Hello, everyone!
I'm not really sure where to put this & I hope I'm in the right spot. I have a couple of questions...
I've been making paneer, labneh, butter, lactic cheese for about a year now & I really enjoy it! I made a comment over Thanksgiving dinner that I would like to learn to make other varieties of cheeses & for Christmas I got a cheesemaking kit!
So far, I've made feta several times-a couple brined & a couple were eaten after only a couple of days when friends talked me into serving them with the tapas I made for craft night (I'm weak-willed!). I was pleasantly surprised & happy those turned out pretty good, even with no aging. I've also made ricotta several times. I'm one of those a little bit obsessive people that jump in with both feet when I have my mind wrapped around a project or hobby. So, I finally talked myself (maybe foolishly!) into making parmesan. Mostly cos I'm impatient. I used a combination of the recipe here & also one of DeejayDebi's (sp?), as well as Wayne's. Everything went well (should've made me suspicious!) until after I dried it from brining & saw a couple of cracks. Now, I could kick myself for not checking every time I flipped-pressed, but I didn't want to handle it too much cos I was really nervous. I don't think it's from brining, as all other sides are crack-free, maybe something with the knitting?
So, my first question: Is this salvageable? If so, what can I do?
I've been reading the forums like a madwoman & realize that there are obviously specific cultures needed for certain cheeses. And some seem "generic". I have been taking notes (the old fashioned pen-to-notebook way) cos I'm one of those that like to have everything organized, charted & ledgered. For now, I've got printed recipes in the notebook, along with flocc time, ph's, etc. & notes in them about what I observed as I did every step (I always loved chem & bio lab!). Which brings me to my...
Second question (more like and 3rd, 4th, etc): Are there certain cultures that are more "desirable" to use when making certain cheeses? From what I've read, seems like a certain culture can be used for more than one type. However, are there certain ones that are used to achieve that specific piquancy, tang, etc? From what I read, there seems to be a personal preference...like one culture is interchangeable with another, but is it more preferred cos of the end result?
I don't know if it will help answer the one above but these are what I have: C1, C2, C3, C101, C201 & a packet of Choozit LH100.
Ugh. I have a feeling I probably sound like an idiot! My husband tells me I should just do it by as-you-make & do my research one cheese at a time. I'm hoping, armed with these information, I'd be able to do some at-a-glance reading of my notes, as opposed to the hours-frantically-searching-online, eyes weepy from extreme reading kind of situation.
Anyway, thank you in advance. I probably say that quite a bit, but I'm just really grateful that you guys are so generous with your knowledge. I would be fumbling about even worse if not for this website!
Steff