Author Topic: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?  (Read 4757 times)

ddcurtis

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Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« on: February 17, 2010, 08:46:33 PM »
Hi, I've got a few books about cheesemaking, and I've read a lot of recipes online before finding and joining this forum.
From what I read and understood prior to this forum, calcium chloride was added to counteract the effects of homogenization. Yet, many of the recipes found here say add CC if you are using PASTEURIZED milk - which is nothing remotely similar to the process of homogenization! So what gives?

I've been successfully pasteurizing my raw milk prior to cheese making, and been getting fine curds. I've added CC to store bought milk, because of homogenization, NOT pasteurization, again with fine results. Am I just lucky, or are people simply writing thier recipes wrong, or not really understanding why they are adding CC in the first place?

Alex

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Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2010, 07:01:35 PM »
The recipes are right, CaCl is added due to pasteurization.

ddcurtis

  • Guest
Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2010, 10:26:13 PM »
OK...so does this mean my curds would be better if I added CC any time I have home pasteurized raw milk? I haven't really noticed any problems with my curds if I pasteurize, but hey, what the hell do I know, I'm new!    ::)

If you have further info on this, I'd love to hear the how and why, since I always thought it was for homo milk.
Cheers, Dave

Alex

  • Guest
Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2010, 02:20:12 PM »
Homo milk is achieved by passing the raw milk through an ultrafine mesh (by high pressure) to minimize the fat globules' size. This is done in order to avoid separation of fat from the basic liquid (about 85% water) and causing it to float on the surface of the milk during storage. Homogenization destructs the structure of the raw milk and pasteurization causes some degradation of the Calcium.
It is a known fact that goat's milk has smaller globules and it is a sort of homogenized vs cow's milk, therefore you'll have to add more CaCl to goat's milk. Addition of CaCl builds up the lost Ca ions due to pasteurization and causes the curds to be firmer and makes a greater yield.

ddcurtis

  • Guest
Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2010, 04:35:41 PM »
OK....so I am going to get even better curds from my home-pasteurized raw milk?
Great news!! I was already happy with what I get, so this is like a bonus.

I just read in Tim Smith's book 'Making Artisan Cheese' where he discusses CC. He states on page 32 that homogenization makes for softer curd structure and does not coagulate as easily, so you need to add more rennet and calcium chloride to fix this problem.....

Alex

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Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2010, 06:27:36 PM »
He is right :)

linuxboy

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Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2010, 06:55:53 PM »
I think we need to untangle a few of the concepts here because even in Tim's book, his practical advice for how to solve issues may be a bit confusing without a long background explanation. So here's the explanation:

1) Homogenization uses high pressure (20-60 MPa) to mechanically reduce the size of fat molecules. This means there are more physical molecules. At higher pressures, there is the possibility for proteins (casein) to be degraded as well, or for some of the fat to bond to the proteins.

2) Pasteurization uses heat, and even at lower (145-165F) temps, some dissolved Ca++ ions go out of solution. At higher temps, more ions go out of solution and also caseins and globulin and albumen denatures. The ions act as a sort of glue among the alpha caseins so they can bond and form curd.

3) Adding CaCl2 adds some calcium back into solution. In the case of pasteurized milk, it's necessary because those ions are bound up during pasteurization. In the case of homogenized milk, the matter is more complex. There is no single authoritative explanation in current science for why homogenized milk curd is not as firm as unhomogenized. Some explanations include that the extra fat molecules adsorb proteins, and that with more fat molecules, the integrity of the casein matrix is weakened because the gel has to accommodate more large physical molecules and therefore has fewer contact points among the casein micelles. Regardless of the mechanism, having Ca++ ions available makes for stronger bonds, meaning a firmer set.

End points are that you may or may not need CaCl2, regardless of pasteurization or homogenization. It depends on the milk. In many cases, a little bit helps. CaCl2 is sort of a fix-all, and it does the same thing -- improves bonding, but how that impacts curd differs between pasteurized and homogenized because the milk is damaged in different ways.

ddcurtis

  • Guest
Re: Calcium Cloride - To Counter Pasteurization Or Homogenization?
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2010, 08:16:00 PM »
Thanx for the in-depth response!
I made some small brie-style cheeses last night, and added an equal amount of CC as I did rennet - 1/4 tsp to 1 gal pasteurized milk.  The curds were awesome, even better than what I was getting before, which was pretty good already. I'm guessing I'll be adding CC any time I pasteurize my raw milk.
Dave