Author Topic: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question  (Read 2349 times)

orion113

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FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« on: May 17, 2013, 05:43:52 PM »
I would like to try a Caerphilly and am wondering about the starter culture.  Many folks mention using FD Aromatic, which I assume is Flora Danica?  Can I just use a Mesophillic starter, purchased from New England Cheese, in place of this?  I guess also, does the FD aromatic give the cheese a particular flavor that it should have and is this substitution viable?  I should probably buy a small chunk of it and determine what it "should" taste like.  I tied Googling FD and could not really get any information on that. :-\

bbracken677

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2013, 05:54:29 PM »
google Flora Danica culture Hansen for a ton of info on the culture.

As to your question, I cannot really answer...I know FD has been used and the couple of times I have made it I used FD as well. I suspect you could use a regular meso but not sure what the results would be since Caerphilly is a short aged cheese. If you use another regular meso type (depending on which) I suspect longer aging for adequate flavor development would be necessary. Going that route would give you something closer to a regular cheddar.

orion113

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2013, 07:59:56 PM »
Hmmm, that makes sense, all things considered it may be just like any cheddar.  Thanks for the search advice also, I will do some reading up.  Cheers

orion113

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2013, 08:01:34 PM »
Great info, now I am wondering if I could use some of the buttermilk culture I have from NEC to substitute and give it some "buttery" flavor......

bbracken677

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2013, 08:23:29 PM »
Absolutely!  I think the first one I made, now that you mention it, was made with cultured buttermilk. I am pretty sure I have seen Jeff use buttermilk often.

The way to "prepare" your buttermilk culture is to buy a good quality cultured buttermilk, set some aside in a container (I just use a glass jar ... the type used for canning veggies) and add some 2% milk to it and let it sit out at room temp for 12-16 hours or so. Then, pour some out and add more 2% and repeat. After 2 or 3 cycles you have a jar full of very active buttermilk culture. You should notice that the mix will thicken up faster as you cycle. Maybe 12-16 hours first time, and then 8-12 hours 2nd or 3rd time. If you see 8 hours you are probably good to go.

orion113

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2013, 08:57:18 PM »
Actually I meant that I have some packets of "powdered buttermilk culture" from New England Cheese.  They describe in some recipes sprinkling this on the milk, letting it hydrate, then mixing it into the milk, then allowing it to culture the milk similar to using  a mesophillic starter.  Does that make sense to do, instead of using real buttermilk in this case?  I'm pretty new so sorry for the rudimentary questions here. ???

BobE102330

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2013, 10:08:00 PM »
Buttermilk recipes I've seen call for aroma b or its equivalent, flora Danica.  Chances are your buttermilk packet is FD and will work just fine.

I've noticed FD makes have much more flavor going into the mold than other meso strains. Using a plain meso would likely result in a bland Caerphilly.

FD is also used to make sour cream, cremé fráiche and many blues like Stilton. You won't waste it if you want to explore different makes. Lots of sellers,  I like artisangeek.com. Just a happy customer.

orion113

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2013, 10:20:41 PM »
Excellent, thank you all.  I am going to give this a shot this weekend with the buttermilk culture and first hard cheese try with cream line milk.  Wish me luck!

BobE102330

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Re: FD Aromatic Starter vs Mesophillic question
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2013, 10:32:44 PM »
You'll like the cream line milk. I was surprised how much better my cheeses are with it.