Buttercheese and Serendipity

[AeonSam]

Alright, so I have been making a particular Buttercheese recipe for about a year now. I have a lot of local people that like it so I was trying to standardize it.

The recipe calls for 3/5tsp for a 4 gallon batch. I accidentally added 3/4tsp one day while I was rushing and I had 1.5" solid blocks for curds

I decided to follow it through and I decided also to barely stir the curds in hopes that I would retain a lot of moisture and the only problem I had was getting a good knit because the curds were so hard.

I also tried not to press too hard to see how much moisture I could retain since this recipe only requires one month of aging.

So, the result was amazing! It was and is extremely creamy. I would say as much as a cream Havarti.

I would like to know how to deal with the knitting problem. The taste is great but visually it doesn't work when it's a whole wheel.

Should I

1. Reduce the rennet?

2. Add more pressure in the mold?

3. Dip it in hot water?

4. All of the above?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Sam

[GortKlaatu]

It looks good in the picture...can't tell that it didn't knit together well, so I'd bet just a bit more pressure in the mold and you'd be set.
I'm surprised you had that much change from such a slightly variation in rennet (only 3/20)

[AeonSam]

Thanks,

Here's a better look at the knit problem. This one just went into the vacuum bag today. By the time it's ready, it is pretty wet and soft.

Sam

[Al Lewis]

Sam you have a vacuum bagger so, I have found that when I get a knit like yours I can vacuum bag the cheese and place the bag in water the same temperature as the whey was when made and the vacuumed bag will actually bring the knit together.  So if you heated your curd to a max of 86°F when making it then use the same temp water.  I use a Sous Vide to heat the water but you can really use anything.  Not a perfect solution but worked well for me.  Make sure to flip the cheese in the bag often while heating it.  In the case of Butterkase I believe it would be 104F.

[AeonSam]

That is a great idea Al,

Do you think that it's too late once I've started aging or do you think that I could still do it?

Sam

[Al Lewis]

I don't why you couldn't do it now.  The hot 80°F cycle for Emmentaler isn't until three weeks after the make.  Then it's aged.

[Duntov]

Next time you could also try pressing under warm whey to get a better knit.

[Al Lewis]

Yes, I always place my mold in a 11 quart pot and fill it with the warm whey then the curds for initial pressing.

[AeonSam]

That's a great idea too John and Al!