Author Topic: Curd Collapsed  (Read 1307 times)

Keyser Soze

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Curd Collapsed
« on: September 22, 2013, 11:54:22 PM »
Hi all !!

Tried to make a second Butterkäse this afternoon and the curds went from nice looking to not coagulated in two stirs.  I had a clean break I thought, but when I stirred them they turned back into a milky liquid that will not even drain through the cheese cloth.

Rough notes are 2.5 gals p&h milk  1/3 qt heavy cream ph 6.6 at 66 f
added 1/4 tsp FD
1/4 tsp Thermo dry
1/8 tsp ch 19 meso dry
brought up to 76 f,ph dropped to 6.45 in 20 minutes added cacl 1/2 tsp stirred
added rennet animal 1/2 tsp break in 40 minutes brought up to 103 f
cut 1st 1.5 inch cubes ok
cut to 3/4 in cubes and all fell apart like marscapone

Any ideas??

Thanks, Eric

What can I do with this?

jwalker

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Re: Curd Collapsed
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2013, 12:37:21 PM »
It may be too late to work , wish I had seen this yesterday.

I have had that happen a couple of times , I really think it has something to do with the milk as I had new rennet and cultures.

Anyway , it looks like a clean break but starts to break up when stirring , I add about 1/2 gallon of very hot water right away (for a 4 gallon make) , similar to washing a Gouda , it seems to help solidify the curds so you can separate and get them in the mold.

They stay quite small , but they do separate and sink , I have come out with something similar to a Gouda , quite good really.

I used tap water as hot as it gets , hope this helps.

Keyser Soze

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Re: Curd Collapsed
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2013, 02:04:48 PM »
Thanks jwalker !
I think maybe I didn't add enough rennet or ca cl . I don't know.
 It will help next time ( I'm sure there will be more).  I decided to heat the whole mess up a little ( I almost dumped it down the drain  ::) ) and then when I got it to about 115 f I turned it off and drained it through cheese cloth. It drained from 7:30 pm to 8 am and tastes almost like a riccotta, cream cheese, boursan(sp) sort of thing.  Broke off some and mixed in onion powder and chives and a little salt.  Great on toasted english muffins.  The rest is heading for stuffed shells or home made ravioli.  Next cold and wet weekend, I'll try for another Buttekäse.

Going to try a new milk next time too.

Thanks,
Eric

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Curd Collapsed
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2013, 02:13:44 PM »
Curd shatter happens with over-processed milk. Try a different brand.