This make was complicated by guests dropping by, so I became distracted during the stirring phase, and stirred much longer than I meant to. Consequently, the cheese is more firm that I meant to aim for. It can easily be cut into little cubes that stay as such. I was aiming for creamy and crumbly....
I did let this one drain overnight to a lower pH than previous makes, and the flavor is quite good.
1 gallon non-homogenized, pasteurized whole milk
1/8 tsp MA4001
1/16 tsp mild lipase (in ¼ cup water)
1/4 tsp calcium chloride (in ¼ cup water)
0.7 ml calf rennet
Flocculation multiplier of 4
Saturated Brine
8 percent whey brine
Targets: from Linuxboy
Rennet 6.5
Drain 6.0 - 6.2
Brine 4.6 – 4.8
11:30 To temperature at 88 degrees. Starter and lipase sprinkled on and rehydrated for 5 minutes. Starter stirred into milk covered and wrapped to keep warm for one hour.
12:30 Temp 91 degrees. Stirring to bring it down. Calcium chloride stirred in.
12:40 Temp 90 degrees. Stirred in rennet. Flocculation 10.5 mins. Using multiplier of 4, clean break at 45 mins.
1:30 Cut curd into 1 inch cubes, and let rest 10 mins. Then gently started stirring.
2:10 Temp 87 degrees and pH 6.3. Not sure the meter is working right due to next reading is 5.8. Decided to stir more because curd did not look right.
2:30 Testing pH at 6.1, decided to drain in cheesecloth bag for 10 mins, then into basket form with cheesecloth liner. Whey was reserved for later use as brine.
3:00 Time to turn, testing whey at 6.0.
3:40 Turning cheese, whey testing at pH 5.9
4:30 Flipped cheese and tested whey pH at 5.7
5:00 Whey pH now 5.5
6:00 Flipped and whey pH 5.3
7:30 Flipped and whey pH 5.1
9:30 Whey pH at 5.0. I decided to leave it on the counter overnight, aiming for a pH of 4.8 or less.
6:00 AM Now at whey pH of 4.8. Into the saturated brine for 8 hours.
2:00 Out of the brine and weighing 18.5 oz.
The cheese was put into cave on mat to dry for 3 days. Then into 8 percent brine made from the reserved whey.
One week after the make, I am using some of the cheese on a salad of fresh from the garden apricots, strawberries, blueberries, lemon thyme, and a drizzle of lemon juice and a neighbor's honey!
