Hi all!
I'm a cheese-newbie, for the most part. I've been having lots of success with fresh cheeses like paneer, queso fresco, mozzerella, ricotta, seiras, etc, but now I'm feeling ready to move onto cultured cheeses, but I need a push in the right direction.
The book I'm using asks in many recipes for a 'mesophillic culture', and I've tried searching for that here in Italy (in a variety of places- supermarkets, agriculture stores, pharmacies, etc) with people looking at me like I'm a crazy lady when I ask for such a thing. One thing that a few people have told me is that I don't need to use it when I'm dealing with raw milk. Is this true?
Some of the recipes also call for active culture buttermilk (which seems to be a mesophilic culture), but buttermilk doesn't exist in Italy, so that's completely off the table.
The specific cheeses I am asking about are molded cheese rounds (a fresh ripened cow cheese) and chevre. Is there anything else I can easily find that can be used as a mesophilic culture, or do I need to order a prepared culture online? Or, if I am starting with raw milk, do I even need it?
Thanks!