Author Topic: Quantities of cultures  (Read 1401 times)

Offline Lloyd

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Quantities of cultures
« on: June 21, 2016, 08:18:02 PM »
With the very small quantities involved, how important is the quantity of Penicillium Candidum and Geotrichum Candidum?  I'm not sure how repeatable you can be when you start quoting 1/32 tsp or smaller.

Offline Fritz

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Re: Quantities of cultures
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2016, 07:12:35 AM »
Hey Lloyd..

I totally see your point... But using the very small measuring spoons that have 'pinch', 'smigen' , 'tad' and 'dash' offer some small measurable quantities... A must-have kitchen gadget for cheese making. If you are like the rest of us (and I can't imagine you not) your cheese size makes will get bigger and bigger making your very small measurements easier and manageable.

Offline Gregore

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Re: Quantities of cultures
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2016, 01:37:02 PM »
Thankfully  even doubleing of the non acid forming ones like the 2 you mentioned  will not have much effect except on your pocket book.

I do not believe that any of the non culture additives has much effect if added in  a slightly larger amount than the recipe .

Lipase is the only one that may have some effect on taste when adding too much .

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Re: Quantities of cultures
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2016, 04:21:55 PM »
Since milk is the media the added cultures are replicated in, adding more culture than a recipe calls for has more of an effect on the time it takes to reach a certain pH than anything else.  Ideally, the amount of initial culture is such that enough is added so that the desired cultures overwhelm any undesired ones present in the milk and allow enough time to reach the target pH at the time one is finished making the cheese.  Put another way, you don't want to hit the target pH before you are finished pressing the curds since the pH will continue to drop whether you are done or not and you will lose the characteristics of the cheese you hoped to make.

All this is why it is so important to use a pH meter when you make cheese.

Offline Gregore

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Re: Quantities of cultures
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2016, 04:47:24 AM »
I second the ph meter other wise it is like driving blind as  you read a recipe on where to turn and when

The ph meter lets you look at what is really going on.

The only thing that could be better is having some one who has made that cheese thousands of times and knows it by heart stand there and guide you .

And  I think that a good ph meter is worth every dime. Image if your guide lied to you every so often randomly.

That is what my first meter was like

Offline Lloyd

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Re: Quantities of cultures
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2016, 09:05:04 AM »
Thanks everyone.

I've ordered a set of dash, smidgen etc. spoons, and eagerly await their delivery.

The use of a ph meter makes perfect sense, but I think the purchase of one will have to wait a while.  They are not the cheapest bits of kit (assuming good quality electronic and not titration), and there are other things I need first.  The recipes I am using do not quote ph, so initially I think it is better to try and follow the recipe (at least the first few times I make it), rather than try and modify it.

Offline awakephd

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Re: Quantities of cultures
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2016, 08:49:00 PM »
LLoyd,

You can certainly make some very tasty cheese without a pH meter. However, you may not always get the "right" texture. A good example: I never could get my Goudas to the right texture until I got a pH meter. The recipes called for pressing overnight, but that was WAY too long - at least with the cultures I've used, the target pH has been reached in a couple of hours. Leaving overnight resulted in a far more acidic cheese. Tasty, but crumbly and rather cheddar-ish rather than smooth and pliable and mild. But my last two Goudas, with the help of the pH meter, came out of the press at 5.3 - 5.4 pH, and they have been exactly right as far as texture and flavor. Of course, different milk, different cultures, different make sizes ... YMMV!
-- Andy