Tea's Prepared Type A Starter Culture

[Cheese Head]

Tea

I see in at least a couple of your recipe/record posts that you are using 100 or 200ml of "prepared Type A starter". Few questions is you have a minute:

• Is that a mother - reculturable type starter culture that you are making and if so how, any tricks and traps, and how long have you kept re-culturing it as I haven't done that style starter culture yet?
• What did you use to get it started? I've built a list of common manufactured cultures here but haven't found anything called Type A.
• Where did you get your Type A from?
• Is it a Mesophilic or Thermophilic starter culture?

Thanks in advance . . .

[DaggerDoggie]

From what I have read, type "A" starter is the basic, buttermilk, Mesophilic starter.  Some of my commercial mesophilic starters say type "A" on the package.

[Tea]

Ok here goes.

Type A  (mesophilic)  is lactococcus lactis subspecies cremoris and lactococcus lactis subspeices lactis

Type B  (mesophillic)  is lactococcus lactis subspecies cremoris, lactococcus lactis subspecies lactis, lactococcus lactis subspecies biovar diacetylactis

Type C  are yoghurt strains.  (thermophillic)  are streptococcus thermophillic and other.etc

Type E (thermophillic) are streptococcus thermophillic and are acid sentitive.

They are freezer dried powders that are reactivated in milk at differing temps for between 12-18 hours depending on the type.
So usually for 10lt of milk I will heat 200ml, cool to setting temp, sprinkle in a smidgon spoon or less of dried culture and leave over night.
I can keep back a tsp of this and add to more milk and either leave in the fridge until I need it (with in reason) take it out the night before and let it set ready for the morning.  This can be done 3-4 times before I start a new batch.
I buy my things from  cheeselinks.com au
HTH

[Tea]

Ok so I don't understand the difference between mesophillic and thermophillic.
Could you explain it please.

[Tea]

Just a quick observation from my recipes, the softer cheese seem to use the mesophillic, and the harder cheeses use the thermophillic?
Right   

[Cheese Head]

Thanks DD & Tea,

I have some info on Mesophilic and Thermophilic on the Cheese Making > Cultures page, and I've heard of C but not E, I need to do more research and update those Culture pages.

[Tea]

Thanks Cheese Head, I will have to go and have a read.

I have realised that my above question is false, as I am making  camebert today using type E starter which is thermophillic, and it is definately not a hard cheese.

Read read read, I think that's will give me the answer.

[DaggerDoggie]

I also have a Mesophilic M culture - Mesophilic-M is for fresh cheeses such as Camembert, Gouda, Blue, Baby Swiss and others where a buttery flavor and eye formation is desired.  Contains: Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, cremoris, biovar diacetylactis.

[Tea]

Interesting, where did you get your hands on that, if you don't mind me asking.
Have you used it yet? and if you have, were you happy with the results?