Comte-protein to fat in milk

[ANDREARK]

Hi y'all,

I want to make a Comte and I need to know what kind of milk to use.

Chasermom

[linuxboy]

IIRC, the real thing is somewhere around 1.1. They skim some of the fat. Swiss version (not comte, it's swiss gruyere, but really similar) is lower, about 1.0, or for winter milk even lower at .90-.92. It does depend on the season.

If you're talking commercial varieties that are mass produced and the milk is standardized, they push up the protein content to a standard of about 1.15.

This is definitely a high protein, low moisture cheese. You need to hit at least .9 to be in the ballpark of the right flavor. They lose a decent amount of fat in the whey at .9 when making it in chalets, that's why it works. And commercially, the protein is pushed up to help with the yield.

[ANDREARK]

I want to use a Jersey raw.  What should I do to make it usable for this?  If I skim will I lose protein
also?  I can also get Jersey skim.  What about this?

Thanks

Chasermom

[linuxboy]

Yes, you can use straight Jersey, but it needs to be skimmed way back to 3.6-4.0% fat. Yes, you do lose a bit of protein if you skim the fat, but it's not drastic.

How much fat is in the Jersey skim? One good approach is to combine the two so you hit the proper target.

[ANDREARK]

The skim is .5 and the whole is 4.9.  If I combine 3 of the whole and 1 skim, it would average about 3.8.

I think, but not sure, that the protein in Jersey whole is 3.6ish.  What would using 1/4 skim do to
the protein level?

Chasermom

[ANDREARK]

I have a better question.  Where does the protein in milk liver?  Is it in the water or
attached to the fat some way (not whey)?

The reason I ask, is if it is 'with' the fat, it would be reduced also with skim. And in
that case, the whole/skim mix would be too low in protein.  Any way to
bolster that?  I have read that you can increase protein by adding dry milk.  But
that sounds yukky.

Chasermom

[linuxboy]

Where does the protein in milk live?

Everywhere. It is held in colloidal suspension by the charge of the casein micelles.

  Is it in the water or
attached to the fat some way (not whey)?

Technically, neither. It's distributed evenly. Now fat, on the other hand, when unhomogenized, is not distributed evenly.

it would be reduced also with skim.

Not really, no. Some protein is removed during skimming, but not a significant amount.

[ANDREARK]

Great! 

Then I will skim some for the Comte.

Chasermom