How to create a weak rennet solution

[skyriverblue]

I'm brand new to cheesemaking and have a question about rennet. The recipe I would like to make calls for two teaspoons weak rennet solution or drop of liquid rennet diluted. The only rennet I have on-hand is powdered (the label reads: CHR. HANSEN Rennet Stick 50 litres of milk). Can anyone suggest how to create a weak rennet solution with powdered rennet? The recipe is for Neufchatel and calls for 1 gallon of milk and one pint of cream.

[linuxboy]

Mix a small known quantity measured on a precision scale with the target volume of saturated salt brine to achieve your desired strength. Keep on hand for later use.

[skyriverblue]

Thanks for your help! I am really new to cheesemaking and not sure where to go with this info, and I think I may not have provided enough info. The rennet packets I have contain about a 1/2 teaspoon of powdered rennet. So if you were in my position and you needed a "weak rennet solution" and only had these packets of powdered rennet, how would you create the solution.

[linuxboy]

You provided enough info. I didn't

Well, if you have powdered rennet, let's think through this together. It is, essentially, an ultra concentrated solid, soluble in water. Meaning it has a certain concentration as a solid. Find what the concentration is per gram.

Then figure out how much liquid you want to have of total solution. Then calculate the concentration you want this final solution to be. Then add enough dry rennet to achieve that final concentration. It's basic chemistry; you can search the web for examples for how much of a dry powder you need to achieve a specific concentration of a defined solution when you know the original strength.

You can also take a wild guess and add a pinch and wing it and guesstimate. A "weak rennet solution" doesn't tell one anything. How many IMCU is that? Post recipe if you want more help and can't figure it out.

[skyriverblue]

Thanks, Linuxboy! I really appreciate your help and I totally understand you now. My problem was also with the vagueness of the term, "a weak rennet solution." So I think I will probably go with a combination of chemistry (thanks for your help) and "wing-and-prayer." After I've tried this -- and if it works out -- I will post my results here with the recipe in case anyone else has the same question.

[linuxboy]

Don't quote me on this, but IIRC, hansen's rennet stick is ~2000 IMCU per gram. Check with supplier or their data sheet. From there, pretty easy. How many IMCU do I need (weak rennet is what, 10 IMCU? no clue) per ml of solution, how much total solution, how many grams of powder to add to get me there.

[skyriverblue]

I can do that... This should be pretty easy from here on in! Thanks muchly for your help!