ok....thank you, that makes sense....
you mention: "if my flocculation time is off my target"....that intrigues me.....what IS your floc time target? are there floc times associated with different moisture level cheeses? i have a floc chart thing, it only mentions curd cut size and floc multipliers....but not floc time... shouldn't we use floc times to fine tune rennet levels? if there was a general "floc time" for cheddar, say......call it 15 minutes (i have no idea really, seems like 15 is about right if you use a multiplier of 3, and want a 45 minute cut time).......
then, you change your rennet levels to hit your 15minute floc time.....of course, acidity and temperature will affect floc time (and 100 other things no doubt).....but, if you are "in the groove" in your cheesemaking, and your milk does not vary, and your temp control is good, and your culture amounts and type are pretty consistent, then, the floc time should "only" vary with your rennet level......
is floc time then taking these other factors into account, such as temp and acidity? is that why we use floc time to fine tune curd cutting time?
because acidity will vary with the culture growth, and that acidity will affect rennet response.....so, the floc time gives us a way of seeing what is happening, on that particular day, with what the rennet is doing, and when to cut the cheese.....