Author Topic: Are these safe  (Read 2246 times)

Offline steffb503

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Are these safe
« on: May 11, 2010, 06:46:28 PM »
One is colby and the other is montery Jack.
I see holes but they do not seem as pronounced as other mistakes i have made.


They have been aged about 6-8 weeks each.

Offline sominus

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2010, 07:53:22 PM »
Can't quite tell from the first pic, but the second pic shows "non round" mechanical holes, which are usually a result of poorly knit or lightly pressed curd.

Round ones would indicate prop. infx == possibly NFG (inedible).


 
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linuxboy

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2010, 08:03:44 PM »
No, those look fine. Like sominus said, mechanical openings. Hope they taste good :)

MarkShelton

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2010, 08:15:13 PM »
Yes, I've seen those openings many of times. I think you should be concerned if there is accompanying swelling of the cheese, as that shows that gases are being produced from microbial activity.

Offline steffb503

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2010, 10:24:27 AM »
Oh good. I will let you know how they taste.
Thanks

supreme744

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2010, 07:34:21 PM »
First reply. Here goes.   I have a Colby I just finished using store bought whole milk that has identical, but smaller roundish holes similar to your first picture. Of course the fear of Coliform or wild yeast arose. Finished cheese 4 days ago. 3 days air dry with a brine brushing and absolutely no swelling. I will say the curd size prior to pressing was slightly larger than rice with no matting. If anything, the curds were over-stirred and maybe cooked or ripened too long. After air drying, and pressing at 10, 20, 30 and finally 50 lbs. (12 hours), I halved the cheese before vacuum packing so I could age at different periods. I tasted a slice and it was creamy, tart and basically tasted like cheese. No discolration. Am I over doing it on contamination worries?  Thanks for the help.

MarkShelton

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2010, 09:02:35 PM »
Welcome to the forum Supreme!

After only 4 days, I doubt any amount of microbial activity could cause gas production in your cheese assuming you had adequate sanitation during your make, especially if there is no swelling.

As for the curds prior to pressing, I don't know that they can be over-stirred, but over-cooking them (at too high of a temperature, or too long) could have caused excessive whey to be expelled, leaving them slightly harder and drier than desired, making them harder to meld together in the press (hence the openings). Pressing with a little more pressure may have closed this cheese up a little better, but would have made it a little more different from the cheese you intended to make.

All in all, if you're satisfied with the taste and texture of the cheese, then I'd say you did a good job and congratulations!

If you're not satisfied, I'd still say good job, you only have a few minor tweaks to make, and you're well on your way to perfecting your cheeses.

supreme744

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2010, 12:56:32 AM »
Mark, Thanks for the quick response.  I was pretty careful with sanitation. When I said I may have over-stirred to prevent matting during the cooking and resting phase, I believe I ended up making the finished curd a bit smaller than the recipe intended for colby and thus the pressing weights and times may have had to been altered to adjust.  Naturally, the final product would have turned out much firmer than intended, yet the paste would look better. l likely did not pack it firm enough in the mold before the first press as well.   Still Learning, but hey....It's Cheese!

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Are these safe
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2010, 06:40:48 PM »
They look great to me eat and enjoy!