Newbie with line on raw milk..needs advice!!

[dougspcs]

Nothing here to back me up at this time... but I think when they are referring to "cheese salt" it would typically be fine sea salt.... no additives.... I don't think the additives are evil, but the many types of salt would actually produce different amounts by mass... I.e. 1 cup of kosher salt BY MASS or weight ... is  NOT a cup of sea salt BY MASS or weight, it's just the way they pack and layer in said measuring cup. I hope I explained that well enough...

I'm sure it's not a biggie for making cheese ... a little salty or not... but it helps with the consistency of your cheese makes if you use one or the other, and simply document your results.

For meat curing and sausage making, things like salt type need to be well defined and talked about before measuring.

F

Thanks again Fritz..but on that topic I found an inexpensive salt sold retail here in Canada at Metro grocery store.

Aurora Mediterranean Sea Salt..$1.49 / 1kg box. I looked up the nutritional facts and it has nothing added!! No iodine, no anti-caking agents..therefore perfect cheese and CHEAP!! You couldn't beat that with a big club I think!!

2nd..I finished my 1st cheese last night and I'm excited by the results.

Made a cheddar using Kroger brand whole milk..I was a bit concerned that it may have been UHT pasteurized but at least it wasn't homogenized.

It took at exceptional amount of time to make a curd. The recipe said 40 + 10 if needed..it took + 30 and even then barely made a clean break.

But I worked thru it and completed..the results looked good and I now have a nice block air drying. Now to wait for it to age and see how I did??

[Boofer]

Just reading through this and felt a need to chime in....

• Searching earlier salt discussions gives us this.
  
• No one mentioned picking up a good cheesemaking book to provide structure. Check the Library. Lots of "best book" discussions...search.
  
• Sea salt might seem like a "natural" choice, but consider where it may have been gathered and whatever may have attached to the salt crystals.
• I use "Pickling Salt". It has done well for me.

Now to wait for it to age and see how I did??

Wow, is that all there is to it? I've been doing it wrong.  I fuss over, wash the rinds, monitor for incursions, and do so many other things to and for my cheeses. You will too.

-Boofer-

[dougspcs]

Just reading through this and felt a need to chime in....

• Searching earlier salt discussions gives us this.
  
• No one mentioned picking up a good cheesemaking book to provide structure. Check the Library. Lots of "best book" discussions...search.
  
• Sea salt might seem like a "natural" choice, but consider where it may have been gathered and whatever may have attached to the salt crystals.
• I use "Pickling Salt". It has done well for me.

Now to wait for it to age and see how I did??

Wow, is that all there is to it? I've been doing it wrong.  I fuss over, wash the rinds, monitor for incursions, and do so many other things to and for my cheeses. You will too.

-Boofer-

While this may seem all basic information and repeat for some..this is new to others and we are gathering information about this hobby from multiple often conflicting opinions. It's not always that clear when you're newb!!

Your input and opinion, albeit seemingly a bit sarcastic and condescending, is still appreciated..maybe it's just the way it read to me!

[awakephd]

Based on Boofer's many past posts, he is likely poking fun more at himself than at you.

[Fritz]

Boofer... you mean that sea gull taste my cheeses have isn't normal ? 

[Boofer]

Your input and opinion, albeit seemingly a bit sarcastic and condescending, is still appreciated..maybe it's just the way it read to me!

Hey, Doug, sorry for any lack of clarity in my post. Just trying to get the information out there, be concise, and verbally frugal.

Boofer... you mean that sea gull taste my cheeses have isn't normal ? 

Yes...for that cheese style.

Based on Boofer's many past posts, he is likely poking fun more at himself than at you.

Thanks, Andy, I'm so misunderstood.

-Boofer-

[reg]

It is funny that the salt type and content has come up in this conversation. I am rereading a book that I purchased years ago, American Farmstead Cheese by Paul Kindstedt and apparently salt plays a very big role in cheese making. A quote from page 130 of the book ' Microorganisms (yeasts, molds and bacteria) vary greatly in their sensitivities to salt concentration, much the same as they vary in sensitivity to PH'

Another quote ' Thus it is not surprising that the salt contents of Swiss type cheese typically falls in the range of around 0.4 to 0.8 percent. Cheese with greater than 1.0 percent salt is likely to develop few eyes and lack the typical Swiss flavor due to strong inhibition of Propionibacterium '

The section goes into a lot of depth with regards to salt types and concentrations in the ripening stages of different types of cheese, very interesting for sure

[dougspcs]

Your input and opinion, albeit seemingly a bit sarcastic and condescending, is still appreciated..maybe it's just the way it read to me!

Hey, Doug, sorry for any lack of clarity in my post. Just trying to get the information out there, be concise, and verbally frugal.

Boofer... you mean that sea gull taste my cheeses have isn't normal ? 

Yes...for that cheese style.

Based on Boofer's many past posts, he is likely poking fun more at himself than at you.

Thanks, Andy, I'm so misunderstood.

-Boofer-

Thanks for the clarification..no harm, no foul!!

[GortKlaatu]

Mucho gusto Doug
I like you am a newb in this crazy hobby. I have been buying my cultures from the UK. Seems that no one in the USA or Canada wants to ship down here unless you put up your first born for collateral. So I have found Goat Nutrition Ltd. Bruce Dolby gets my cultures to me in about 7 or 8 days, most stuff out of North America is 2 to 3 weeks unless it comes by DHL or UPS both of which are very dear. Here in Costa Rica aged cheese is very expensive,I'm talking at least 15.00 US dollars a pound so I've been buying my Mesophillic cultures from Bruce and am very happy with the quality as my cheeses are a big hit.
As for a cheese log I use Curd Nerds cheese log ,no place for Ph reading but can write it in on the side.
I sure pity you up there having such a hard time finding fresh raw milk, I get mine from my neighbors and its still warm when I get it home,my biggest problem is cutting the liquid rennet back enough to get a 12 minute mas o menos flocctuation time.
Great talking with you hope we can talk again and good luck.
Hasta Luego

My best option (to avoid the high cost and potential issues with customs in CR) has been that I order cultures, etc from the typical places like New England Cheesemaking etc, have them delivered to someone in the States that I know that is coming down for a visit or a CR neighbor that is going back for a visit and have them "mule" them back down for me.  Since they keep so long in the freezer, it's fairly easy to coordinate trips and keeping cultures on hand.
There are plenty of folks in PZ that go back and forth that could help that way.