Author Topic: A Gouda that did not go good-a  (Read 2731 times)

BauerHaus

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A Gouda that did not go good-a
« on: September 05, 2009, 04:53:29 PM »
So I started a Gouda this during the week and it did not ever get to a clean break.We tried cubing after the 3 hours but came away knowing it would not hold together thru the next steps.

Key items that caused, in my opinion, not to get to the clean break after three hours!
1. Less than great quality of Milk, Lucerne brand whole
2. Maybe not enough CaCl2, 1/2 tps - 2 gal
3. Not enough rennet tablet 1/2 tab - 2 gal
4. Recipe, M. Morris, and the low temp. 84F

Questions,
Why did I go cheap and buy the cheap milk?
If I would have doubled the CaCl2 would that have been enough?
If I would have doubled the rennet would that have been enough?

What would you have done with the now cut curd that did not ever get to a clean break state. We heated to 190F and made a Queso type cheese.

Cheese Head

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Re: A Gouda that did not go good-a
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2009, 06:06:45 PM »
BauerHaus

Tough news on not getting a clean break ;D, sorry, I'm sad for you :(.

1) All I use is cheap store bought past & homogenized whole cow's milk at USD2 per US gallon and get good curd sets. I check the expiry dates and buy the freshest, so I don't think the milk is the problem.

2) CaCl2, that's the rate I use of my pre-diluted solution, if you click on the picture you can read the "brand". I assume yours is similarly diluted.

3) Rennet, personally I think here is the problem, if you search this forum on "tablet" from the homepage you will find many questions and problems with rennet tablets and Junket brand rennet tablets. This thread is also interesting. I'd up your dosage to 3/4 tablet or buy some liquid rennet.

4) That is at low end of range for rennet activation, next time yes up temp by 2-4 degrees.

5) How did you add your rennet, pre-dilute in no chlorine water, thoroughly mix in to milk?

6) What about starter culture, what did you use and how long did you allow it to pre-ripen?

Lastly, good move on the queso type cheese, another road would have been Neufchatel, which is basically a low fat milk based cream cheese.

Hope helps . . . John.

BauerHaus

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Re: A Gouda that did not go good-a
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2009, 08:19:46 PM »
John,

4) That is at low end of range for rennet activation, next time yes up temp by 2-4 degrees. Yea we kick the temp up after about two hours but that was still not enough.

5) How did you add your rennet, pre-dilute in no chlorine water, thoroughly mix in to milk? steps done correct or at least think are correct

6) What about starter culture, what did you use and how long did you allow it to pre-ripen? Meso III with no pre-ripen for M. Morris recipe

I have had very good luck with these rennet tablets, my Havarti done last week was the best clean break to date, and the only difference was the type of milk and the temperature. My guess is each rennet type must have a best temperature range for best "growth".

Thanks for the feed back.
Gary






Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: A Gouda that did not go good-a
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2009, 01:42:29 AM »
Gary was the milk ultra pasteurized? That won't work.

Cheese Head

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Re: A Gouda that did not go good-a
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2009, 12:45:46 PM »
BauerHaus, looks like you have done everything right then, as you say the rennet tables that you have been using have worked well in the past.

For next making, I'd up the temp a little, the average of these four Gouda recipes is ~87F/30.5C and yes change milk brand as that batch could have had antibiotics in it etc that resulted in your poor curd set. I don't think different rennet's have different setting temperatures, books I've read recommend 86-96F/30-36C for most cheeses.

Good luck!

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: A Gouda that did not go good-a
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2009, 04:11:24 PM »
I do think some milks are better than others. I always get very soft curds if I get the milk from the local WalMart (It's not a superstore) - none of the others do this for me. I have been buying store brand from supermarkets with no trouble at all - just WalMart. Weird!

Cheese Head

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Re: A Gouda that did not go good-a
« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2009, 12:04:54 AM »
BauerHaus

Thought of this today, you gave a clue!!

No pre-ripen time with the recipe you used, that means pH of milk when you added rennet had not started dropping and thus was probably still in the fresh milk 6.6-6.7 range. Rennet's coagulation ability is correlatable to pH, low pH = fast coagulation, 6.6-6.7 pH = slow coagulation, (late lactation milk can have pH of neutral 7 is even worse). So when you did get a good set for your Havarti, did you use also use a freeze dried Direct Vat Set type starter culture like with this Gouda and did that recipe have a pre-ripening time before adding rennet and thus pH was lower when you added rennet and thus it coagulated better?

On separate note, I don't know Margaret Morris's recipe/procedure. But if it is for Mother or Bulk Set Starter Cultures, which are already active when added, then for your Direct Vat Set starter culture you should add 30-45 min for pre-ripening before renneting to give it a chance to get going. The four Gouda recipes I compared here all have pre-ripening times before adding rennet when using DVS starter cultures (Debra 200's doesn't but she also doesn't say what style of mesophilic starter culture).

Hope helps . . . John.