Queso Blanco - Low Yield

[susanky]

Tonight I made Queso Blanco using Ricki Carrol's recipe.  She says you can use a slightly higher temp and less vinegar to avoid the 'vinegary' taste.  So that made me nervous about adding too much.  I had a gallon of raw milk that I just picked up at the farm (milked the cow).  I took it right from the cow and was home within 1/2 hour so it was still about 99 degrees. (101-102 out of the cow).  Heated to 195.  Added just under 1/4 cup vinegar then stopped when curds began to form.  Yield was low and whey very 'milky'.  If I had added more vinegar would I have precipitated more curds? I read someone else had done that.  It tastes good if not a bit bland.  But no vinegar flavor.  Did I use enough?  I've read this is usually a high yield cheese.  I got a large fist size.  Doesn't seem like much.

[MrsKK]

When I make ricotta, the temperature is not always exactly the same when I finally get the clouds to "bloom".  This last time, the whey was almost 210 degrees Fahrenheit before it worked.  BTW, I don't use vinegar in my ricotta.

Maybe if you had heated it more?  I don't make much queso blanco, so I'm not the best person to reply, I guess.

[susanky]

Thanks for the reply.  I read in another thread (about another cheese) that if the whey was milky all of the cheese/curds have not been extracted.  So heated the whey back up, added more vinegar.. and voila'!  Got more cheese than the first time!  Live and learn.
Susan

[Sailor Con Queso]

That's where a pH meter helps.