Author Topic: Coagulation, Rennet - Insufficient Amount, Impact On Cheese?  (Read 1490 times)

Homestead

  • Guest
Coagulation, Rennet - Insufficient Amount, Impact On Cheese?
« on: February 03, 2011, 11:22:08 PM »
I made a blunder today.  I've been making some good cheese and decided to move onto bigger wheels of cheese.  Well, long story short, I didn't add enough rennet for the size batch.  It took about 2 hours to get a clean break.  I went ahead with the cheese but wonder what problems will arise from the long time.  Will this cheese still be edible :)  What should I do now?

Sailor Con Queso

  • Guest
Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Insufficient Amount, Impact On Cheese?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2011, 12:32:19 AM »
The cheese will be fine, but will take MUCH longer to age.

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Insufficient Amount, Impact On Cheese?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2011, 12:36:11 AM »
Hi MM, in addition to Sailor's feedback, I think it all depends on your process after cutting the curd (which is dependant on the type of cheese you are making) and what corrections you made to get sufficient syneresis and whey removal to get the correct moisture content.

Assuming your previous makes were the same type of cheese, does this cheese feel as dense/solid as previous of softer/moister?

Homestead

  • Guest
Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Insufficient Amount, Impact On Cheese?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2011, 01:29:38 AM »
I really have to laugh at myself now.  I was going to make a gouda and go with lower temps and larger curd....which now I think given the problem was the wrong thing to do.  I cut the curds large and used the min heat levels.  I pressed with low pressure (because all of the curds wouldn't fit in the mold)  then increased.  I had a really hard time flipping the curds due to the softness of the set.  I got a really well formed rind which stuck to the cheese cloth and made it much more interesting to redress and flip.  I have it pressing as we speak.  I'm calling it Franken Cheese :)  Given this cheese I'm wondering if the other "good" cheeses were just luck!  What should I do now as far as pressing and aging?

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Insufficient Amount, Impact On Cheese?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2011, 03:16:33 AM »
There is some info and remedies for cloth mold/hoop liners sticking to cheese during pressing in the Wiki: Pressing Cheeses article. Also, if you search the forum on "sticking" you should be able to find a few hits.

Going forward on pressing you could up the pressure/weight but once that dehydrated rind is formed you will not expel much more whey but just get a better knit.

My Gouda's after pressing are quite soft/springy, if yours is like that then good, if softer then you may want to try and air dry it longer before aging, just be very careful that your ambient humidity isn't too low otherwise you'll get surface cracks like in the Wiki: Surface Defects, Cracks article.