Salt, Amount For Making Cheese (If Not Defined In Recipe)

[fooey]

I don't know how much salt to add to my cheeses.

The book I'm using (Carroll) just says "Cheese Salt (optional)", but never specifies a quantity. 

Are there any reliable rules one can use to determine how much salt to add to an amount of cheese? (I searched the forums, but didn't find what I was looking for.) Note that I don't trust my tongue, as it has a habit of encouraging the addition of too much salt.

I'm currently making soft cheeses like cream cheese and American Neufchatel, but will move on to hard ones once I get a cheese press.

I'm using kosher salt, not cheese salt, so that could be why my soft cheeses don't taste salty enough: not enough dispersion because of the large granule size, perhaps?

[Cheese Head]

All good cheese making recipes should have the amount of salt as it is very important in aged cheeses, see Wiki: Salt's Function. Sorry can't help you on amounts, should be in the recipe. For Cream Cheese & Light Cream Cheese (American Neufchatel) I don't use any salt, I believe it is really only for taste.

The type of salt used is also important, and yes large grain "Kosher" salt will melt and disperse slowly, see our Wiki: Salt Types & Wiki: Dry Salting Curds.

[KosherBaker]

Hi Michael (again)

I've posed this very question to Linuxboy and Francois and the reply from Linuxboy was that there are just too many variables to come up with a general formula that will fit every cheese. So he suggested to do what you just did and post it as a question. Of course, you'll need to do this for every new cheese style you make. Unless, of course, the recipe provides you with clear directions, as John mentioned.
Also, I feel that salt should always be weighed rather than used in volume measurements, as different types of salts take up different volumes for a given weight. And it is the weight that controls the level of salinity.

[smilingcalico]

KosherBaker makes a good point on weighing salt, but as a general rule, I use 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt per pound of soft cheese. If I'm salting curds by hand for a hard cheese I use 1 tablespoon per gallon of milk, so roughly a tablespoon per pound of curd.  Adjust this where you need to.

[fooey]

Thanks all.

You'll laugh, put I put some of the kosher salt in a coffee grinder and pulverized it before adding to the Neufchatel. That made a distinct difference, so I'm think, as John said, that granule size is key for distribution and taste.

To the cream cheese (that I semi-ruined with too much rennet)[I threw it away this morning], I must have added 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt to little effect. That was a surprise, considering 4 cups heavy cream, 4 cups whole were used as base. A lot of salt for 8 cups!

[fooey]

All good cheese making recipes should have the amount of salt as it is very important in aged cheeses, see Wiki: Salt's Function.

I'm growing rather discontent with the recipes in Carroll's book. Too much reading in between the lines, too much ("optional"), not enough precision. I haven't given up entirely on it, but I'm going to review the books in the book forum and try to find a few more to my liking.

[iratherfly]

Fooey, rule of thumb is usually between 2% to 3% of the cheese weight.  That takes into account that the cheese will expell some of it in whey and drainage during osmosis.  If you are not sure, do your first batch at 2.5%.  This is assuming you are salting and not brining. Smaller cheese may be more sensitive to salt so it's more towards the 2%.

Not a fan of Ricki's books either. Try 200 easy cheeses and fill in the blanks by using this forum

[fooey]

Fooey, rule of thumb is usually between 2% to 3% of the cheese weight.

I'm pointing and chastising my cheese book with, "See! A number! Between 2-3% by weight. How hard was that? Hmmmmmm?"

[iratherfly]

And did the book learn his lesson? 

[linuxboy]

If you want generalities:

chevre and similar fresh lactic or semi-lactic curd: 0.8-1.0
Bloomy rind types: 1.0-1.6%, depending on style
Milled curd types like cheddar: 1.8-2.2%
continental types: 1.6-2.0%
various cheese with eyes: 0.7-0.9%
pasta filata types: 1.2-2.0%, wide range here
Blues: 2.2-3.5%

2.5% for a fresh lactic cheese is about average, the salt helps to balance the acidity. A little high to my personal taste, I use less salt. I'll use about 2.5% for a higher fat lactic curd.

[KosherBaker]

If you want generalities:

chevre and similar fresh lactic or semi-lactic curd: 0.8-1.0
Bloomy rind types: 1.0-1.6%, depending on style
Milled curd types like cheddar: 1.8-2.2%
continental types: 1.6-2.0%
various cheese with eyes: 0.7-0.9%
pasta filata types: 1.2-2.0%, wide range here
Blues: 2.2-3.5%

2.5% for a fresh lactic cheese is about average, the salt helps to balance the acidity. A little high to my personal taste, I use less salt. I'll use about 2.5% for a higher fat lactic curd.

Thanks LB. This went straight into my notes collection. Great post.

I'm pointing and chastising my cheese book with, "See! A number! Between 2-3% by weight. How hard was that? Hmmmmmm?"

Hmmmmmm. I think it may be time to put this book in the freezer.

[iratherfly]

Yes Linuxboy, good note. Just to clarify - my comment about 2%-3% was how much salting you actually do and not the salt content in the cheese. Obviously much of the salt stays behind and some extracts whey and drains with it in osmosis, eventually ending each cheese type in its own salt contents. My comment was also only related to hand salting, not to brine.

[fooey]

Yes Linuxboy, good note. Just to clarify - my comment about 2%-3% was how much salting you actually do and not the salt content in the cheese. Obviously much of the salt stays behind and some extracts whey and drains with it in osmosis, eventually ending each cheese type in its own salt contents. My comment was also only related to hand salting, not to brine.

I read your comment as, "If I have 1000 grams of curds, add 20-30 grams salt." Is that what you meant?

[fooey]

If you want generalities:

chevre and similar fresh lactic or semi-lactic curd: 0.8-1.0
Bloomy rind types: 1.0-1.6%, depending on style
Milled curd types like cheddar: 1.8-2.2%
continental types: 1.6-2.0%
various cheese with eyes: 0.7-0.9%
pasta filata types: 1.2-2.0%, wide range here
Blues: 2.2-3.5%

2.5% for a fresh lactic cheese is about average, the salt helps to balance the acidity. A little high to my personal taste, I use less salt. I'll use about 2.5% for a higher fat lactic curd.

Thanks, linuxboy.

Do you mean percentage by weight of curds?

chevre and similar fresh lactic or semi-lactic curd: 8 to 10 grams salt per kilo of curds.
Bloomy rind types: 10 to 16 grams salt per kilo of curds.
Milled curd types like cheddar: 18 to 22 grams salt per kilo of curds.
continental types: 16 to 20 grams salt per kilo of curds.
various cheese with eyes: 7 to 9 grams salt per kilo of curds.
pasta filata types: 12 to 20 grams salt per kilo of kurds.
Blues: 22 to 35 grams salt per kilo of curds.

Not what linuxboy meant, so adding strikethrough so no one mistakes my gram weight per kilo numbers for correct advice.

[linuxboy]

I meant final salt content in cheese when it goes into the cave.