Author Topic: Scooping Uncut Curd To Molds - Excessive Moisture  (Read 2465 times)

Annie

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Scooping Uncut Curd To Molds - Excessive Moisture
« on: June 29, 2012, 10:30:25 PM »
I have been using a simple recipe from off the internet but decided to try 200 cheese recipes' English Farmhouse cheese which is very similar but instead of cutting the curds, you are supposed to use a skimmer to transfer the cheese in layers.

Well, I didn't really think this through. The only skimmer I have is very rounded, like a spoon, so I decided to use a plate, forgetting that skimmers have holes which plates lack and that might cause a problem.

So now I have two cheeses which are very slidey in the middle, altho the outsides are pretty much ok (I also had a mold problem, but I'm hoping that's ok now). When I turned them over, I tried to squish out some of the whey and kind of form the edges since the middle had collapsed...

So what do you all think? Should I just toss it or might it come out all right in the end?




Other than that, my new fridge/cave is coming along bit I still have to get the temp regulator to reduce the temp, and my ph meter, which went a little crazy for a few days afyer I sprayed sanitizer right up it is back to normal :) so within the next two weeks I will again attempt my husband's favorite cheese, the one he has put up with all this insanity for! Mozzarella! (I would not be still making cheese if it weren't for y'all... as you cann see, i'm a bit of a klutz in the kitchen!)

Oberhasli

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Re: Scooping Uncut Curd To Molds - Excessive Moisture
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2012, 05:59:06 PM »
Annie,

It sounds like since the curds weren't cut and scooped instead, there would be a lot of whey retention and would need to drain longer in the moulds.  If the moulds were removed too soon, you would get the "slump" in the middle.  It is too late to put them back in the moulds and let them drain with more stability.  I would just keep an eye on them, but they may be problematic with the squishy middle and mold may continue to be a problem with the moist interior.  I wouldn't chuck them yet, but give it a go and see what happens.  Also, keep your nose tuned to smell for any funny odors  :o.

Good luck with the mozzarella - tricky and illusive for me - I hope you get a good make  ;).

Bonnie

Annie

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Re: Scooping Uncut Curd To Molds - Excessive Moisture
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2012, 04:50:43 PM »
Annie,

It sounds like since the curds weren't cut and scooped instead, there would be a lot of whey retention and would need to drain longer in the moulds.  If the moulds were removed too soon, you would get the "slump" in the middle.  It is too late to put them back in the moulds and let them drain with more stability.  I would just keep an eye on them, but they may be problematic with the squishy middle and mold may continue to be a Tproblem with the moist interior.  I wouldn't chuck them yet, but give it a go and see what happens.  Also, keep your nose tuned to smell for any funny odors  :o.
Yeah, I thought that was strange. That batch got zapped by an electric outage; I tried another, but only half--they other half I cut as usual.  Don't know how they will be as I was making four different things to use up the milk with the electricity out--Kind of a crazy and very tiring day! I may write to the author about that.

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Good luck with the mozzarella - tricky and illusive for me - I hope you get a good make  ;).

Bonnie
Thanks so much, Bonnie--and it is sooooo good to hear that I am not the only one who has trouble with mozz!

iratherfly

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Re: Scooping Uncut Curd To Molds - Excessive Moisture
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2012, 09:42:37 PM »
I would just break the curd apart in the mould ant knead it (not like dough, this is just twisting action to mix it, like tossing salad in a bowl with your hands). there are cheeses where this is actually a step (like Roquefort). You can also stop the acidity of the excessive whey by stacking, milling and salting the curd slabs earlier (salt will help accelerate drainage further).

The next time you don't have a strainer scoop.... use another cheese mould! I scoop curd into moulds with them all the time!