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GENERAL BOARDS => Introductions => Topic started by: Carol on April 18, 2013, 07:13:20 PM

Title: New to board and questions
Post by: Carol on April 18, 2013, 07:13:20 PM
Hello,
I live in southeastern Alabama.   

I've been making some sort of "cheese" for a couple of years.  I do own my own Jerseys; 2 of them,  both just freshened.  My biggest difficulty is raising temperature slowly...it's about to drive me nuts!  I just bought a commercial warmer and plan on getting a PID.  Will this solve my problem?  I sure hope so but wanted to check here first.  I do not have access to gas cooking so I need to find a way to turn the heat on and have it rise "2 degrees every 5 minutes" as they say.  I keep getting mold inside my cheese after aging a little while.  I don't want to have to get a P.H.D. in cheesemaking, heck, I don't even want to have to get a P.H. meter!  I just wanna make some decent cheeses.

Thank you,
Carol
Title: Re: New to board and questions
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on April 18, 2013, 07:16:40 PM
Heat your pot of milk/curds in a sink full of hot water instead of on your stove. You will have much more control that way, and can't scald the milk.
Title: Re: New to board and questions
Post by: tnbquilt on April 18, 2013, 09:50:34 PM
Like Sailor said, you use the sink, not the stove. Make the water in the sink 10 degrees hotter than your target temperature. If you are going to 102 degrees, make the water in the sink 112. Record the temp of the milk, and then in 5 minutes come back and stir it and check the temp again. Did it go up 2 degrees? If it did, I'd leave it alone for another 5 minutes. If it didn't, add a little more boiling water, about a cup, not much. Wait 5 minutes.

I keep a record on the dry erase board on the refrigerator. This way you can tell if you need to heat up the water some more. Keep a big pot of boiling on the stove all during the cheese making process so that you dip out of it as needed. Then you can use it to sanitize your molds and cheese cloth before you use them too.
Title: Re: New to board and questions
Post by: Boofer on April 18, 2013, 10:07:08 PM
I keep getting mold inside my cheese after aging a little while.
Welcome to the forum, Carol.

Sanitation/cleanliness is utmost in making cheese. I always clear my kitchen counter and then wipe it down with some Clorox wet-wipes. You can use anything to make sure everything's clean. The kettle that my milk goes into is filled with a couple inches of water. My long whisk, curd-cutting knife, and skimmer are placed in the kettle and all are boiled for about ten minutes. This ensures that the kettle itself is sterile and all the tools that I'm going to use with the milk are too.

Star-San is also an excellent sanitizer.

I use a double-boiler: a stainless steel kettle perched inside a larger aluminum lobster pot. The water in the pot is heated and indirectly heats the milk in the kettle and helps it to retain the heat after the electric burner is off under the pot. I monitor the temperature in both containers with different thermometers. I found the double-boiler works better for me than the sink. Personal preference.  ;)

-Boofer-

Title: Re: New to board and questions
Post by: KTownCheese on April 19, 2013, 03:57:43 PM
What a great idea! Heatiung the milk in the sink!
Im totally going to use this technique!