Hi folks.
I am new to the forum, and not very knowledgeable about the different processes to create starters (both practically and scientifically speaking).
I'd like your opinion on my process, please
[warning: non english native speaker]
When I start from scratch, without any starter, and want to create a simple lactic cheese, I usually buy a bit of "fresh cheese" from the cheese store, drain the whey and directly use that whey to start the fermentation of my (raw) milk.
This usually works fine, as I get more fresh cheese and more whey that I use for the next cheese, good.
[I personally like it because it's simple.]
Q: is there anything wrong with doing so ?
I guess I can't make
any cheese doing so because, as far as I understand, that is a mesophilic-only starter, correct ?
(At least I can make
some cheese
)
Then, as I don't make cheese every day, I usually freeze the whey until I need it (sometimes a week or two weeks after, at most). This usually works fine, although sometimes using the frozen whey for a new cheese, I don't go down in pH very fast. It can take up to 1-2 days of fermentation to get a pH ~ 4.5 for a lactic cheese.
Q: is there a good way to reactivate frozen whey before using it as a starter ?
And another question I have is when to freeze the whey ?
I usually store the fresh cheese in small "drainers" ("molds" ? not sure how you call that
), put them in the fridge and eat them for breakfast along the week. So essentially I have a full week during which I can choose to freeze the whey.
Q: When should I freeze it ? Right after I mold the curds ? Or rather after a few days in the fridge (the bacteria would have more time to develop, perhaps?)
Sorry if these are a stupid questions that have already been answered a thousand times, I just couldn't find the answer by myself.
And thanks a lot in advance for your feedback, I would really appreciate !