Hi Tobiasrer,
The books will just put a time, and not mention floc times, or pH targets. But basically, floc time is the information that tells you how the rennet and milk are working together on that particular day for that particular make. Since that varies it is not suprising that you have to adjust the make procedure in order to obtain the same result.
Now, since floc times should be 10-15 minutes, you can backwards calculate a rough estimate. A book time of 45 minutes is probably a 3x floc (3 x 15), and so forth (I generally find books convert to floc best if you assume a 15 minute floc time rather than a 10 minute one). I've copied some tables that people have posted, along with some of their comments (I apologise to the original posters for not recording who posted these in the first place).
These give you some general starting points, but remember, this is more like alchemy than chemistry and you should tweak these to suit your preferences. Using a longer floc and cutting the curds a bit bigger than indicated in a recipe will lead to a moister cheese, which will probably ripen a bit faster, etc. You might prefer this result. Or, use a shorter floc, cut the curds a bit smaller, and get a drier cheese more suited for longer aging, etc. For example, I know Dave has modified a caerphilly make along these lines (longer floc larger curd) and he found this made for a really good moist melting cheese that still had the caerphilly flavours. Understanding how floc times and curd size work together to influence your cheese gives you the understanding to craft your cheese to your preferences, rather than just blinding following the step by steps in the recipe book. You can use the books as a starting point, which you can modify your own way. If you like to tinker with things, this gives you the knowledge to tinker with.
"- Grana/Parmesan, Alpine/Swiss = multiplier x of 2 to x2.5
- Cheddar, Havarti, Tomme, Gouda, Provalone Mozarella (classic Mozarella, not the quick recipe) = multiplier of x3 to x3.5
- Roquefort, Gorgonzola and other blues, Feta/Bulgarian - multiplier of x4
- Soft or semi soft surface or smear ripened Camembert/Brie, Telaggio = multiplier of x5 to x6
Here’s another table of floc multipliers coupled with the size to cut curd:
2 - 2.5 :Swiss, Alpine, Grana, Montasio - Cutting to rice size
2.5 – 3 : Gruyere, Reggianito, Morlacco, Parrano, Reypenaer
3 : Caerphilly, Tomme, Parmesan, Wensleydale, Mozzarella, Gouda, Port Salut, Manchego, Beaufort, Ossau-Iraty, Munster, Oka, Kashkaval
3 - 3.5 : Cheddar, Hard British Scandinavian, Kashar, Mozzarella, Provolone, Butterkase, Dunlop, Morbier - Cutting to Pea size
3.5 - 4 : Monterey Jack, Lancashire, Butterkase, Havarti, Reblochon, Morbier
4 : Gouda, Mozzarella, Feta, Blue Cheese, Reblochon, Form D’Ambert, Bryndza, Garrotxa – cutting between pea to hazelnut size
5 - 6 : Brie, Camembert, Stilton, Crottin de Chavignol, Coulommier - Cutting to wallnut size or ladle
Some cheese is out of the ordinary: You will find the Gorgonzola recipes with as little as x2., Tellagio with x4 and some softer washed rind cheese like Port Salut can have as little as x3. Such differences are usually made when a recipe aims to obtain some of the needed acidification at later stages, such as in the press or during drainage. (or vice versa, a recipe may extend the multiplier and shorten or eliminate drainage/pressing to make up for it).
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- Jeff
