Adding extra rennet...flocc time?

[max1]

Hi all,

I am currently making a washed rind cheese.  I added, after ripening milk to 6.55, 5 drops of rennet per liter of milk (5x6liters).  After 20 mins I still had not obtained flocculation and the milk was still very liquid.  So I decided to add another 6 drops and stirred it in.  I obtained flocculation 5 minutes after that.  My question is, what is my flocculation time?  5min or 25-30 min?  How long should I wait before cutting?

I probably won't have an answer in time but thought I'd put this out there anyway.

Thanks!

[linuxboy]

Your floc is 15-18 mins. Wait for total ~50 mins, confirm curd strength by checking manually for cleanness of cleave for your desired moisture target.

[max1]

Thanks, I ended up leaving it for a total of 80 min (I used multiplier of 4 and a flocc time of 20 min)

Out of curiosity, how did you come up with 15-18 min?

[linuxboy]

Weighted average for speed of reaction given your pH and meso temp guesstimate. 80 mins should give MFFB of ~44% using normal size curd, or more with larger curd.

[scasnerkay]

Linuxboy, what is MFFB?

[linuxboy]

moisture in fat-free basis. It's one essential part of determining cheese identity and standards, and one way that floc and curd size can be used in achieving a specific target.