It's still not working! I tried the distilled water for my rennet. And it didn't make any difference. I have milk--not curds of any kind.
Two days ago I made neufchatel cheese according to the recipe in Ricki's book. It came out beautifully. We will be eating it mixed with salmon tomorrow evening. Yum.
Today I tried making the traditional cheddar cheese in Ricki's book again. I've had success with this twice before, but no luck at all getting a solid curd recently. This is what I did:
I bought 2 gallons of whole Western Family homogenized and pasteurized (not ultrapasteurized) milk yesterday that doesn't expire for sixteen more days. I heated the milk to the appropriate temp. (86 degrees), added Darigold cultured lowfat buttermilk for my starter. I allowed it to set for 45 minutes. Then I added 1/2 tsp. rennet. I am using liquid animal rennet bought from New England Cheesemaking Supply on March 1, 2010. I have kept it in the refrigerator all this time. I mixed it with distilled water. An hour and a half later, I still have milk, no curds. I have used the same milk and recipe successfully previously. I maintained the temp. all the while at exactly 86 degrees, just as recipe says.
I just checked my thermometer and discovered it is about five degrees off. Okay, that's too much, but I should still get something because the temp. is still within the range of temp where mesophilic starter works. I heated until it said 86 degrees, but it was really 91 degrees. It still should work.
I have previously tried the emmental recipe in Ricki's book. For that I used a freeze dried thermophilic starter from New England Cheese Supply, the same rennet, the same milk, and it also did not form a curd.
Have I left out any information? I really appreciate any ideas you might have.