koch kase

[Henry Grona]

I've been working on making my grandmothers koch kase. She's been gone for about 50 years so I can't get any pointers from her.
Using grass fed raw milk. It's getting closer but isn't right yet.
Many of the recipes found (including that of my guru) have baking soda sprinkled on the cheese as it is aging.
What is the purpose of the soda? There is an after-taste I don't care for.
The crumbled cheese turns yellow. What else happens? Is this part of the ripening?

[paulabob]

The recipes I am seeing don't age the cheese at all, but continue and cook/melt the cheese.  In that case, I believe the baking soda is just for meltability.

I think it would have been a challenge to the Germans who came to Texas to continue their existing cheese traditions, without access to any temperatures to age cheese.  I know my great grandmother dugout root cellars wherever she lived here in Texas, but that's still too warm for dairy/cheese.  Guessing your grandmother's recipe is of the post refridgeration era.

[Henry Grona]

I chose the wrong term. It has to ripen a bit. Taste can go from mild to wild.
The commercial versions I have found were short in taste.
I found I could melt a small piece of handkase in the pan with the melted cheese to up the flavor and It would make my granny smile.
I can't find a reliable source so I am trying to make it on my own. My upcoming batch will be split into with/without baking soda.
There seems to be  slight aftertaste associated with the baking soda version.