Author Topic: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe  (Read 9856 times)

Offline WhiteSageFarms

  • Medium Cheese
  • ***
  • Location: Latah County, Idaho ~ Palouse country
  • Posts: 90
  • Cheeses: 4
    • White Sage Farms
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #15 on: September 21, 2010, 08:57:51 PM »
I've been scared off from the "mother culture" process, because it's sounded too complicated. If I ever go commercial, as I hope to, I'll have to learn how to do it this way before I start making/selling commercial quantities.

The way you describe it, it sounds much more simple than what I've read in books :-) Thanks!

It's very easy and I wouldn't make cheese any other way.  It's like making yogurt and then using that instead of a packet of direct set.
White Sage Farms
www.whitesagefarms.com

Offline WhiteSageFarms

  • Medium Cheese
  • ***
  • Location: Latah County, Idaho ~ Palouse country
  • Posts: 90
  • Cheeses: 4
    • White Sage Farms
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #16 on: September 21, 2010, 09:02:23 PM »
Thanks linuxboy! Thanks! I'm going to save this handy dandy chart of yours!

~Laurie

White Sage Farms
www.whitesagefarms.com

Offline WhiteSageFarms

  • Medium Cheese
  • ***
  • Location: Latah County, Idaho ~ Palouse country
  • Posts: 90
  • Cheeses: 4
    • White Sage Farms
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #17 on: September 21, 2010, 09:05:27 PM »
This is exactly what I needed... are you a teacher?  ;) It's like a "story problem" from elementary school...
My brain can accept this and make sense out of it LOL

Thanks very much, you knew just what I needed to get my head around it.

~Laurie


Let's say you are making 2 gallons of cheese (or yogurt).

2 gallons = 256 ounces

      ...so...

2% of 256 is 5.12 ounces.

So you would use 5.12 ounces of a mother culture to add to your milk
White Sage Farms
www.whitesagefarms.com

FRANCOIS

  • Guest
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #18 on: September 21, 2010, 11:31:43 PM »
Ignore most of what you read, it's probably about forward culturing mother culture (this is done in Europe).  Mother culture, as we talk about it here, is just a pre-ripened quantity of milk.  You still use DVS powder but you just make up a quantity (1.5-2%) of the total volume before hand and let it get very low in pH (i.e. lots of starter activity).  Omnce you add that quantity to your vat the starter rapidly, and most importantly consistently, reduces your vat pH.  It beats adding the DVS to the vat and waiting around for target pHs.

linuxboy

  • Guest
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #19 on: September 21, 2010, 11:46:06 PM »
Also, if you don't have a pH meter, just wait 16-24 hours. For meso culture that doesn't produce CO2 (no diacetylactis or leuconostoc), culture the mother at 86F. For meso culture that does produce CO2, culture at 72-74F. For thermo, it depends on if it has S thermophilus or not. If it does, culture at 104F. If it doesn't, say if it's a pure LH, you can go higher, to 110F. Use a 4-5% bulk equivalent of DVI culture as the seed for the mother. Practically, this is something like 1/16 tsp per gallon of milk. Meaning if you're trying to make enough mother culture for a typical home batch of 4-5 gallons, you don't need to make very much and you use very little DVI powder, maybe a pint of mother starter and just a pinch of culture, and you usually don't even need to use all of that pint for 4-5 gallons..

Also, use nonfat or skim milk and boil first to sterilize. It's like making yogurt, like Francois said. If you want to be really scientific, add enough dry milk to get to 10-11% protein. This will increase the buffers and let you almost double the amount of viable culture. But if you do this, be consistent with all your starter amounts and media.

IMHO, this produces a superior cheese with less hassle. My pH and time schedules are better when I don't wait for DVI to wake up. Also, it's easier to over or underdose with DVI culture when making small batches, so there's more inconsistency. Meaning with a mother, you can be more exact in your initial bacterial inoculation amounts, and this helps with consistency.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2010, 12:46:21 AM by linuxboy »

Sailor Con Queso

  • Guest
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #20 on: September 22, 2010, 12:50:13 AM »
Margaret Morris recommends using nonfat dry milk as a base.

Lee

  • Guest
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #21 on: September 24, 2010, 09:17:19 PM »
I'm new here please tell me where do I find Francois Crottin recipe?

Offline WhiteSageFarms

  • Medium Cheese
  • ***
  • Location: Latah County, Idaho ~ Palouse country
  • Posts: 90
  • Cheeses: 4
    • White Sage Farms
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #22 on: September 25, 2010, 04:14:00 AM »
Hi Lee,

Here's a link to the page where you'll find the recipe, http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2019.msg15259.html#msg15259   and welcome! - I'm very new here too, so it feels odd to say "welcome" LOL, but anyway, you'll find volumes of priceless help and information here :-)

~Laurie

I'm new here please tell me where do I find Francois Crottin recipe?
White Sage Farms
www.whitesagefarms.com

FRANCOIS

  • Guest
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #23 on: September 25, 2010, 11:15:06 AM »
You have to use skim or non fat milk, otherwise you gut a solid block of curd.

Offline WhiteSageFarms

  • Medium Cheese
  • ***
  • Location: Latah County, Idaho ~ Palouse country
  • Posts: 90
  • Cheeses: 4
    • White Sage Farms
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #24 on: September 30, 2010, 07:48:00 AM »
I set out one of my crottins to come to room temp this evening, it was excellent in my opinion but definitely more toward a Camembert or Brie type cheese compared to the Crottin de Chavignol that I got from Murray's.  Completely different taste and texture. Also the one I got from Murray's really had no rind at all to speak of. In any event, this one is really delicious, I'm going to let the rest of them age a bit longer.
White Sage Farms
www.whitesagefarms.com

linuxboy

  • Guest
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #25 on: September 30, 2010, 03:20:42 PM »
Crottin doesn't use penicillum traditionally. It's usually PLA, PLA+geo, or one of the FAA ripening mixes from Cargill texturizing, or a custom blend. Geo should be the predominant mold and then yeast/micrococci/b linens adds some depth and aroma.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2010, 03:22:31 AM by linuxboy »

Offline WhiteSageFarms

  • Medium Cheese
  • ***
  • Location: Latah County, Idaho ~ Palouse country
  • Posts: 90
  • Cheeses: 4
    • White Sage Farms
Re: Crottin ~ my first attempt, used Francois' recipe
« Reply #26 on: October 01, 2010, 03:01:58 AM »
I'm going to try Yoav's recipe next- excited to try another formula. The Crottin from Murray's tastes like wine, not sure which ingredient gives it that essence, but it's wonderful. I am crazy about these little cheeses I made with Francois' recipe though, and will definitely make more of them. In fact I'm buying another wine fridge tomorrow so I can mass produce them LOL. Thanks for the info :-)
~Laurie

crottin doesn't use candidum traditionally. It's usually PLA, PLA+geo, or one of the FAA ripening mixes from Cargill texturizing, or a custom blend. Geo should be the predominant mold and then yeast/micrococci/b linens adds some depth and aroma.
White Sage Farms
www.whitesagefarms.com