Wiki: Making Brine

Cold household fridge stored saturated water based brine and water based brine ripening feta in plastic containers.

This wiki article discusses making brine which is used in cheese making both temporarily bathing formed pressed cheeses for salting (examples are washed curd cheeses such as Gouda) or permanently brining formed unpressed cheeses during ripening (examples are Feta). Other Wiki articles on brine are Wiki: Brine Bathing CheesesWiki: Maintaining Brine, and Wiki: Brine For Ripening Cheese. Wiki articles on salt are: Wiki: Salt Types, and Wiki: Salt’s Function.

Brine is a combination of water and common NaCl salt, in making cheese other parameters are acidity and calcium levels of brine.

Salt Amount

Cold household fridge stored saturated water based brine and water based brine ripening feta in plastic containers.
Cold household fridge stored saturated water based brine and water based brine ripening feta in plastic containers.

Many cheese making procedures, when using brine for salting cheese, call for brine between 18 & 23% salt. This is because:

  1. The range of brine resistant spoilage and pathogen type microorganisms that can survive in brine increases significantly at less than 16% salt and 18% provides a safety margin. Weak brines are notorious sources of contamination and thus if used, should be disposed of after using and not re-used. Weak brines also result in less moisture loss from the cheese surface, resulting in several possible defects:
    • As less salt, the body of the cheese will be higher water content and thus weaker and softer than desired.
    • Initially soft/swollen cheese from less brine inhibition and a slimy, greasy, or “melting” surface of the newly formed cheese.
    • As less salt in the cheese, the acidity development will be less retarded, resulting in higher acidity (lower pH) will favour the growth of spoilage organisms. For aged type cheeses you can get sticky and discoloured rind patches, varying from straw to bright orange, red or brown. Also, the surface will be prone to show growths of the black or grey mucor molds (poille de chat).
  2. Brines above 23% salt increases the risk that moisture will be lost too rapidly from the surface of the cheese. This can result in a very dehydrated surface layer which may hinder or reduce the further uptake of salt into the body of the cheese to reach the correct % salt in cheese, depending on cheese type.

However, some home type cheese making recipes call for brining with saturated (typically 26% salt at 60°F/15°C) brines. This is because saturated brines:

  1. Are easier to make accurately and maintain than lower % salt brines.
  2. As easier to make accurately they provide an easy standard against which future cheese making batches can be measured.

Brine Additives

Four pound Gouda brining in saturated water based brine in stainless steel stockpot.
Four pound Gouda brining in saturated water based brine in stainless steel stockpot.

Freshly made brines, will when first used for brining a cheese, exhibit cat ion exchange whereby the calcium and hydrogen ions in the cheese surface will transfer to the brine until the brine and cheese reaches equilibrium. This transfer will cause the casein in the cheese surface to absorb water and swell resulting in a soft slimy surface layer that in aged cheeses leads to rind rot during aging. To mitigate this transfer:

  1. Acidify the new brine to a pH of ~5.0, or roughly the same pH as the cheese. This can be done by several methods listed from optimal to least preferable:
    1. Using drained whey instead of water for base of brine.
    2. Adding Citric Acid to water.
    3. Adding Acetic Acid (vinegar) to water.
  2. Add food grade CaCl2 to the brine until reach 0.1%.

Brine Tank

Brine tanks should have the following properties:

  1. Sturdy to avoid failure from the weight and pressure (if large tank) of dense brine fluid.
  2. Be large enough for the brine plus the cheese(s) plus the cheese insertion or removal device (i.e. hand and arm or metal device) plus a free area for mini-waves when placing and removing cheese.
  3. Made of a salt corrosive resistant material, such as plastic or high quality stainless steel. Note, most stainless steel stockpots are not of high enough quality steel to avoid corrosion and also often have easily corrodible aluminum rivets attaching handles.

Making Saturated Brine

Stockpot after used as saturated brine bath tank, handle rivets erroding.
Stockpot after used as saturated brine bath tank, handle rivets erroding.

To make a saturated salt solution:

  1. Boil amount of water you want to make into brine and pour into brine tank.
  2. Add roughly 1 part additive free (non-iodized, no dessicant) NaCl salt for 4 parts boiled water.
  3. Stir until salt is fully dissolved.
  4. Allow brine to cool to ~60°F/15.6°C application temperature or lower if storing. This will result in some salt precipitated back out of solution, demonstrating that brine is saturated.
  5. Add enough vinegar to reach a pH of 5 or to roughly equalize pH with that of cheese, typically 1 teaspoon per US gallon / 1.33 ml per liter water of standard 5% white (clear) vinegar.
  6. Add CaCl2 to reach 0.1% to reduce cat ion exchange, typically 1 tablespoon/US gallon / 4 ml/liter water of 30% CaCl2 solution.

Making Non-Saturated Brine

To make non-saturated Sodium Chloride brine:

  1. Pour amount of cool ~60°F/15.6°C water into brine tank that you want to make into brine.
  2. Choose your desired % Brine from column #1 of the table below.
  3. Determine the corresponding weight of non-iodized NaCl salt you need per unit of water from column #2 or #3.
  4. Scale up the weight of table salt to your volume.
  5. Weigh that amount of salt, pour into water, and stir until dissolved.
  6. Add enough vinegar to reach a pH of 5 or to roughly equalize pH with that of cheese, typically 1 teaspoon per US gallon / 1.33 ml per liter water of standard 5% white (clear) vinegar.
  7. Add 0.1% CaCl2 to reduce cat ion exchange, typically 1 tablespoon/US gallon / 4 ml/liter water of 30% CaCl2 solution.

Notes:

  • In brines, % salt is a measure of the weight of salt divided by the weight of brine, i.e. if you dissolve 1 kg of salt in 5 liters of water, the brine will weigh 6 kg and you will have 1/6 = 16.7% salt brine.
    • Example Metric Calculation: Say you want to make 5 liters of 16% brine. Table below says 0.1905 kg salt/liter water for ~16% brine. Thus combine 5 liters water and 5 x 0.1905 = 0.9525 kg salt and stir until dissolved.
    • Example American Units Calculation: Say you want to make 2 US gallons of 10% brine. Table below says 0.1111 pounds salt/US gallon of water for ~10% brine. Thus combine 2 US gallons water and 2 x 0.1111 = 0.2222 pounds salt and stir until dissolved.
  • When salt is dissolved in water, it makes the resulting volume of brine slightly bigger depending on the amount of salt. For example the above 16% brine examples will be about 5% larger volume that the original amount of water used.
  • A very fresh egg will float in a 20% salt solution and often used as very reliable method in home brine making.

Brine Making Table

The table below is at standard conditions of 60°F/15.6°C and only goes up to 26% as at 26.395% brine is fully saturated (at 60°F) and any additional salt will not dissolve.

% NaCl Salt kg NaCl Salt / liter Water pound NaCl Salt / US gallon Water
0 0 0
2 0.0204 0.17
4 0.0417 0.347
6 0.0638 0.532
8 0.0870 0.724
10 0.1111 0.925
12 0.1364 1.136
14 0.1628 1.356
16 0.1905 1.586
18 0.2195 1.828
20 0.2500 2.082
22 0.2820 2.349
24 0.3158 2.630
26 0.3513 2.926

Wiki: Maintaining Brine

Filtering used brine to remove fine curd particles.

This Wiki Article discusses maintaining and regenerating brine for extended use, versus building a brine for a one time use then disposing. Other wiki brine articles are Wiki: Making Brine, Wiki: Brine Bathing Cheeses, and Wiki: Brine For Preserving Cheese.  

Skimming off foam from reboiled maintained brine.
Skimming off foam from reboiled maintained brine.

If brines are maintained and re-used, they should have an appropriate % salt, be stored properly, and periodically be cleaned and rebuilt.  

Older cheese makers say that you should not dispose of brine but rather just replenish the salt absorbed by the cheese. In today’s climate of higher hygiene, it is advisable to dispose and build a new brine solution periodically.  

Salt %

Re-used brines should be above 16% salt, the minimum for a hostile environment to bacteria. Brines below 16% will become contaminated with unwanted brine resistant bacteria.  

Storing Brine

  1. Store covered to avoid unwanted items falling in.
  2. Store at normal application temperature of -60°F/15.6°C or lower.
  3. Note, do not allow a smear of slime to develop on the sides of the bath above the water line, this will be fat and a habitat for bacterial growth.

Cleaning Brine

Filtering used brine to remove fine curd particles.
Filtering used brine to remove fine curd particles.
  1. Skim the surface of the brine for bits of cheese shortly after each use with a very fine mesh tool such as a plastic swimming pool skimmer or small kitchen sieve.
  2. If cloudy, to clarify, periodically pour or pump used brine through paper towel or cheesecloth lined strainer/colander, toss paper towel, clean cheesecloth. You can also use this as an opportunity to clean the tank and surrounding area.
  3. If in poor shape, then boil the brine to kill off any brine resistant microorganisms such as Listeria.

Rebuilding Brine

Maintained brine’s % salt will decline with time as it is absorbed by the cheeses and thus should be replenished to the % salt required.  

  1. For un-saturated brine, stir in additional non-iodized NaCl salt to bring you back to target % as measured by a salometer.
  2. For saturated brine, re-boil and stir in additional non-iodized NaCl salt until it no longer dissolves, cool to using temperature.
  3. Note, after using newly made brine, pH and calcium level should normally not need to be adjusted, assuming brine is used reasonably frequently.
Boiling old brine to kill any brine resistant micro-organisms, lots of foam.
Boiling old brine to kill any brine resistant micro-organisms, lots of foam.

Wiki: Brine For Ripening Cheese

Mediterranean Store, Vancouver Canada, barrel of Feta in brine without cover.

This Wiki Article discusses brines used for ripening “Aegean Sea” type cheeses such as φέτα/Feta/Fetta, Brinza, Halloumi, Domiati, Nabulsi, Gyptian, Gibna Bayda, Arabian Cheese, Akawi where depending upon recipe, they can be kept for up to 12 months. Brines for these cheeses are normally disposed after the cheese is consumed. There are separate Wiki Articles for making an maintaining brines.

Brine Concentration

Mediterranean Store, Vancouver Canada, barrel of Feta in brine without cover.
Mediterranean Store, Vancouver Canada, barrel of Feta in brine without cover.

Brines used to store these cheeses are normally 16% salt, the minimum for minimizing unwanted bacteria growth.

Higher % salt can be used, but is not required and will make the cheese taste very salty.

Lower % salt will result in a more immediately edible cheese but with shorter shelf life due to unwanted bacteria growth.

Base Fluid

Base fluid options for making brine for ripening cheese are water, a mixture of water and whey, or all whey from making cheese.

Using whey gives the brine a higher calcium component and a lower pH, reducing the need for the addition of CaCl2 and vinegar in newly made brine. The use of whey also makes the brine ripened cheese more flavourful.

Using Brine Ripened Cheese

Mediterranean Store, Vancouver Canada, several retail Feta brands in brine, covered.
Mediterranean Store, Vancouver Canada, several retail Feta brands in brine, covered.

Cheese ripened in 16% brine and used in cooking are fine, but if eaten directly are to most people, very salty to the taste. Methods to reduce the salty taste are:

  1. Remove cheese from brine and soak in fresh water or milk for up to 1 hour before consuming.
  2. Instead of all NaCl salt, use up to 50% KCl (Potassium Chloride) salt.
Feta cheese in water based brine.
Feta cheese in water based brine.
1 US gallon whole cow's milk Feta in water based brine.
1 US gallon whole cow's milk Feta in water based brine.

Wiki: Salt’s Function

US Made Morton Brand 25 Pound Non-Iodized Salt - CheeseForum.org

Salt is an essential ingredient in cheese making. This article is about salt’s function in cheese making, primarily: Moisture control, rind formation, control of production of lactic acid, texture improver, microbiological control, and flavour enhancer. Information on different salt types, and methods of applying salt is contained in other articles.

US Made Morton Brand 25 Pound Non-Iodized Salt - CheeseForum.org
US Made Morton Brand 25 Pound Non-Iodized Salt - CheeseForum.org

Salt is almost always applied to the cheese towards the end of the cheese making process. The earliest being after whey is drained from the curds as salting prior to this point will pre-maturely inhibit the growth of the starter culture.

Salt is commonly added as an ingredient in cheese making in four ways:

  1. Dry salt mixed directly into curds (Cheddar, Blue).
  2. Applied to, or rubbing rind with dry salt (Camembert, Brie).
  3. Brine soaking (Gouda, Edam, Havarti).
  4. Brine preserved (Feta, Halloumi).

Salt has many effects on the cheese, some immediate when applied, and some long term during aging. The amount of salt used and it’s different effects have significant influence on the cheese produced. Therefore the amount of salt used by one of the above methods should be accurately measured.

Moisture Control

When salt is applied directly to the cut curds or to the fresh rind, it starts to dissolve into the water phase of the curd. This draws water in the form of whey to the surface of the curd. Depending on the method, this surface water (whey) is then either drained away if added to cut curds, or evaporated if applied to rind, or into the brine if brined.

Thus salt aids in dehydrating cheese to that cheese types required moisture content for proper development, thus in turn, each cheese type has a narrow required % salt content.

Rind Formation

Two 2 kg Gouda's in whey based 18 percent brine bath - CheeseForum.org
Two 2 kg Gouda's in whey based 18 percent brine bath - CheeseForum.org

As moisture is diffused out of the curd’s surface from dry salting the curds or brining or evaporated off of the curd’s surface by dry salting a formed cheese, the surface of the cheese becomes dehydrated and the rind is formed.

The rind’s thickness and density can be controlled by varying the salting or brining conditions and the humidity and temperature during and after dry salting or brining.

In addition to a rind that is dehydrated, dry salting or brining of cheese results in a rind that is also of high salt content. This acts as a selective environment that strongly controls the microbiological activity on the rind. This is especially important for surface ripened cheeses such as Camembert and Brie.

Lactic Acid Production Control

For some cheeses, the addition of salt temporarily disrupts the starter culture’s fermentation into lactic acid. This can control the pH from becoming too low during pressing (if pressed) and the early stages of ripening.

As whey is lost due to salting, the whey carries out lactose, which if left can result in excessive lactic acid resulting in unwanted very low pH and unwanted fermentations during aging.

Texture Improvement

During early aging, loosely held water in the casein matrix becomes absorbed by the casein (the largest protein group in milk) resulting in a change from a moist curd to a drier softer more mellow cheese.

Microbiological Control

In general, the lower the salt content, the higher the number of microorganisms that can survive inside the cheese and conversely, the higher the salt content, the lower the number that can survive. Thus salting to the correct target % for the type of cheese is key to developing the cheese.

In addition, for some cheeses, salt also inhibits food poisoning microorganisms and thus is important for food safety.

Flavour Enhancement

Salt, first as normal has a savory, seasoning affect enhancing cheese’s flavour. Second via the Microbiological Control mechanism detailed above, changes a cheese’s flavour. If the salt content is not correct for the cheese type, these flavor compounds may not be produced in the right amount or ratio resulting in abnormal flavour for that cheese type.

In some highly salted cheeses such as Feta or Blue, the salt increases the action of lipase enzymes resulting in piquant flavour and aroma.