Sheared Curd -Can Anyone Explain This?

[JsTx]

This is the curd to a soft ripened cheese that has a slow set of about 18 hours. But as you can see its not exactly look right. I think the splits are from condensation dropping from the lid of the pot but if anyone else has any ideas let me know.

[linuxboy]

Looks like the milk was in motion during coagulation after renneting, which led to fractures. Did you stir it at all?

[JsTx]

Not very much. I stirred as usual. Enough to disperse rennet. It possibly could have been to much but I would imagine that the milk would settle before a significant amount of coagulation happened because I used 5 drops rennet per gallon milk.

[FRANCOIS]

Do you have a pH?  I'll bet buttons to door nails it's very, very low (curd fracture happens when you've ripened too  much).

[JsTx]

Eh Im using litmus paper right now. But its about 5.3-5.4 I'm about to cut the curd and basket it anyway. Its been about 16 hours since I added the rennet.

[FRANCOIS]

What cheese are you trying to make?  Or what recipe is it similar to?  I can't think of one that I'd get that low before cutting.....it will be tangy, that's for sure.

[linuxboy]

I second that. I usually brine around 5.4, not cut. Seems like it's not agitation if the curd was relatively still. I would also guess pH.

[JsTx]

Its just a simple soft ripened cheese. Basket molded. Flipped a few times and salted. Ripened a few days and then eat it. I don't really have anything to compare it to because I haven made alot of cheese. It smells tart. I have made this cheese a few times and nothing seems out of the ordinary except the funky breaks.

[FRANCOIS]

Low pH won't always break, depends on the milk, animal diet, time of year, milksolids etc...  but it's a dead give away when it does.  There's nothing wrong with it, especially if that's the kind of cheese you are going for.  If you make it often, keep records and when it starts doing this add some CaCl.  The only thing that will happen here is you'll get a drier cheese when it breaks like that.  The curd doesn't quite have the integrity it did before for you and it's going to have more loosly bound water that will drain away.  In this case I wouldn't fight it, let it drain.  If you try and retard loss by dropping drain temp you'll just cause more problems.   

[JsTx]

So I just cut the curd and all looked well BUT the second I started to scoop the curds into the basket and pretty much turned into the consistency of yogurt. I think a lot of things can attribute to my results. I'm using store bought milk for the first time using this recipe. Every time I have made this cheese I have used a local low pasteurized milk. I have had such bad luck using store milk. Even adding more rennet and calcium chloride. As far as the Ph issue I haven't done anything different (except milk) and always gotten good results. SO just another failure in the learning experience. Keep on trucking!

[JsTx]

Soft Ripened Cheese

Warm milk to 86°F

Add calcium chloride
Sprinkle starter (MM100) on milk
Inoculate for 15 minutes
Stir in the culture and incubate for 2 hours

Add rennet diluted 20x with water to milk
Stir into and make sure its evenly distributed

Let milk coagulate for 18 - 20 hours (Clean brake)
Cut curd into large cubes or not at all and fill basket molds
Drain curds 1 day flipping every few hours once curd is firm enough.
After day one of draining, flip and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt on top of cheese
The next day flip and salt all over
The next day flip and salt all over again
Age for up to 60 days


May 13, 2009
3 gallons milk (2 low pasteurized Cows Milk, 1 low pasteurized Goats Milk)
½ tsp MM100 (starter)
¼ tsp calcium chloride
9 drops liquid calf rennet

Notes:
May 13, 2009
¾ tsp MM100 was added by mistake. Once milk is brought to 86°F milk will continue to rise a few degrees. Added 9 drops rennet. Incubated for 15 hours. Cut curd into large pieces and filled baskets. Made 6 baskets full. Smelled very cheesy and was on the sour side when curd was eaten with a little salt. 16 hours later flipped and salted around edge and center of the cheese. Flipped 6 hours later. And went to work. 15  hours later cheese was heavily salted all around and flipped in mold (Friday night). Cheese is a little tighter and had a few millimeters to moves freely in the mold. Flipped 6 hours later (Sat morning). Going to try one (Sat night, 1:00am) SALTY! But surprisingly tasty. Sour, dries out the mouth, Buttery.  Moisture would make this perfect. Placed in airtight container to age at 56°. BUT I don’t know what I am supposed to be looking for. Monday morning gave it a try. Way less salty. Good, tart, and slightly chalky. Smooth but slightly granular in texture. Can not increase humidity any higher then 85%. Checked it on Tuesday and notices very small patches of dense beige mold. Salt and acid has mellowed considerably.

June 15, 2009 (adjusted for store bought milk)
2 gallons organic store bought cows milk 1 gallon low temp pasturized goats milk
¾ tsp MM100
½ tsp calcium chloride
15 drops calf rennet

Notes:
June 15, 2009
Curds looked firm and get a clean break. But when I went to basket them the curds broke and had a consistency for yogurt FAIL!

[FRANCOIS]

NO, not fail!  Drain your curd in cheese cloth.  Salt after 12 hours and redrain to desired consistency.  Mix in herbs if you like.  Congratulations you have made creme fraiche. 

Just for future ref...you are adding way too much culture. 

[JsTx]

I basketed what I could and i think its going to turn out ok. As far as the culture, When I first made the cheese I added more then the recipe called for by accident and got great results so I figured I would keep it the same and not mess with a good thing. But I was using good milk. I kinda figured I was adding to much culture. Next time! And I don't really consider failed attempts in cheese making failures just a load of frustrations. I always manage to do something with it. Its all a learning experience.

[JsTx]

Now I'm not so concerned with gashes in the curd as I am the weak set of the curd. Do you think it could be the rennet? Or maybe even the water the rennet is diluted in? The water is very very hard where I live.

I have increased the rennet and calcium chloride in several different cheese recipes when using store bought organic milk. Every time I have made cheese I have gotten a very very weak curd formations. It falls apart once cut. And its to delicate to even be stirred by hand. So thats just another problem I have been running into lately.

[Boola]

Sounds like the temp was too high when you started - get the milk to 86 (or if it's higher than that, let it cool down to 86 first before you put the culture in.) A couple of degrees F can make all the difference.

Or, and this is probably unlikely, you got thermo instead of meso culture.  Because the end result sure looks like yogurt.  When I make yogurt, I get the milk to 90 and then add in a bit of yogurt from a previous batch.

FWIW.