Author Topic: How to measure Shermanii  (Read 5360 times)

berrys66

  • Guest
How to measure Shermanii
« on: January 31, 2011, 02:12:18 PM »
The Shermanii I ordered has arrived and now I am in a bit of a quandry. The packet says that it is enough for 2500 litres of milk, and contains approximately 15g. I was planning on trying out making a swiss style cheese with 4.5 litres (1 gallon) to see how it goes. On the manufacturers recconing that works out at something like 27mg, so I'm not sure how I am going to measure something that small. Conversely, if I work it backwards from the advice available on Shermanii use here, and figure that I need around 1/32 tsp that would work out at the packet containing 17 tsp, which it most definitely doesn't (considerably less I would say). The culture is manufactured by a German company "Innovative Products" (IP Ingredients GmbH) and is labeled "Propionibakt. PX". Any advice on using this would be most gratefully appreciated.

Sailor Con Queso

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2011, 05:06:32 PM »
Measuring small weights is difficult for most hobbyists, so you are probably better off measuring volume. The amount of PS that you need depends on the cheese. Swiss, Baby Swiss, Gruyere - have different needs. For a conventional Swiss, your 1/32 tsp is correct. One word of wisdom though, small wheels of Swiss are not the best idea. You will have much better results if you do larger cheeses. I would suggest at least 4 gallons.

berrys66

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2011, 05:26:55 PM »
Genius! Yes, measuring volume sounds like the way to go. I can probably botch something together using a clear plastic biro and a small funnel and mark out graduations on the biro.

Quote
One word of wisdom though, small wheels of Swiss are not the best idea. I would suggest at least 4 gallons.
Indeed. I'eve read most of the posts in the Swiss forum and am aware that I will probably get very small eyes, or no eyes at all, or possibly even have the cheese crack/explode, but you've gotta try! I would dearly love to be able to make cheese from 4 gallons at a time, but the largest pan we have is probably only a bit more than 2 gallons and we simply don't have space to store anything bigger :(

berrys66

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #3 on: January 31, 2011, 05:40:08 PM »
Another quick question on Shermanii - typically, what is the consistency? Are we talking something with a grain size like icing sugar, table salt, granulated sugar, or bigger? This would make a difference for volume measurement using a thin tube ...

Sailor Con Queso

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2011, 12:30:34 AM »
Berry,

I didn't mean to suggest that you should divide up your DVI culture by volume. Just keep it simple and measure out 1/32 tsp (or whatever) as you need it.

PS is a pretty fine powder.

A 5 gallon stockpot makes a nice footstool if you don't have anyplace to store it. :o ...or an end table, or a step stool, or a plant stand, or ... There's ALWAYS room for bigger pots.

berrys66

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2011, 12:34:12 PM »
What about mixing a quarter teaspoon (which I can measure accurately) with 8 tablespoons of water and freezing as 8 ice cubes? Or am I likely to kill the bacteria doing that?

A 5 gallon stockpot makes a nice footstool if you don't have anyplace to store it. :o ...or an end table, or a step stool, or a plant stand, or ... There's ALWAYS room for bigger pots.

I'll have to talk to the Mrs. about that. :D

Sailor Con Queso

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2011, 03:02:17 PM »
PS can't be managed like a Mother Culture, so there is no real value to freezing in cubes. That just increases your risk of contamination.

There are Tad-Dash-Pinch measuring spoons available that make measuring small amounts easier. For example, I use a "dash" when making Mother Cultures.

Tad = 1/8th tsp
Dash = 1/16th tsp
Pinch = 1/24th tsp
Smidgen (Smidge) = 1/32nd tsp
Drop = 1/60th tsp

Offline Boofer

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Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #7 on: February 02, 2011, 03:30:07 AM »
Those spoons sure saved me a lot of headaches. Where else can you get a 1/32nd measure?

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

berrys66

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #8 on: February 02, 2011, 10:26:14 AM »
They look great, and Amazon.co.uk sell them too ... I feel yet another purchase coming on.

victoras_h

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2011, 12:39:42 PM »
Hi Berry,

Hope you still browse around here. Did you have any success with the swiss?

Can you share the info about the company where you bought the proprionic culture from. I can't find the shop with the details from the first post.

Tomer1

  • Guest
Re: How to measure Shermanii
« Reply #10 on: October 28, 2011, 01:08:34 PM »
Get yourself a chinese 0.01 gram scale from ebay for less then 5$ shipped,
Ive been reliably using one for measuring additives and cultures for winemaking and also for cheese (lipase,cultures and calcium).

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PS can't be managed like a Mother Culture, so there is no real value to freezing in cubes. That just increases your risk of contamination.
Isnt PS a contaminant in essence? :)