes, and materials. This article explores vat’s minimum and preferred requirements, and lists several examples.
This article is divided into the following sections:

Minimum Requirements

  • Leak proof.
  • Be larger than the amount of milk and/or cream and any additives so that there is room for waves in the milk at surface during stirring. Note, most retail vessels will only just fit their advertised volume, ie a 25 liter stockpot will normally only hold 25 liters if 100% filled to the brim.
  • Have an open top for easy access for stirring, and to cut the curd.
  • Be food grade hygienic, (ie not porous or reactive to acidic curds and whey). Stainless steel or enameled steel are good, aluminum and soft plastic are poor.
  • Be able to withstand heat required during your cheese making (varies depending on cheese type and process).
  • Be able to withstand impact of tools such as large metal spoons, curd knives, skimmers, and bailers.

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Expensive 40 US Quart (38 liter) Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat, Stainless Steel Clad Aluminum Base - CheeseForum.org
Expensive 40 US Quart (38 liter) Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat, Stainless Steel Clad Aluminum Base - CheeseForum.org

Preferable Requirements

  • To avoid hotspots, a good method of dissipating external heat when heating milk, either heavy bottomed (ie triple clad stockpot) or ability to immerse in hot water bath for indirect side and bottom heating. Hot water bath can be held in second larger vessel such as sink or second larger stockpot.
  • Fitted cover or lid to minimize foreign objects and unwanted airborne micro-organisms.
  • Easily cleanable, thus movable (ie heavy duty handles if stockpot, especially if moving filled) and minimal small corners, ie as found in rectabgular shaped containers.
  • Bottom drain system to remove whey including removable cleanable grate to minimize curds plugging the drain.

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Cheap Set Of 4 Stainless Steel Nesting Stockpot Cheese Making Vats - CheeseForum.org
Cheap Set Of 4 Stainless Steel Nesting Stockpot Cheese Making Vats - CheeseForum.org

Examples

The following are examples of vats that CheeseForum.org members have used for small starter systems to medium artisan cheese making:

  • Common kitchen saucepans for small batches.
  • Home and commercial kitchen sized stockpots for medium and large batches.
  • Rectangular shaped large chafing dish with hot water bath.
  • Large slow cookers.
  • Electric turkey roaster with water bath.
  • Commercial restaurant sized soup warmer.
  • Cut up stainless steel beer keg.
  • Old stainless steel sink.
  • Commercial purpose built cheese making vats.

Cheap 20 Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat, Full With 16 Quarts & Leaking - CheeseForum.org
Cheap 20 Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot Cheese Making Vat, Full With 16 Quarts & Leaking - CheeseForum.org

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Wiki: Weigh Scales

American Weigh Scale Brand AMS-100 Mini Scale, Weighing Mesophilic Starter Culture - CheeseForum.org

Fast Weigh Brand M-500 Digital Pocket Scale - CheeseForum.org
Fast Weigh Brand M-500 Digital Pocket Scale - CheeseForum.org

This Wiki Article disscussee weigh scales which are commonly used in several places during cheese making. This article is divided into the following sections:

Weighing Additives

Large commercial cheesemakers working with 1000 gallon vats of milk often use prepackaged containers of cheese making additives such as starter cultures, aroma and flavour cultures such as lipase, salt, or flavourings such as cumin seeds. However these packages are not normally commercially available in small enough sizes for small and artisan cheese makers.

Often these small containers need to be measured, often by volume which for powders is highly dependent on loose or tight packing and for very small amounts such as 1/16 of a teaspoon can often be error prone. Thus some cheese makers choose to measure these by weight rather than volume.

For these small weights, for accuracy it is recommended that a small low cost high resolution 0.1 gram or 0.01 gram scale is used, and as a container for small volumes a small waxed paper cupcake container be used.

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American Weigh Scale Brand AMS-100 Mini Scale, Weighing Mesophilic Starter Culture - CheeseForum.org
American Weigh Scale Brand AMS-100 Mini Scale, Weighing Mesophilic Starter Culture - CheeseForum.org

Weighing Cheeses

Cheeses are commonly weighed at different stages of production for quality control points. These are dependent on the type of cheese being made, but example weigh points are after molding and pressing, after brining, after air drying, after natural rind aging and before vacuum bag or wax sealing, and before sale or consumption.

For weighing cheeses, depending on their size (wide and thin vs narrow and tall) and weight, standard kitchen or commercial scales are appropriate as long as they can be hygienically cleaned. For commercial cheese production, contact local authorities for regulations.

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Measuring Pressing Force or Weight

Some cheese makers use scales (even bathroom type scales) placed between a cheese and a press (or below for stability) to measure and calibrate their cheese press.

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Wiki: pH Meters

Battery Digital pH Meter From eBay USA - CheeseForum.org
Battery Digital pH Meter From eBay USA - CheeseForum.org
Battery Digital pH Meter From eBay USA - CheeseForum.org

pH is a measurement of acidity – alkalinity with 7 being neutral. Generally the early stages of cheese making require acidification of the milk so that it coagulates resulting is removal of whey. Thus knowing the pH of the milk when start and when this stage is complete is important for obtaining a better resultant cheese.

Most home cheese making recipes don’t mention pH and estimate this point based on amount and type of milk, type and amount of culture-bacteria added, temperature and time. Thus most cheese making hobbyists don’t measure pH. However, while temperature and time are global controllable parameters, milk and culture quality are not. Milk varies tremendously around the world and by season. Cultures also vary significantly, even manufactured freeze dried ones can be stale and often tiny measurement used in home cheesemaking sizes are poorly accurate.

Thus, for beginner cheese makers a pH measurement device is not required, for more serious – intermediate ones it is recommended.

pH measurement devices are available in several formats:

    Battery Digital pH Meter From eBay USA, Probe End - CheeseForum.org
    Battery Digital pH Meter From eBay USA, Probe End - CheeseForum.org
  • Disposable Litmus Paper where you check the colour against a colour chart.
  • Chemical where you check the colour against a colour chart.
  • Battery operated analog readout pH Meter frequently used by gardeners to measure soil acidity – alkalinity.
  • Battery operated calibratable digital readout pH Meter.

Battery operated digital readout pH Meter have dropped in price significantly in recent years and are recommended for ease of use and accuracy.