Author Topic: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay  (Read 88326 times)

kosztmark

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #180 on: September 29, 2015, 08:24:31 PM »
thank you very much for your help Sailor!

-Mark-

Rosepetal

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #181 on: November 03, 2015, 07:11:05 AM »
Yes, for example, if you have a gallon of milk, it is 128 fl ounces. You need 1.28 fl ounces of starter for a 1% inoculation rate.

I have included this in some recipes when I specify bulk equivalent. This is the way cheese was made before DVI starters. I've also posted general guidelines before, like starting with 1.5% and have suggested that people customize the inoculation rate to fit their make requirements. You can make most cheeses with anywhere between .5% and 2.5%, depending on the rest of the recipe.
Hi linuxboy,
Hoping to find you back on-board.
I've made a few cheeses using recipes from a book where the % of mother culture is specified and differed depending on the cheese being made (Example - Romano cheese - Add 200 ml of prepared Type C starter fro each 10 litres of milk, i.e 2.0%).  Since searching a few different websites, I've found other recipes that I'm keen to try but I'm struggling to figure out what the equivalent % rate of mother culture is to eg.- 1/4 teaspoon of DVS starter.  Is there some sort of standard either by the manufacturers or someone qualified who may have figured it out?
Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #182 on: November 03, 2015, 02:34:47 PM »
The amount of Mother Culture used determines the rate of acidification during a cheese  make. More MC in the beginning means that there are more bacteria that will produce lactic acid more quickly. Less MC means that acidification will happen slower throughout the make. By adjusting the amount of MC used, you control not only the acid throughout the make, but continued acidification during pressing, and the ultimate pH of the finished cheese.

The exact amount is not critical but a good starting point is around 1% by volume. For example a 2 gallon make is 256 ounces. 1% of 256 is 2.56. So you would use around 2.5 ounces of MC. You can adjust this to fit your make habits, the type of cheese, and even your schedule. If you want a cheese to finish quicker, use more MC. I prefer a slow and steady make, so we generally use just 1/4-1/2% depending on the cheese.

Rosepetal

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #183 on: November 04, 2015, 08:19:39 AM »
Thanks Sailor Con Queso.  I guess, I'll see if there are any consistencies in the book I have in relation to type of cheese v % of MC, otherwise I'll start with 1% and see how it goes (although this completely goes against my anal retentive personality when it comes to matters of precision in the kitchen). 
I've only ever used DVS to make MC. (much more economical as you've pointed out in this post).
Thank you also, for the MC charts for dosage calculation.  I've downloaded them both and have found it most helpful especially the conversion chart for the majority of us using the metric system.  When will the US join the rest of the world?

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #184 on: November 04, 2015, 05:43:07 PM »
Actually one of the reasons I use MCs is because of my anal retentive personality. I find MCs MUCH more accurate and consistent. And it's easier to adjust the dosage.

Offline NimbinValley

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #185 on: November 04, 2015, 10:59:18 PM »
Sailor do you make two separate mothers for both mesos and thermos?  I should go back and read all 13 pages of this thread and see if this has been covered already so a yes or no answer will be fine thanks.  NV.

Stinky

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #186 on: November 05, 2015, 05:20:48 AM »
Sailor do you make two separate mothers for both mesos and thermos?  I should go back and read all 13 pages of this thread and see if this has been covered already so a yes or no answer will be fine thanks.  NV.

You have to make mesos and thermos separately, as they require different incubation temperatures, or so I understand it.

Offline NimbinValley

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #187 on: November 05, 2015, 05:53:25 AM »
oops.  Sorry. Thanks for that.  Hopefully it will stick this time!

Duntov

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #188 on: August 19, 2017, 10:27:45 PM »
Maybe I missed it but I want to know if adding an adjunct such as Flav 54 is okay.  Will it multiply as-well?

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #189 on: August 20, 2017, 08:02:15 PM »
Adjuncts can be Meso or Thermo and they may primarily consume things other than lactose. If so, they are not a candidate for Mother Cultures. I personally would not do a blended MC containing adjuncts because you might upset the ratio and balance of the starter bacteria. I would try to do a MC of the adjunct, like Flav 54. If it successfully works (i.e. produces acid & coagulates the milk) then use it on an as needs basis.

mobius

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #190 on: August 20, 2017, 08:40:30 PM »
So newbie question, trying to wrap my head around mother cultures...if you can use powdered whey for the culture, how about using leftover whey from cheese making to make the mother? Is that possible?

Duntov

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #191 on: August 20, 2017, 09:42:36 PM »
Adjuncts can be Meso or Thermo and they may primarily consume things other than lactose. If so, they are not a candidate for Mother Cultures. I personally would not do a blended MC containing adjuncts because you might upset the ratio and balance of the starter bacteria. I would try to do a MC of the adjunct, like Flav 54. If it successfully works (i.e. produces acid & coagulates the milk) then use it on an as needs basis.

Thank you Sailor.  My motivation for asking is to reduce costs primarily due to the high cost of FLAV 54.  I have been getting good results with cheddars using RA 21 (blend of meso & thermo) and FLAV 54.  I was hoping to combine all together to make a true mother culture and then freeze into cubes.  But if I understand you correctly, this 'cocktail' could give poor results due to their interactions.  But my simple mind pushes me to ask; how is this different than adding freeze dried to the actual cheese make where they will interact as-well?   

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #192 on: August 22, 2017, 02:16:26 PM »
Flav 54 is just Lactobacillus helveticus, a thermo, and can be done as a MC, or just use an LH culture. Because the RA21 is a blend of mesos & thermos, it is not a great candidate for making MCs. What temperature do you incubate it at? If you incubate at meso temps, the thermos won't grow efficiently. If you incubate at thermo temps, you will kill off the mesos. I strongly suggest making separate meso & thermo cultures and blending them into your make.

pranot1

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #193 on: September 04, 2019, 07:06:05 AM »
can I make mother cultured from skim milk powder?

Offline mikekchar

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Re: Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay
« Reply #194 on: September 04, 2019, 08:28:32 AM »
Yes, I'm sure you can.  I've held a yogurt culture for years and years using skim milk powder with no obvious movement from the original culture.