Author Topic: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!  (Read 4172 times)

Offline michoutim

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TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« on: December 02, 2010, 05:47:42 AM »
Hello everyone !

LOve to you all!

We are at a loss.

We have made quite a few goat cheeses in the past, and we got round shapes for a start.

But lately (and I want to say for the last one we added calcium chloride, but even though!!! ) they all come in trapezoid shape.

It has no impact on the taste, sure, but it does not look very sexy!

What do you think ? Has it got to do with either the pH or maybe the season of the milk ?

In advance, thank you for your input!

Bless you all!

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2010, 02:04:44 PM »
I think it's great. I get tried of seeing the same old shapes in the cave.I look at everything as a potential cheese mold.

Offline michoutim

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2010, 07:25:37 PM »
It is not even triangular ! I'll take a photo today . ..

I'll see whether it is possible to get a mold with a triangular shape...  :)

Offline michoutim

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2010, 11:52:59 PM »
 >:(


Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2010, 06:57:04 AM »
I love it!

susanky

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2010, 01:51:46 PM »
I love it too!  It is the perfect Holiday cheese.. a Christmas bell!
Susan

Offline michoutim

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2010, 06:46:47 PM »
 ;)

Brie

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2010, 12:08:11 AM »
I think it looks great--are you using a mold of any kind to form the cheese?

Offline michoutim

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2010, 07:10:57 PM »
Yes I use the normal tubular goat cheese mold, and it comes out with a beautiful round shape, but then as it ages, it loooses its shape and come out funny !  Even though we turn it regularly ! Go figure !  >:(
 :o

Brie

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2010, 11:50:43 PM »
You may need to drain it longer so that it holds its shape. If you're using a basic soft chevre recipe, it's bet to bag it first and then put into molds to form. If you don't bag it, then it needs to sit in the mold for a few days to expell whey.  Good luck!

Soozletew

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #10 on: December 15, 2010, 12:24:48 AM »
Such a cutie pie shape!

Offline michoutim

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #11 on: December 15, 2010, 06:08:45 AM »
Hi Brie,  :)

Thanks for the input !
 :D
But we tried that, drying it for a longer time, and it will split up, you see !
 :(

Also we've had some well shaped cheeses, round as we wanted them. So we try to find the reason for that problem, which in any case is NOT a major problem.

The thing is that for plain domestic production, the proportions will never be the same since we just can't weigh tiny tiny quantities, so it is never precise, and we have no choice.
 ???
And thanks for all here who cheer us up by saying the chesse looks like a Christmas bell!
 :)

smilingcalico

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #12 on: December 15, 2010, 01:57:33 PM »
Wow, I've never seen anything like that happen. Tell us what steps you took to make and mold the cheese, and drying time. I think as stated above, whey expulsion may be an issue.

Offline michoutim

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #13 on: December 15, 2010, 06:15:58 PM »
We have done many goat cheeses using always the same technique, and we got most of them with a beautiful round shape.

Since we always proceed in the same way, I just do not understand.  ???

We didn't take notes for this one because it has become quite a routine to make goat cheeses. The only difference I can tell, is that we used calcium chloride this time, because we thought that may be we would get a good shape because of that.

The other funny thing about this cheese it that it was rather bland compared to the goat cheeses we usually get, which are delicious.

I know the shape is not that important, but I try to understand...   :-\

smilingcalico

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Re: TRapezoid goat cheese instead of round!
« Reply #14 on: December 24, 2010, 12:37:11 AM »
I don't think calcium chloride would be an issue.  A potential variable that you didn't mention would be room temperature.  This could affect whey drainage.  As Brie pointed out, too much whey left in the cheese after removing the mold may cause it to lose it's shape.  If your room temp was cooler than normal, you may not have had as much drain as normal.  A side note, we don't use molds for a "tube" shape.  We bag drain, then we allow the cheese to rest in the fridge over night.  After that we can weigh the perfect amount for each piece of cheese, form it into a ball, and roll it into shape by hand on a cutting board.  Have you continued to have any issues?  Oh, and was it the whole batch of cheese that ended up shaped oddly, or just a few?
« Last Edit: December 24, 2010, 02:24:32 AM by smilingcalico »