Author Topic: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization  (Read 17962 times)

jasonmolinari

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Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« on: September 14, 2011, 09:00:27 PM »
I'm surprised to now see a post on Stracchino.

I've been making it at home using greek yogurt as a culture, but i have some texture issues and was looking for help. If anyone here has made it successfully i can post my method to see if i'm doing something wrong.

The issue i'm having basically is that the cheese texture, instead of being nice and creamy/gummy like the inside of a brie/camembert it's more like a dense cream cheese.

Anyone make it?

smilingcalico

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2011, 09:44:07 PM »
Post your method.  There are members so knowledgeable about cheese, you'll be astounded.  We can't help you if we don't have as much info as possible.

jasonmolinari

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2011, 01:07:01 AM »
1 gallon whole store bought milk.
70g Chobani plain yogurt
1/2 tsp calcium chloride
1/2 tablet rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup distilled water

1) Mix yogurt in a ladle of milk and set aside
2)Add calcium chloride to milk. Bring milk to 92 deg. F
3) Add yogurt slurry, stir well
4) add dissolved rennet tablet, stir 1 minute
5) Move pot to keep at ~ 90 degrees.
6) clean break came after about 80-90 minutes
7) Cut into large cubes (about 3"x3"x4").
8) Let sit in whey for 10 minutes
9) Gently scoop into perforated tupperware
10) Let drain at room temp (77 deg.) for 3 hours. Flip. Salt. Let drain 3 more hours.
11) put into curing chamber at 55F/80% RH for 12 hours
12) Put into 20% brine for 40 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through
13) Put in curing chamber at 55F/80% in a closed tuppeware with the cheeses raised on a sushi mat to allow draining for 24 hours
14) Put in regular fridge. Eat.

As i said, the flavor is good, a little salty (will adjust brine time next time), but the texture is wrong. Traditionally stracchino is very soft and moist, like a really soft brie, so it has that melty texture even at fridge temps, but it tastes like a tangy fresh milk b/c it's a fresh cheese. My cheese is not gooey at all. Its like a dry cream cheese..

Help!

smilingcalico

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2011, 04:54:36 AM »
My first impression is that it over acidified due to the length of time you had to wait for a clean break.  Rennet tablets, according to many folks here, are unreliable if one doesn't know how old they might be, or how well kept.  I have only ever used double strength liquid rennet, and have not had issues with it.  I'll see about researching stracchino a bit more, as I have not made it.  Have you used those rennet tabs in other cheeses with success?  The other thing is, if those tabs are fine, the milk could be the issue.  Many folks avoid HTST pasteurized milk, as well as homogenized.  Those 2 processes really can degrade the quality of milk for cheese making, and often result in weak curd formation. 
Edit:  My phone changed HTST to GRAY, I have made the correction above.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2011, 06:06:52 PM by smilingcalico »

smilingcalico

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2011, 05:30:22 AM »
As an addendum, our whole milk may still not have enough fat, as it may often come from dairies that aren't pasturing their animals.  As most of our dairy land is also pretty flat, it might be difficult to find the quality of milk that stracchino calls for.  Your best bet for milk would likely be raw whole milk, but you may find adding a little cream to the milk may help.

Offline Gürkan Yeniçeri

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2011, 06:40:55 AM »
I think only culprit here is the store bought milk.

You are getting a good curd with the tablet so that can not be it.

Try this and let me know if it is going to change the texture. I didn't have time to try the method yet but some industry expert says it is a good one.

jasonmolinari

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2011, 10:58:32 AM »
thanks guys. Unfortunately i don't have access to raw milk. I do have access to a non-homogenized grassfed milk, but at $4/quart i'd rather not experiment with it.

I will try adding some cream to it, i have seen that as a suggestion. I've also been told to raise the temp to about 100-104 before adding the rennet...i'll try that as well.

I don't make any other cheese (yet:) ) this is the one i want to make for now. I just got the tabs, so on my side, they're fresh.

Gurkan, that link doesn't go anywhere, it goes to the main forum. Can you try again?

thanks, any further ideas welcome.


Offline Boofer

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2011, 02:59:43 PM »
Seems like a half tablet of rennet is overkill for one gallon of milk.

6) clean break came after about 80-90 minutes
You might check into using the flocculation method to determine when to cut. Search on it.

So I guess the difference between Stracchino and Taleggio is that Taleggio is a washed-rind and Stracchino is not?

-Boofer-
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Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

jasonmolinari

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2011, 03:01:41 PM »
Seems like a half tablet of rennet is overkill for one gallon of milk.

6) clean break came after about 80-90 minutes
You might check into using the flocculation method to determine when to cut. Search on it.

So I guess the difference between Stracchino and Taleggio is that Taleggio is a washed-rind and Stracchino is not?

-Boofer-

I'm no cheesemaking export, or even novice, but that's what it seems like to me, yes. Stracchino seems like an un-aged un-washed taleggio. They taste nothing alike of course.

I'll look into the floculation method. Hope it doesnt' require equipment.

thank you.

Offline fied

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #9 on: September 15, 2011, 03:26:07 PM »
If you're only heating to 90F you need to use a meso. culture. Yoghurt is a thermo. culture and only really works best at temperatures above 92F. The recipe I have heats the milk to 96.8F/36C before adding the culture.

Also, your rennet is very high for 1 gallon of milk: 1 tab. will coagulate c. 50Ltrs milk, so even a quarter will be more than you need - more like 1/8 - 1/6th is needed. I don't use tab. rennet, but fresh liquid, and for this amount of milk would probably use less than half a tsp.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2011, 01:48:00 PM by fied »

jasonmolinari

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #10 on: September 15, 2011, 03:31:05 PM »
If you're only heating to 90F you need to use a meso. culture. Yoghurt is a thermo. culture and only really works at temperatures above 92F. The recipe I have heats the milk to 96.8F/36C before adding the culture. Also, your rennet is high for 1 gallon of milk.

Understood. The cheese i'm told uses a thermo culture, so maybe i didn't activate the culture by keeping the temp so low. Thanks.

I should have used about 1/2 that amount of rennet, but i wanted to make sure i got a set given past issues with Junket rennet. I can deal with some bitterness from excess rennet if that is the only issue. I want to get the texture right.

thanks

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #11 on: September 16, 2011, 03:08:16 AM »
I'll look into the floculation method. Hope it doesnt' require equipment.
Matter of fact it does...a lightweight bowl or empty yogurt container.  ;)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

smilingcalico

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2011, 03:31:56 AM »
There is a false notion going on all over the forum that I'd like to clear up.  People seem to think that thermophilic cultures are totally inactive at lower than the recommended temperatures.  That is wholly untrue.  They are active at mesophilic temperatures.  Quite so.  Do they thrive?  Again, quite so.  But, they do have an optimal temperature range in which they perform their best, above that of mesophilic cultures.

smilingcalico

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Re: Stracchino Cheese Making Recipe - Optimization
« Reply #13 on: September 16, 2011, 05:27:56 AM »
By the way, there is a good little discussion here http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6505.msg46408.html#msg46408 about using thermos in a meso make.  I'm sure there are more, but this one is fresh in my mind.

Offline Gürkan Yeniçeri

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