So I followed a recipe and lost! At least I have learned!

[bmckee561]

I followed the recipe below:

Parmesan Cheese Making Recipe

Parmesan is named after an area in Italy called Parma and is one of the world's most popular and widely-enjoyed cheeses. Made from skimmed milk, this cheese must age at least 5 and usually no less than 10 months. Often this cheese will be aged for up to two years. It is important to remember, when grating this cheese not to grate any more then you will use. This will keep the cheese flavor fresh. For a more flavorful cheese use goat and cow's milk in equal proportions.
Ingredients - American

    * 1 US Gallon Fresh Skim Milk (no more than 2.5% butterfat).
    * 3 oz. Thermophilic Starter Culture.
    * Rennet of your choice amount as per packaging or your experience.

Directions

   1. Warm the milk to 100 F/38 C.
   2. Add thermophilic starter and allow the mixture to ripen for 45 minutes.
   3. Dilute rennet in 1/2 cup cool water, then slowly trickle into the milk stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir for at least 5 minutes.
   4. Allow the milk to set for 45-90 minutes until a firm curd is set and a clean break can be obtained when the curd is cut.
   5. With a long knife, cut the curds into 1/4 inch cubes.
   6. Allow the curds to sit for 10 minutes to firm up.
   7. Slowly raise the temperature of the milk to 124 F/51.5 C. It should take as long as 45 minutes to reach this temperature. During this time, gently stir the curds every few minutes so they don't mat together.
   8. Keep the curds at this temperature for another 15-30 minutes until very small and firm.
   9. Drain the whey by pouring through a cheesecloth lined colander.
  10. Carefully place the drained curds into your cheesecloth lined mold.
  11. Press the cheese at about 10 lbs/4.5 kg for 30 minutes.
  12. Remove the cheese from the press and flip it.
  13. Press the cheese at about 25 lbs/11.4 kg for 12 hours.
  14. Remove the cheese from the press, careful it is still very soft.
  15. Float the cheese in a saturated coldD brine solution for 30 hours. Be certain to flip the cheese over at least three times to ensure even rind development.
  16. Remove cheese from brine and pat dry, you will notice the outer surface has begun to harden.
  17. Place the cheese in your Cheese Cave to age for at least five months (longer for stronger flavor). You will need to flip the cheese over every day for the first two weeks and then at least once weekly or it will dry unevenly.
  18. Place an overturned bowl on top of the cheese after two days. Do not wrap it in plastic or it will not dry properly.
  19. Inspect daily for mold. Should mold develop on the cheese surface, simply remove it using a paper towel dipped in white vinegar.
  20. After three, six and nine months of aging, rub the surface of the cheese with olive oil. Do not wax this cheese.

My final product fell apart in my hands today as I tried to turn the wheel in the brine.  When it all came apart, I was left with very small hard pieces of curd.

I adjusted the recipe above to 3 gallons, I added calcium chloride and mild calf lipase, but for the most part followed the recipe to the letter.  My understanding of step 8 (above)was incorrect in that I did not let the curd sit for the time mentioned.  I mistakenly stirred during this period and I believe this is what caused my wheel to disintegrate in my hands the next day.

Am I correct in my belief that allowing the curds to mat for the last period of time(step brings the curd together and keeps it from falling apart?  Why has the initial recipe not been modified to be more clear about this step if this is what should be done.

Could anything else in the recipe have caused the wheel to have fallen apart the way it did?

Any help here would be appreciated.

Salute!   

[Sailor Con Queso]

Not letting it mat was not your problem. If it was a good make, the curds would have aggressively bonded during pressing. Parm uses a thermophillic culture. With thermos, the pH curve usually accelerates well into pressing and the curds bond like crazy. That's why many people have problems with the cheesecloth sticking. So, the scant evidence suggests that the lactic acid production was below normal. That is, the acid never really kicked in to create aggressive curd binding.

One observation - 3 ounces of starter for a gallon does NOT make sense unless you are using a mother culture. What did you use???

There could be several causes, but I would suspect it began with your starter. It is possible that your generic "Thermophilic Starter" was not the right mix of bacteria. But my guess is that either the culture was old, not very active or you didn't use enough. Using a Primer/Mother Culture really helps resolve these kinds of variables. Even with a low activity starter, a Primer Culture creates a robust environment that guarantees a good start. Here is a link to how to do Primer Cultures.

Primer Culture Photo Essay

[bmckee561]

I used a Thermo culture and I used 1/2 tsp. of it.  My pH of the whey was 4.7 after draining the curd.
In addition, I used and Italian culture along with the mild calf lipase.

Salute!   

[GoChick]

Was calcium chloride added to the brine? I read somewhere  that if using pasteurized milk calcium chloride needs to be added to the brine... is that true and could it have caused the cheese to fall apart, if not used?

[linuxboy]

No, this issue was caused by poor curd knit. The salt, instead of penetrating a bonded mass and diffusing through multiple types of stress points, focused on the weakest stress points and undid the knit.

Many possible issues for the knit:

- curd case hardening from raising temp too hard
- weight too low
- temp too low during press
- poor starter activity
- temp too low during knit
- not fusing while in whey

etc

[bmckee561]

No, this issue was caused by poor curd knit. The salt, instead of penetrating a bonded mass and diffusing through multiple types of stress points, focused on the weakest stress points and undid the knit.

Many possible issues for the knit:

- curd case hardening from raising temp too hard - My curds were squeaky and hard but not rice sized.
- weight too low - I used 8# and pressed in the whey for 30 minutes.  I removed from the press, re-dressed and pressed with 10# for 30 minutes then re-dressed and pressed for 12 hours at 38#
- temp too low during press - How should I have regulated the temp during pressing?  My location was approx. 68F.
- poor starter activity - My starter culture was a Thermophilic purchased from Leeners only a month or two ago and it has been kept in the freezer.
- temp too low during knit - Is knit temp you refer to the time in the whey in step #8 above?
- not fusing while in whey - Is this where the curds rest in step 8 above?  Should I not have stirred the curds for 15 - 30 minutes prior to draining and hooping?

etc

I really appreciate every ones input and look forward to attempting another batch soon.  Not however until I have researched more and understand more of what I am doing.

Salute!   

[linuxboy]

You need rice size curd for parm. You have to cut them small to get the moisture level down. Otherwise, you have to keep stirring and then your acidity schedule is off from the extra time and it tends to shatter and overdry the curds. It's all supposed to work together: the curd size, flocculation, temp, and stir schedules.

Here's the thing about curds and temps. Curds lose moisture from the outside in. Meaning what we call case hardening is not some on/off switch. It always happens when you raise temps. But in most cases, the temp rise is mild enough that it is not an issue. In parm and similar low moisture cheese, when the curds are big and you scald them that high, it tends to lead to uneven moisture in the curds because there's case hardening.

Yes, your weight was too low. And yes, 68 is a bit low for a press temp. You want acidification to continue and for the curds to knit.

Starter was likely fine.

Knit temp and time in whey are different. You can do the initial knit in the whey or not. But as soon as you remove the curds from the whey, they are losing temperature. In the whey, they are the same temp and knit better.

Yes, curd rest is for fusing.

You should have stirred the curds only if you did not hit the moisture targets and needed to agitate more. Otherwise, no, the point of the rest is to let them mat, and to hit the pH target for whey drain. The point of agitation is to encourage the curds to release whey.

Also, did you really wait 45 minutes for a "clean break"? Way too long for a parm. Should be more like 15-20 mins.

I think now that I read this completely that you had case hardening and uneven moisture, combined with low weight and low temp. In a parm, that would produce exactly the phenomenon you saw.

Vac pac and age it anyway, in chunks, it'll still be good after a year .

[bmckee561]

LinuxBoy:

Your explanation of the situation really is quite good.  I can see now that my clean break time was excessive.  It was actually more like 60 minutes!  My curd size was started at 1/4" but never got to rice size and as I recall the curd samples just prior to pressing were hard on the outside but chewy and a bit squeaky (not as much squeak as earlier samples though).  My cellar temp was indeed 68 and maybe even less.  In the next batch creation, I will re-locate to the main kitchen on the first floor of the house where the temperature is more consistent.

What type of yield can I expect using 3 gallons of skim milk?  Will adding a quart of whole milk, increase the yield (is this acceptable)?  Based upon the original recipe above, can you suggest any changes that will improve my potential for producing a Parmesan Cheese?

Thanks again.

Salute!