Author Topic: Correct pH very quick with correct temperature  (Read 1831 times)

jwwbrennan

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Correct pH very quick with correct temperature
« on: November 04, 2012, 06:10:58 PM »
This is not a problem; just a curiosity:

In following recipes everything works out well but I am curious why some steps happen in a third to half the time specified. Yesterday I started a Roquefort and expected to start salting the ends in a couple of days. Today, the pH is 4.8 so I went to the next step. The temperatures are checked regularly and the cheeses made so far have worked very well but I always feel I have done something incorrectly. I use milk directly from milking (culture is added within an hour or two), liquid rennet and measure time, temperature and ingredients carefully. Would someone enlighten me on the short times?

This also makes me wonder about the effect of higher temperatures and shorter times if the correct pH is achieved.

Alpkäserei

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Re: Correct pH very quick with correct temperature
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2012, 09:23:30 PM »
likely overly active bacteria.

either you add slightly too much culture, or your milk is very well ripe (which could be a sign of good cows, or if you get bad flavors could be a sign of sick cows) Or your atmosphere is affecting things.

Elevation, air pressure, humidity, and air temperature all can affect the activity of the culture.

But the most likely candidate, without any more information, would be too much culture added at the beginning. Next time, try adding a touch less starter to your cheese and see how that does.

The problem with overly fast acidification is that it tends to dry out the curd more than expected.

You need to follow temperature targets as close as possible. They are there for a reason. The bacteria grow differently under different temperature conditions. Especially with raw milk, a higher temperature may mean that you encourage different bacteria to grow than the recipe intends, or cause the same bacteria to act in different ways (producing different by-products and therefore different flavors)

jwwbrennan

  • Guest
Re: Correct pH very quick with correct temperature
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2012, 10:42:44 PM »
likely overly active bacteria.

either you add slightly too much culture, or your milk is very well ripe (which could be a sign of good cows, or if you get bad flavors could be a sign of sick cows) Or your atmosphere is affecting things.

Elevation, air pressure, humidity, and air temperature all can affect the activity of the culture.

But the most likely candidate, without any more information, would be too much culture added at the beginning. Next time, try adding a touch less starter to your cheese and see how that does.

The problem with overly fast acidification is that it tends to dry out the curd more than expected.

You need to follow temperature targets as close as possible. They are there for a reason. The bacteria grow differently under different temperature conditions. Especially with raw milk, a higher temperature may mean that you encourage different bacteria to grow than the recipe intends, or cause the same bacteria to act in different ways (producing different by-products and therefore different flavors)

That's great, thanks.

As the results are very good (therefore the milk), changing elevation would be inconvenient and I feel comfortable with temperature control and monitoring, I will reduce the culture a bit (as you recommended as the most likely cause). One of my first attempts awhile back was dry - actually that is one of the reason I purchased a pH meter. I have been reluctant to reduce the culture as it seems such a small amount as it stands. Just one of those strange quirks in my thinking I guess.