Hello I registered at this forum in November 2010, when I was beginning to learn about cheese making but then I stopped doing it during last year. As it's clear my English writing is poor but I'll do my best.
Now I decided to begin with an easy cheese and keep doing it till I get good results in several tests. I want an easy cheese to begin so I chose stracchino, a cheese I've first met in Italy where I've lived for two years 13 years ago.
Stracchino also known as crescenza is a type of Italian cow’s-milk cheese it is eaten very young, has no rind and a very soft, creamy texture and normally a mild and delicate flavor. It is normally square in form.
I use this recipe from an Italian forum
http://www.forumdiagraria.org/ which I am very grateful.
Ingredients
4 liters whole milk.
Rennet
Starter cultures
Salt
PROCEDURE
*Warm milk to 65 |C pasteurization
*Cold to 37| C- 42 °
*Add salt 1 % ( 40 gr) This is recommended but it can salted in brine bath or dry salt
*Add starter cultures (Streptococcus termophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (or 1, 5 % yogurt or 1 % termophile milk culture).
Add rennet to coagulate in 30 minutes.
Cut the curds into pieces 8- 10 cm wait 25 minutes
Cut nut size and stir gently, wait 5 to 10 minutes.
Very gently scoop curds into the molds I used two plastic pudding bowls with holes.
“Stufatura “(drain and mature) for 3 – 4 hours in a warm oven, (I put a light on the oven to create 30° C and some warm water for a high humidity. The cheese mustn't touch the whey. You have to turn them over 3 or 4 times during this period.
Mature in the fridge for 2 days being carefully that it doesn't touch the whey and cover.
After two days it's ready. It's a soft cheese milky taste.
This is my first proof; the result was good but a little salty. Moreover I had problems with the rennet because its expiration date was November 2011 and it didn't coagulated after 30 minute and I put another dose and it took 2 hours to coagulate.
I've just bought a new one and I will repeat it, my idea is to keep doing this cheese till I'll get the same result for tree times.