Author Topic: Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?  (Read 2339 times)

Offline ArnaudForestier

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Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?
« on: January 16, 2014, 07:19:08 PM »
Hi all -

Following Gianaclis's recipe from her excellent book, Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking.  Problem is that each make, using FD, I am at 4 hours, curd is set, but pH is nowhere near target of 6.0.  I'm currently at hour 4, and we're at 6.5.  I've forgotten so much - my bent is to let it continue to ripen to another hour or two, hoping to get to a pH of at least 6.3 or so, then cook very slowly and staying in the 95-100F range for awhile, until hitting target of 110 at 90 minutes.  I'd like more tang. 

Or, more likely, let it go until it hits 6.0, regardless of time, and see what I end up with.

Thoughts, anyone? 

For reference sake, this is 1 gallon whole pasteurized, got 1.4 tsp FD that rehydrated for 5 minutes, stirred for 5 minutes; 1/4 tsp CaCl in 1/8 C cold filtered water; 8 drops single strength rennet in 1/8 c of the water, incorporated for 1 minute and ripening has been maintained at 95-98. 

Edit:  I should also mention the curd is set, but still fairly loose.  No evidence of shrinking away from the sides, nor any layer of whey separated and on top.

Thanks,

Paul
- Paul

linuxboy

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Re: Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2014, 07:22:56 PM »
Wait until correct pH. Critical for cottage cheese. FD is just slow is all.

Offline ArnaudForestier

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Re: Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2014, 07:26:32 PM »
Hahahah - well, I can take comfort that at least some things apparently stuck, friend...see above edit, we crossed in the mail.  I thought, no, best just let it go to pH target.  Unlike Francois, I actually don't mind diacetyl in cottage cheese (just like I don't mind - a touch - in British ales I've tasted and made), so FD is OK by me, but to comfort my mind that I'm not crazy, I think I'll go with MM100 next time - if I remember correctly, a heck of a lot faster as an acidifier, yes?

Edit:  Whoops, I missed your "critical for cottage cheese."  Would you mind going into that a bit, Pav? 
- Paul

Offline ArnaudForestier

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Re: Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2014, 07:47:08 PM »
By the way, I didn't use FD much ("way back then"), if at all, so don't know it's behavior - did I read somewhere, might have been you, Pav, that FD is tricky because it's very slow, but then kicks into high gear and pH can drop rather quickly, at that point?  Or am I just cooking that one up?
- Paul

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Re: Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2014, 10:22:00 PM »
it's faster, sure. but not like fall off the cliff fast. usually the cottage cheese blends are more like MM100.

ph crucial for cottage cheese because you need to manage texture. you want semi-lactic or full on lactic. that means you have to let the pH drop before adding rennet. if you don't, the curds will be more rubbery.

Offline ArnaudForestier

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Re: Cottage cheese - coagulation well before pH target?
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2014, 12:01:31 AM »
OK, thanks, Pav.  Actually came out pretty well, a bit too fast a cook to 104F, I'd say, with pH at 104F (per her recipe, a target, nearing-terminal temp) of 5.12, high per her target of 4.90-5.0.  But I hung out at 104 for a while, then at 1h 15min. ramped up to 115F.  Terminal pH of 5.07.  I'm not a cottage cheese fan much, my wife is more - this was for her.  We'll report her report.  :)

Thanks again, man.
- Paul