looking for more flavor on fresh cheese

[artmustel]

Hi all! I have made 3 batches of Fresh Cheese, following Gavin Webber's instructions on Youtube. Results have been good so far, but i would like to get a bit more of flavor. On that recipe there is no "ripening' time after adding the mesophyllic culture. I wonder if allowing culture to ripe for a while (20 or 30 minutes) before adding Rennet would increase the final cheese flavor or if ripening it could be bad for a fresh cheese. What do you think?   

[DoctorCheese]

As soon as you put in the cultures they will begin eating lactose and pooping out lactic acid. Adding the rennet right away or waiting a period of time should not influence the bacteria. What will influence them is how long they are allowed to keep eating before the temp is raised or enough salt is added to kill most of them. If you want more acidity aka "brightness" in your cheese, give it longer before adding salt or heating it. I do not know what recipe you are following, so it is hard to give an exact answer.

[artmustel]

Hi Doctor Cheese! Thanks for your response. This is the recipe i am following:

 Ingredients
4 litres of full cream milk
1/16th of a teaspoon of Mesolphillic direct set culture (MO30)
1/8th of a teaspoon of liquid rennet diluted in 30ml (2 Tbspn) of unchlorinated water
1 Tablespoon of Cheese Salt
1/8th teaspoon of Calcium Chloride diluted in 30ml (2 Tbspn) of unchlorinated water, if using pasteurised/homogenised milk.
Method
Add milk to pot, heat to 32°C (90°F).  Add the
Add the culture and mix the milk well.
Add the diluted rennet and stir for 1 minute only.  Cover.
Allow milk to set for 45-60 minutes, or until you get a clean break.
Cut the curd into 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) cubes.
During the next 20 minutes, slowly increase the temperature to 35°C (95°F), stirring gently to keep the curds from matting.
Cover and let the curds rest for 5 minutes.
Drain off the whey by hand, return the curds to the pot.
Add the salt and gently mix by hand.  Cover and allow curds to rest at 35°C (95°F) for 30 minutes.
Line your mould with cheesecloth and fill with curds
Fold one corner of the cheesecloth over the mould and top with a follower.  Press at 16kg (35lbs) for six hours.
Remove from press and mould.
Queso Fresco
Your Queso Fresco can be eaten straight away or can be stored in a covered plastic container in the kitchen fridge for up to 2 weeks.


thank you.

[DoctorCheese]

I usually age my cheeSes so I am not very familiar with this make. Hopefully someone else can help us out!

[awakephd]

Flavor is going to be influenced by a number of factors, but the main ones that will affect a fresh cheese are the 1) they type of milk (e.g., goat's milk will start out with a different flavor; 2) pH - the lower the pH, the tangier the resulting cheese will be; 3) the amount of salt and/or other added herbs or spices. You could  certainly allow your cheese to ripen more before salting, either before adding rennet or after cutting or after draining. As we discussed in another thread, you can add lipase for a little extra punch. But to get the full range of possibilities with flavors, you have to age to let the enzymes kick in. Note that even 3 or 4 days in the fridge with a fresh cheese can make a noticeable difference.

[artmustel]

Thank you andy and dr cheese...i will add a little lipase to my next queso fresco, then will let curds ripen for a while before adding salt...then will let it age for 3-4 days in the fridge before tasting it (actually not sure if i will do this last part but i'll ty to be strong)...

[DoctorCheese]

i'll ty to be strong

I hope you are tougher than I am. Let us know it things go 

[Gregore]

If you want more flavor from any given milk on a fresh cheese then you need to slow the acid curve way down .

When I make fresh cheeses I like for the culturing to take as close to 24 hrs as possible . And that is only really possible by lower temps or using slower cultures .

You will also need a ph meter unless you are making lactic acid set type cheeses where you are not cutting the curd until the ph is below 4.5 or so . With this type it is hard to over acidify as it is obvious when the curd has gotten close to this ph . The curd will have fully separated  from the whey and may even be cracked .

When I make this type even cows milk has the full flavor of a goat type cheese

[artmustel]

What cultures are 'slow'? i only have used mesophillic so far...

[Gregore]

i use  lyobac-d  MCL AR CH 1

but I am unable to find anyone selling it here in the USA , artisan geek sold it but they are still shut down .  if anyone has a source i would love to get more .

[artmustel]

Ok, i made a batch of Fresh Cheese (1 gallon milk) adding 1/8 tsp of sharp lipase. Also  let the mesophillyc work for 30 minutes before adding rennet, and then I let the curds to ripe for 30 minutes before adding salt. This was my best cheese so far! Taste is very nice (my previous ones lacked flavor). Another change I made from original recipe was to press curds to 25 pounds for 4 and a half hours (Recipe asks for 35 pounds for 6 hours). For some reason this was excessive in my case; resulting cheese was too compact and dry. This one came perfect, not too soft, not too hard, just the right consistency and flavor. I just let in the fridge for 24 hours before tasting it...that was the maximum my patience allowed. Thanks to everyone for help!

[awakephd]

A cheese for you (thumbs up) for persistence that has paid off!

[John@PC]

A cheese for you're incorporation of lipase.  Will try that on my next Fromage Blanc.

[gstone]

What do you reckon lipase, sharp or mild, would do for a make like the farmstead cheese recipe at cheesemaking.com? Anything good?

[artmustel]

I am using sharp one for my fresh cheeses.