First of all I want to thank you Sailor for these instructions. DVI is so expensive and any time savings I can get (in the make) is also greatly appreciated. MC's are truly a win win. A cheese for your efforts!
So I made my first Mother Culture this past past Friday evening; some MA11. Following Sailor's instructions, I did my best to keep it at "warm room temperature" so I closed off the laundry room (while my wife was washing and drying clothes that evening) and that kept the temp (at least for the first 6 hours) in the mid-low 80's. First thing Saturday morning, I checked on it and after only 12 hours the pH was already down to 4.21. I quickly set some aside for the Colby I was making that day and froze the rest in ice trays. As I poured it into the trays it was fairly thick and there were some chunks. I think the low-mid 80's is a bit too warm and (for Meso) I will try our normal house temp of 75 next time. Easy enough.
The 4.75 gallons of milk made a 4.85 pound Colby and all seemed OK. It hit (more or less) the expected markers during the make. The flock time was a bit low, 7 minutes (I followed the manufacturers instructions), and it made a fine curd. Without out the best temp control (on my electric roaster) it got a little too hot (while cooking) and caused me to have to wait longer for it to hit the pressing pH but all in all it was not bad for my first one. At least it felt, looked and smelled good after pressing.
I hope that it is truly OK, and that the rest of the MC will work as well with other cheeses. As far as the MC pH already being at the bottom of the range, I question whether the frozen stuff will be any good. Any thoughts here would be appreciated. I would rather chunk $12 worth of MC than waste $120 worth of milk (and my time) making bad cheese.
Trying to get ready for this Saturdays Parm, I need to make some TA61 and LH100. The instructions are more specific for that (110F for 16-24 hours). Not having the best equipment right now (no Induction cooker), I am trying to find something (easy) as close to 110F as possible. In my oven, with just the light on there is a very stable 100F. My question is, will 100F be enough for the TA61 and LH100? Will it still work fine and just take a little longer or is 100F too cool to work? Thanks in advance.