First Raw Milk Cheese--Success so far

[mjr522]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and comments. Like I said, I've got another cheese made from this milk that should be ready in about 6 weeks. We'll see how that turns out. To answer questions and comments:

Salt content in both seems good (based on taste). The cheddar should be right on since I salted prior to pressing and didn't have much whey run off while salting. The parm salt uptake is a little harder to judge, though it was brined in-line with previous cheeses I've made of the same size. For example, I've been eating a Gouda style cheese I made 2 1/2 years ago (with milk from Sam's club!) that has none of this flavor/mouth feel.

Both were made in the winter (February for the cheddar, March for the parm), so the milk probably had higher fat content than it does now. Like I said, in the other post, the parm definitely had too much fat. I haven't had a chance to ask the farmer about silage, but I'll do that next time I talk with him.

Acidifying: I was getting good acidification in the vat--dropped to 6.3 (target was 6.4 ) before pressing the parm, and down to 5.35 before I salted the cheddar.

I might have to try lysozyme, it seems like a pretty good option (assuming these bacteria are the problem...), or I'll cry in my milk like Fritz recommends.

Or, I could just go back to milk from grocery stores...it's a lot more frustrating during the make, but none of my cheeses made from P/H milk ever made my mouth numb.

[Kern]

Human tears contain small amounts of lysozyme, so Fritz wasn't making idle chatter!  So do egg whites - the main source of commercial lysozyme. 

[Frodage3]

This is the first time I've heard of lysozyme being used in cheese. Back in my first biochem course they mentioned it was first isolated from human tears. So, if you can't buy it, try crying into your curds! 

[lovinglife]

Oh!!  How do you use egg whites in cheese making?  I always use raw milk and I have my own laying hens so I would like to try this in my next cheddar make and see if it helps it to not get goatie after several months in the cave.

[Kern]

You don't use egg whites.  You purchase some Lysozyme on line.  Wine making suppliers often have it as it is used in wine to prevent secondary (bottle) fermentation.  I use it in ALL my long aged hard cheeses.  So do many European cheesemakers.

[lovinglife]

Can't wait to try this!  Going to order some today, I make either 2 or 4 gallon batches, how much would I add and how do I add it?  This gives me new hope for cheddar!!

[Kern]

I add 1/4 tsp per 6 gallons of milk.  It is important to add it to the milk when about half the milk is in the vat.  Add it, stir to dissolve and then add the other half and stir well.  Do this before heating the milk beyond room temperature or adding anything else.  I believe that the Lysozyme complexes with the casein protein in milk so it only becomes "toxic" to anything attacking the milk protein.  It does not affect the activity of adjunct bacteria like PS, etc., which normally go after lactic acid.