Author Topic: Heavy Cream Homogenization  (Read 2062 times)

hed

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Heavy Cream Homogenization
« on: September 30, 2016, 11:39:20 PM »
As I currently do not have the land required for a cow (one day...) and a direct raw milk source is somewhat illegal in my location, I have been buying my milk for cheese making from a local grocery store. I do have access to standard cream line milk (non-homogenized) at a cost, and have had great success using it to date for both hard and soft cheeses.

However, I would like to branch out into a few new cheese variety, some of which typically use equal parts cream and milk. For the standard cream line milk I am set. However I am unsure if the cream sold by this supplier is homogenized or not, as the sell both varieties of milk. My question is as follows:

Is heavy cream typically homogenized? If so, is it acceptable to use a combination of un-homogenized milk and homogenized cream to achieve good results? what are the impacts of using un-homoginized cream? anyone else run into this issue?

Thanks for the help!

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

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Re: Heavy Cream Homogenization
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2016, 12:12:40 PM »
An interesting question.
Most commercially available milk is homogenised (with some exceptions) to stop the cream from separating and rising to the top of the milk. You can still make cheese with homogenised milk but non-homogenised milk is more likely to give you a firm curd.
I would not have thought that homogenisation would have been an issue for cream as it would not tend to separate. A bigger issue might be the addition of thickening agents. Most of the cream in my locality contains these.
If you can get cream which is not thickened, I would not think that there would be a problem.
For cheeses with a higher fat content I usually use Jersey milk rather than adding cream. If Jersey milk is available in your area you might consider it as an alternative.
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Re: Heavy Cream Homogenization
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2016, 02:15:11 PM »
Creams are not homogenized. However, some are ultra-pasteurized.