I was able to milk my local Nubian goat, 2 days in row, so on Tuesday afternoon I had a total of about 3 quarts to play with. I started the process at 5:00 in the afternoon, with the expectation of draining and refrigerating overnight. The next morning at 8:30 I took the curd out of the frig and left it on the counter until it became the correct pH and showed signs of stretching, at about 2:00. So tonight it was caprese salad again. Better than last week! Texture was much less rubbery, still with a lovely creamy flavor. But…. Not yet as soft and meltingly tender as I want! I am not sure what to do differently to get the desired outcome. It seems like before stretching the curd was more tender. I did not use much vigor on stretching as I did not want to lose fat and moisture. Ideas??
Make details:
3 quarts fresh goat milk to 90 degrees – held temp throughout make
1/16 (scant) tsp Su Casu starter
0.5 ml rennet, flocculated in 6 mins
Flocc multiplier of 4, so cut at 20 mins
Used a 4 inch initial curd cut, healing 15 mins
Cut to 1 inch, healing for 10 more minutes
Very gentle intermittent stirring with hand (jiggling)for 10 mins
Resting under whey to pH 6.2 (about 3 hours) drain and refrigerate
Next day room temp, about 5.5 hours, to whey pH 5.2 and stretching on testing
Curd milled into 1 x 1.5 inch pieces, and placed into 2 quarts 175 degree water with 3 T salt
Gently stirring about with wooden spoon until melding together, but there was some melting as well….
Stretched gently until somewhat shiny and relatively smooth
Chilled in cool salted water
Yield 12 ounces.