Author Topic: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd  (Read 7239 times)

judyp

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Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« on: July 21, 2011, 08:46:51 PM »
I am making Parmesian cheese and this is the 2nd time I've made cheese where I've had this problem.  After adding the rennet to the milk (90 degrees) and stirring it in as it says, but the curd doesn't make a nice texture like tofu, it's more lumpy, not able to be cut cleanly and like ricotta cheese.  I used mesophilic starter 8 oz. for 4 gallons of milk; 1 tsp. double strength rennet. 

A while back, I tried Monterey Jack cheese and had this happen.  When I wrote to the technical support department, I was told the version of the book I was using had an error in that recipe and I didn't have enough milk for the ingredients I was using.

I am wondering if the amount of meso. culture has anything to do with this problem. 

Can I salvage my 4 gallons of milk and turn it into some other kind of cheese that will taste good?  (This is fresh goat's milk)
Thanks so much!!!!!
Judy

linuxboy

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2011, 09:08:04 PM »
What recipe? Any idea of acidity?

Offline Gürkan Yeniçeri

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2011, 09:35:51 PM »
Happened to me twice because I waited too much and acidity increased.

I continued the recipe though. It turned out to be a cheese but not the recipe I was trying. A name change was in order.  8)

judyp

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2011, 02:16:36 AM »
The recipe was for Parmesian from Ricki Carol's book.  I did not test the acidity.  I did, h.owever, run an errand after adding the rennet.  I was gone about 45 min. instead of 30 min.  It sat a little big longer than it should have. 

I made a batch of 30-min. mozzarella tonight.  It, too, did not turn out right.  I followed the directions, doubling it, but not doubling the rennet which was double strength.  It started out looking like it should and stretching correctly and then after I dipped it in the whey that I was making Ricotta from it started falling apart (that whey was the whey from the "flopped" parmesian...hmmmmmm.  Anyway, it quit stretching like taffy and it got shiny.  It started sticking to my gloves and wouldn't form a ball...just a glob.  I decided to put it in the refrigerator and leave it alone.  I did add salt to it.  It tastes very good, but it's soft.  My kids think it's the best cheese yet. 

Could the whey have been too acidic and caused my mozzarella to have been soft and not stretch correctly? 


judyp

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2011, 02:20:49 AM »
Ohhhhh I just found another mistake I made!!  As I read another post about the thermophilic culture, I thought I wonder if my recipe called for that....sure enough it calls for THERMOPHILIC not MESO!!!!  I put Mesophilic in my cheese.  Would this have caused all the problem or did something else still go wrong? 

 O0 ::)

Offline Gürkan Yeniçeri

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2011, 03:39:31 AM »
Hi Judy,

Probably something else has still gone wrong. Have you ever used Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) to increase the yield and to get a good curd?

I did 30min mozzarella many times and used microwave. Also couple of times the curd was like ricotta and not like solid but turned out to be a good mozzarella.

How old is your rennet?

judyp

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2011, 04:29:59 AM »
The rennet is new.  It's kept in the refrigerator, but I don't always use this particular one.....it's from Hoegger goat supplies and it was not labeled double strength.  I called to inquire whether or not it was and was told yes, ds.  I've been using it as if it was double strength, not doubling the rennet for my recipes.




Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2011, 01:41:13 PM »
Judy - you need to explore the flocculation technique so you know how your milk and rennet are working together.

Trey Magnus

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2011, 03:01:01 PM »
I am new to this but does anyone else not see a problem with 8 oz. of starter for only 4 gallons of milk?  Was this powdered or a mother culture?

linuxboy

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2011, 03:23:35 PM »
Mother. Corresponds to a ~1.5% bulk inoculation. For parm, this is about average with a mother system. Real parm uses siero innesto (whey starter system) at a rate of around 1.5%, but siero innesto does not have as much bacteria as a milk-based mother. So no, it's not a problem.

judyp

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2011, 06:11:08 PM »
I don't know what the flocculation method is.  Do you have a link to it?  This is the first time I used a mother culture and not powder.  What does the rennet do?  What if it's too strong?  Not strong enough?  Does Double strength really mean double strength or does it matter who might be selling it?  This is the first time I purchased rennet from this company.  I'm using it with soft cheese at about 1.5 strength, even though it is suppose to be double strength.  I first did this by accident and it turned out good, so I've been doing that ever since on the soft cheeses.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2011, 06:33:42 PM »
Search the forum on flocculation.

tnbquilt

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2011, 11:19:04 PM »
I think it sounds like the milk. Have you made cheese with this milk before and it worked fine? If that is true then my theory is all washed up. I tried 4 or 5 kinds of milk before I found one that makes a nice curd. 30 minute mozzarella is not a good thing to judge by, it has citric acid added to it instead of culture and that's different theory from making cheese with culture.

Cheese Head

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2011, 04:18:21 AM »
judyp, the rennet Flocculation Method is in our Wiki: When to Cut article. I live in Houston Texas and only use cheap store bought p/h cow's milk from large grocery stores and have never had a problem getting a good rennet coagulation.

MrsKK

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Re: Coagulation, Rennet - Raw Goat Milk, Lumpy Curd
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2011, 01:26:09 PM »
How long are you stirring after adding the rennet?  Some recipes say 2-5 minutes, for example, but the milk should only be stirred for 20-30 seconds after adding rennet.  The bonding starts happening as soon as you add rennet and if you stir for a long time, it damages the coagulation.

Sorry if you already know that.  I hope you get it figured out soon.  Is it only Parmesan that you are having this issue with?