Chaource - when to add rennet, what starters to try.

[Judi]

Hi

I'm new to Chaource and have a supply of unpasteurised cow's milk.  I've seen several recipes for this kind of cheese and they vary in how much rennet to add (from one drop per gallon to about 2 ml per gallon) and whether to add the starter and the rennet at the same time, or to ripen the milk overnight before adding rennet and leaving it to coagulate.  Any thoughts on which would work best and why?  My first thought is that I should follow the acidity development with a TA titration until it gets to about 50 degrees dornic, then add rennet.
 
Also at the moment I am working with Choozit MA400 and P. candidum.  If the batch goes well, I'd like to refine the starters and am interested to know what you think I should be using.  PLA?  Flora danica?  All advice gratefully received.

thanks
Judi

[Cheese Head]

Hi Judi

Adding a very little amount of rennet will mean that you need to rely primarily on getting a lactic acid curd (commonly used when making higher water content cheeses), adding a lot means you are making a rennet coagulated curd (commonly used when making lower water content cheeses). It depends what you are trying to make, see Wiki: Coagulation for more info on coagulation methods.

Ripening overnight without adding a starter culture I think would only be good for raw milk where you are encouraging the native flora to build and acidify the milk, in which case you could go without a starter culture. Doing this with pasteurized milk could result in unwanted microorganism growth.

On which method is best, depends on what you are trying to achieve, there's a thread here with some info on Chaource where I wrote that one book I had said it is an AOC cheese and is supposed to be made using lactic acid coagulation.

While above is not a great help it's a start.

[Judi]

Thanks John, yes, I had seen that thread and it was very helpful.  I'm not clear whether I should let the milk ripen with the starter for a time before adding rennet.  I've seen some recipes that say add the two virtually simultaneously, I've seen recipes that say let the lactic acid build to 50 degrees dornic before adding rennet!  I've seen people say use one drop of rennet per gallon, I've seen others say that you need 20ml rennet per 100 litres and if you use less than that with cow's milk, the cream all floats to the top and gives you a non-homogeneous curd.

I think I will be doing quite a lot of experiments until I get it right but I was hoping for some sighting shots to make things easier.

thanks
Judi

[Tomer1]

Its a lactic cheese (It says 12 hr min of ripening) which means the acid is the "main coagulator" so
Use the recipe with minimum amount of rennet.
Regarding cream rising to the top,I dont think its a problem like in semi hard and hard cheeses given that the curds are pre drained and may be mixed a bit before moulding.

[Judi]

Thank you!  First experiment is now under way!