Question on effect of temperature of washing water

[MrsKK]

Without having to experiment with different temperatures when making a cheese, can anyone tell me what the effect is when using cold vs hot water for washing the curd?

My Colby recipes heat the curd first, then have me wash with cold water to bring the temp down.  The Havarti recipes basically cook the curd by adding hot water.

Of course, these cheeses have other different methods, so they are not a direct comparison.

Just curious and am interested in a more scientific explanation of what is going on here.  TIA!

[Sailor Con Queso]

Hot water shrinks and "cooks" the curds with a quick but controlled temperature rise. When doing a traditional cooked curd cheese, you heat slowly until you reach the target temp. With a washed curd, you remove 1/3 of the whey to eliminate a big portion of the lactose available to the bacteria and then pour in the hot wash water. This instantly raises the temperature of the curds instead of stretching it out over a longer period of time. The result is that the curds develop a "skin" on the surface very quickly - trapping moisture inside. The amount of moisture trapped in the curds depends on the temperature of the wash water and how quickly it is added - all at once or in stages.

In the case of Colby, the cold water simply slows the "cooking" rate after the curds have cooked a bit.

[MrsKK]

I guess what I'm really wanting to know is what the difference is in the end result?  Flavor, texture, paste, etc.

Thanks!

[Sailor Con Queso]

All of the above. If you just wash with cold water you won't get the cooking effect on the curds necessary for a particular style. Even just a few degrees deviation from a recipe can drastically effect the flavor, texture, and paste. In general, the higher the temperature for cooking, the firmer the paste, like all of the thermo cheeses for example. However, that being said, there are lots of cheeses that are not cooked at all - Stilton & Lancashire for example. So.... if you wash with just cold water you would end up with a super moist, semi-hard cheese with a creamy paste. Sounds yummy. Give it a try. I would consider this a fresh cheese that will ripen quickly.

It's like making brownies. Undercooked they are soft and cake like. Overcooked they can be hard and crunchy.

[MrsKK]

Thanks, Sailor!  so maybe I should just go ahead and do some experimentation to see what I come up with.

Thanks again.

[medomak]

Sailor,

As I read through the thread, you touch on something I've been wondering/thinking about, but I'm left a little confused.

You state that:

hot wash water.... instantly raises the temperature of the curds instead of stretching it out over a longer period of time. The result is that the curds develop a "skin" on the surface very quickly - trapping moisture inside.

  , but then go on to suggest that

In general, the higher the temperature for cooking, the firmer the paste, like all of the thermo cheeses for example. However, that being said, there are lots of cheeses that are not cooked at all - Stilton & Lancashire for example. So.... if you wash with just cold water you would end up with a super moist, semi-hard cheese with a creamy paste.

The way I read the first statement, I would expect that with a hot wash, the curds would have more moisture inside and therefore end up with a moister, creamier paste in the end. 

I'm relatively new to this, so am I thinking about 'moisture in the curd' the wrong way?  I've assumed more moisture left in the curd during the cooking process  leads to moister and creamier pastes.  And I think you are suggesting here that by using hot water,and creating a skin on the curd, you are trapping more moisture in the curd.  Can you help me better understand?  Moister and creamier pastes is one of the things I've been trying to achieve.

Thanks for your help.

Dave

[Sailor Con Queso]

Those 2 statements are really unrelated but work together.

The first statement is about washed curd cheeses, not higher temperature cooking (like a Parmesan or Swiss). Normally curds are slowly heated up to cooking temp over a 30 to 60 minute time frame. However, when you do a washed curd like a Gouda, hot water (say 140F) is quickly added to the curds. If you watch, those curds quickly develop a skin and start to shrink. One of the results is to trap moisture in the curd. That's ONE of the reasons that a 60 day Gouda is softer. Washing with cold water will not accomplish the same things, and you should not wash a cheese if the recipe doesn't call for it. There are many other factors (like acidity) that influence the final moisture and texture.

Washing removes lactose so less acid is developed. THAT's more significant to the process. As a Gouda ages, that moisture biochemically dissipates during proteolysis. The cheese develops much more flavor, but it also loses the moist texture over time.