Washing Curds - Why Not Just Rinse Curds In Water?

[smilingcalico]

Is there a functional difference between washing curd such as in a Gouda make by removing some whey and replacing it with water, or by simply draining the whey then rinsing the curd with water?
It seems like the former would remove more lactose than the latter.  Would rinsing the curd have much affect?

[smilingcalico]

I was going to grab some curds out of the vat today and just rinse them, but I forgot.  Next week.  The only bummer is that I'll have to wait two months after that to answer the question.  If someone has any knowledge on this, I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for your hamburger of wisdom today.

[Tomer1]

By removing whey your further diluting the lactose concentration.

[smilingcalico]

So Tomer, are you saying that curd rinsing after draining would actually remove MORE lactose than removing some whey and diluting with water? Sorry, I just want to be clear.

[smilingcalico]

In some searching I found this post:
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5978.msg43220.html#msg43220
LinuxBoy talks about the difference. Curd washing like a Gouda is more about lactose removal, whereas post draining curd washing is more about calcium removal, though it will remove some lactose as well).
This made sense to me as I thought about it, a feta, if kept in a brine without calcium, will leach calcium and become soft.  Likewise, a slimy surface will develop on a cheese that is brined in a solution without enough calcium.

[Tomer1]

Ah sorry didnt follow properly,
I thought your were compering adding water vs removing whey and replacing with same volume of water.

[zenith1]

another functional reason is to adjust the temperature of the curd mass. This controls the amount of moisture in the curd.

[smilingcalico]

Hey, no problem, Tomer.  I wondered if the way I asked the question wasn't clear.  You taught me it wasn't!  I always appreciate your input.  Thanks.

[linuxboy]

This controls the amount of moisture in the curd.

Yes, removing calcium also does this, it helps keep the curd bloated. And yes, as I said before, one is about lactose, the other about calcium/moisture.