Author Topic: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?  (Read 3264 times)

waterdalemama

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Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« on: September 02, 2013, 06:05:39 PM »
I made a butterkase cheese a week ago and have been drying it sever since at room temp., but it just doesn't get dry and it sagged really bad....went from maybe 4 inches tall to less than 2" tall and much bigger around. So toady I decided to cut it open...I'd read somewhere that it can be good just a week old and I didn't want to wax it since it wasn't a very nice cheese...... It looks like Swiss Cheese inside! Its not yeast contamination....I know that smell and look too well by now. This looks like real holes! But I don't remember seeing this in the pictures I've seen on here. So is this normal?

waterdalemama

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2013, 07:20:56 PM »
Ok, I just didn't look back thru the threads on here far enough.....I found some pictures that showed a nice holey butterkase. The holes in mine are a bit bigger, but very similar. Maybe I'm doing it right! I think I'll try this again and maybe wrap it so it doesn't sag so much and air dry it in a cooler spot. Even tho its not very old this cheese seems much closer to what I'm trying to get...just a nice basic mild melty cheese....for sandwiches, etc. Up til now most of my cheeses have been much drier and sharper than I wanted.

JeffHamm

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2013, 08:40:51 PM »
Hi waterdalemamama,

Some of my early Butterkase makes would retain a lot of whey, and then would slump a fair bit, so that can happen.   It could be just mechanical holes as it is quite lightly pressed, but without pictures nobody can say.  You can attach photos to a post by clicking on the blue square with the white cross in it just down and to the left of the text box you type a message in (i.e. when you post or reply).  If you have notes about your make, include them as well so we can see what you did.  A good set of notes and photos can really help.  Also, I just like seeing everyone's cheese! :)

- Jeff

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2013, 11:32:17 PM »
yes WHERE'S THE PIC'S ???
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Smurfmacaw

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2013, 12:56:09 AM »
Depends a lot on how much you pray to Cheezus while you make it!

waterdalemama

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2013, 03:26:08 AM »
Thanks for telling me how to add a picture.....let's see if it works. Like I said this cheese is about half as tall as it started out. I didn't take good notes....I used a recipe from jeffhamm I found on here and used buttermilk and yogurt for my cultures. And my thermometer was otherwise occupied that day in the makeshift incubator on my kitchen counter where 2 chicks were hatching! So I kind of guessed at temps :-[

Since this butterkase isn't much to look at and I was having fun trying to figure out how to add pictures I decided to include a pic. of the mozzarella I made today...not the 30-min. kind.

JeffHamm

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2013, 06:12:08 AM »
Looks fine to me.  The gas could be from the buttermilk (it sometimes gives off a bit of CO2, nothing major), or they could just be mechanical openings (they don't quite look like round "bubbles", which gas produces, but they aren't quite as jagged as mechanical bubbles usually are either - must be my eyes not yours! :) ).  Anyway, it looks pretty good to me.  It should be a very mild cheese, so as long as it tastes like a mild cheese, I think you're spot on.  Well done.  A cheese to you!

- Jeff

waterdalemama

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2013, 01:45:52 PM »
Thank you! A few I think may be the mechanical openings, but a lot are round like the gas bubbles. It is mild creamy cheese....just a bit squeaky yet because it is still very young. Its much more moist than the cheddar type I've made.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2013, 03:31:55 PM »
I've never made butterkase but my slumping cheeses have been because the curds didn't release enough whey.  In these cases I should have cut the curds sooner and it would have worked out better BUT, these slumped cheeses are great too......just a different great and the shape is really cool!

waterdalemama

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2013, 05:51:43 PM »
Ok, that makes sense that I should've cut the curd sooner....it was with this cheese that I used the floc. method for the first time and found out that the amount of rennet recommended on the bottle was taking only 2 minutes to set the milk! I thought I should at least let the rennet work a bit longer than just 7min. (3.5 multiplier if I remember right) so I didn't cut the curd that soon. Now that I know how my rennet works with our fresh raw milk, I've been using about 1/2 as much, so I'll see how it works with my next butterkase.

JeffHamm

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2013, 08:34:18 PM »
You can also get it to release more whey by stirring a bit more vigorously, and for longer.  When you stir, use a figure 8 motion, and reverse directions.  Getting the curds to bump into each other, and agitating them, gets more whey out than just stirring in a constant circular motion (which really doesn't do much).

Also, if you cut the curds smaller they will release more whey too.  So, basically, floc multiplier, stirring technique, stirring time, and curd size form the four corners of the whey release square (hmmm, cooking temperature also helps force out more whey I think - maybe it's a pentagon of whey release?).  They all tend to work together to get the curd moisture level to some target level.  So, you can tweak each of these to adjust things bit. 

This is why keeping really good notes is important.  Check out how various people keep notes (i.e. how they report their makes), and find a system that works for you.  Write all sorts of details, especially when you try something new that you think will make a difference.  You want to remember that when it comes tasting time.

- Jeff

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Re: Is butterkase supposed to be holey?
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2013, 01:37:35 PM »
maybe it's a pentagon of whey release?).
Jeff, you're such a wordmeister. 8)

Always helpful with spot-on direction.... Have a cheese for being there.

Nice-looking mozz too, waterdalemama! Would you please update your location in your profile? Thanks.

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