Splitting topics - ph drops fast at press time

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

I decided to split the questions into two different threads. 

While I virtually hit every ph target on all my recipes, I am usually not able to press as long as most recipe call for.  For example.  The Colby I made, the recipes called to press all night at 50 lbs or until 5.3 pH is reached.  However, I reached 5.2 after 3 hours of pressing at 50 lbs.  It is not that my recipe pH runs fast during the making of the cheese.  In fact it does not. But if I am supposed to press for 5 hours total, I am done at 3.5.  For my Gouda, I was supposed to press for 3.5 hours total and I was done in 2.5 hours.

I only use raw milk.  Is it a problem if I end press early so long as the rind is closed?.  If I continue to press the cheese would go beyond the pH target for the presses.

Thanks

[Kern]

Here is the general rule:  When the rind is closed and no more liquid is extracted is being extracted further pressing accomplishes nothing.  When the pH of the cheese drops to the goal further pH reduction tends to make a dry, crumbly, tart cheese.  Ideally, the pressing is done before the pH goal is met.  If you hit the other goals along the way the pressing is usually finished before the pH goal is met.  Translated:  Quit pressing when you hit the pH goal and screw the time stated in the recipe.   

[scasnerkay]

Sometimes I am finished pressing because the rind is nicely knit, but the pH is not yet where I want it, and so the cheese sits in its form without weight, at room temperature. Sometimes I have the pH going too quickly, and I have to use more weight to play catch-up on the knit. Either way, if the pH is right, I stop the progression by putting it in the cave, and or salting. Sometimes the pH is not where I want it but I want to go to sleep. So I put the cheese in the cave in its form, and take it back out the next day. I try not to let the pH get too low though as the results are not so good!

[FRANCOIS]

PH dropping too fast is not good. You'll throw off your mineral balance and moisture content.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Thanks Francois,

So my pH is not dropping too fast during the cook and make phase but in the pressing phase.  And I am not even sure honestly if it is really fast.  It could be my perception.

If I follow other recipes, I see that some cheeses, like Colby, are to be pressed all night.  But if I do that the end pH would be too low.  Can you suggest what is consider dropping to fast for Colby and Goudas? (On the pressing phase only please).

Thanks

[Sailor Con Queso]

Bacterial growth is logarithmic so in the beginning the bacteria multiply and produce acid very slowly. However, at the 4-5 hour range, that dramatically changes as there are millions of bacteria starting to produce lots of acid. Without knowing a lot more details about your make, my first suggestion is to reduce the amount of starter bacteria that you use and/or control acid production by washing the curds accordingly.

Gouda is a washed curd cheese - you remove whey and replace with warm water. An alternative is to just add water to "thin out" the whey. This reduces the lactose - food for the bacteria. With less lactose, the bacteria will simply slow down and produce less acid. Replace more whey and you will further limit the acid production. Washed properly, it is actually difficult to over-acidify a Gouda, or any washed curd cheese.

[awakephd]

Well, never underestimate the power of some of us to mess up a cheese -- my last Gouda was definitely over-acidified. Of course, that begs the question of whether or not I managed to wash it properly ...

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Yes, I am replacing the recommended amount of whey with water both in the Gouda and the Colby (of course one cools down and one heats up) and I am not seeing the pH run fast during the actual make of the cheese.  I don't have an issue with using less starter culture but think that perhaps then I may not hit the pH targets during the cook and wash phases.

So here is the question I guess.  Does the press need to be done for a certain amount of time?.  Or once the whey is expelled and rind is closed we could then only press until pH is reached.  I am not saying I am not able to press at all.  I am just saying that a press cycle calling for all night took me 4 hours to reach the target pH.

Thanks