Author Topic: A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta...  (Read 2455 times)

Offline scasnerkay

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A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta...
« on: October 06, 2014, 05:16:34 AM »
After I scooped the cream off of a couple of gallons of raw jersey milk, I was left with about 1.5 gallons of what I suppose would be considered low fat milk. What to do?  I thought I might make a ricotta with some culture to acidify. I added 1/4 tsp of Su Casu, and waited..... 4 hours was not enough. The pH (with my NEW Exstik 100) was still only 6.3.  Target was 5.9.  So I go involved with other things.... Next thing I know, the pH was 5.6... okay it was 1.5 more hours. So I started heating to a target of 180 degrees, but literally got stuck at 145.  Everything stuck to the spoon in a stretching shiny, sort of pasta filata mess! Not knowing what else to do, I dumped it in the basket form. I think I will brine it and see what happens.  Certainly I will not have ricotta salata!!
Pretty funny since I have been previously been messing with trying to make traditional mozzarella and not having much luck...
Susan

Offline scasnerkay

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Re: A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta... update
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2014, 10:21:53 PM »
A week ago I thought this would probably end up going to the chickens.... I did not end up brining it, just dry salting a couple of times. But, it looks like it is mozzarella for pizza!  Looks like mozzarella, melts like mozzarella, stretches like mozzarella, tastes like mozzarella. I guess that is what it is! I guess I just decided what to have for dinner tonight!
Susan

tally

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Re: A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta...
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2014, 11:57:35 PM »
Nice stretchy, melty looking cheese. I wonder sometimes if these happy accidents are the way most new cheeses are made. ;)  Nice job, Susan

John@PC

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Re: A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta...
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2014, 09:59:58 PM »
I've always done my Ricotta using direct acidification and usually it's leftover whey.  I would love to see you're full recipe because you may have invented the "lazy man's (women's)" mozzerella :).  I understand these fresh DA cheeses aren't good melters, so what made this one a mozz?

Offline scasnerkay

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Re: A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta...
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2014, 12:29:11 AM »
Hey John, it was basically the recipe in Caldwell's book pg 146, Soft, Fresh, Crumbly or Pressed -  A Developed Acid and Heat Coagulated Cheese. In other words, a ricotta using a culture rather than vinegar, and using milk rather than whey.
I think what happened is that my new toy (Exstik 100) was not properly calibrated, and there was some user error. Or if I am being generous, I just was not yet used to it! I imagine the pH actually got below 5.3 given what happened with the introduction of heat. As mentioned, I was planning on heating to 180 as in the recipe, but the curd all glommed together and started stretching like pasta filata cheese. So I lifted the spoon repeatedly, going for a stretch, and then transferred the mass to the basket mold. I turned it a couple of times to help it drain.
It was good on the pizza!
Susan

John@PC

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Re: A funny thing happened on the whey to ricotta...
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2014, 10:16:37 PM »
I was planning on heating to 180 as in the recipe, but the curd all glommed together and started stretching like pasta filata cheese. So I lifted the spoon repeatedly, going for a stretch, and then transferred the mass to the basket mold.
When I read that it sounded like the same thing that happened when I made Paneer - put the acid in and the when the solids started forming they glommed together just like you discribe (and what Caldwell said would happen).  I followed her recipe ladling the "curds" into a colander but in this case there was just one big curd  :).  This is intriguing and hopefully Pav or one of the other old cheeses can explain how you can create a stretchable, meltable cheese from an acid coagulation.  Now my Sunday project is to get a gallon of milk, use your recipe and see what happens.