Author Topic: Hello from Beavercreek  (Read 1584 times)

HollyG

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Hello from Beavercreek
« on: March 25, 2013, 07:23:08 PM »
Hi everyone,  my Name is Holly and I'm from Beavercreek, OR in the Pacific Northwest.
I'm fairly new to cheese making but have made a few attempts - parmesan, colby, mozzarella.  Things were moving along swimmingly (some tasty, some nasty) until this morning.  That's when I found this forum and was hoping that someone might be willing to give me some advise.


1. I was turning and cleaning the "cave" (wine cooler) when I noticed the parmesan I made in December was blowing up like a ballon.  When I cut into it, it released gas. The surface was moldy and damp, but when I cut all of that off, it smells great, buttery and nutty.  Might anyone know what happened and should I try eating some?


2.  Parmesan number two was also slightly swollen and when opened had a big crack running down the center.  Minimal mold and smells like park.


3.  Jack is crumbly and too sharp.  Smells a little like ammonia.


Any suggestions or should I just pitch it all?  Thanks in advance and for all of the lovely information on the forum - it looks fantastic.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Hello from Beavercreek
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2013, 08:21:25 PM »
I am hoping someone with more expertise will comment but to me these look a little like the photo in Caldwell's book that has the caption of "Late blowing caused by clostridium bacteria.  She says this is only fit to feed to chickens or pigs and is related to spores from silage.  Poor teat sanitation is also being studied as a possible issue.  commercial venues add some chemicals to avoid this.  She also mentions "early blowing" and says it's most often caused by the presence of coliform bacteria or yeasts in the cheese milk.  She says this issue is most often from poor milk collection and poor production cleanliness.  Slow chilling of milk and poor acid development in the vat are also likely causes.

Again, I am not an expert.  I am only speaking up to have you avoid tasting these until someone else more experienced speaks up.

Good luck!  I feel for you......   :-\

jwalker

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Re: Hello from Beavercreek
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2013, 01:50:14 PM »
Welcome to the forum , i am fairly new myself.

Were those cheeses made with raw or unpasteurized milk?

How long have they been aging , I have never had  anything like that happen (yet :o)

I have been using pasteurized milk except for one swiss I made a few days ago , I know sanitation is extremely important , especially where raw milk is concerned.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Hello from Beavercreek
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2013, 03:37:34 PM »
Holly,  maybe you should repost your photos and questions on the Problems/questions board and have a catchy title such as "Help!  Are these cheeses safe to eat???"   That might attract some of the more expert folk who show up to help out.  I do think it's important to figure this out.  We all want you to have a good and fun time making cheese so there's lots of help here.  -Kathrin