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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Grana (Grating Cheesee) => Topic started by: Trey Magnus on August 17, 2011, 05:16:18 PM
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OK, so several months ago, I made a pound of Mozzarella. It turned out edible.
On June 28th I made a small (1 pound) Cheddar. Looked good and yield was as expected, 4 more months and we will see.
A few weeks ago (July 17th I think) I made a 5 pound Colby. Excellent curd, great yield, a few months and we will see.
And finally this weekend I got to what I have really been wanting to get in the cave.... Parmesan
I experienced one disappointment in the make and hope someone can identify where I went wrong. Out of 4.75 gallons of milk, my yield was only 2 pounds 15.5 oz. Based on what I have read, it should have been closer to 4.25 pounds.
I based my recipe on http://www.cheesemaking.com/Parma2.html (http://www.cheesemaking.com/Parma2.html) . I gleaned information from many other sources (most of which were from posts on this board) to customize the recipe to what seemed the best combination of all the sources I looked at.
Here is the recipe and make notes.
On Saturday we got a 5 gallon bucket of fresh milk from a local dairy (Holstein cows). I put this in the fridge overnight to allow the cream to rise and Sunday right after Church, I got started. I skimmed 5 cups of cream off the top. I have no way of knowing exactly how much of the total cream I got but I estimate it was approx 60-70% of the total cream content.
This left me with about 4.75 gallons of partially skimmed milk - pH of 6.84
I put this in my 22 quart Electric Roaster and began slowly heating to 93F, stirring often.
While the milk was heating I dissolved 5/8 tsp of Mild Calf Lipase in 1 cup water.
It took about 30 minutes for the milk to reach 93F and it actually overshot to 95.5F.
{Over the past few weekends, I made several Primer Cultures (thank you Sailor) and froze them in ice cube trays. Each one of my cubes is about 1.5-1.7 oz.
I took one large cube of TA61 and put it into a cup (covered it with cheese cloth) and 4 cubes of LH100 into a separate cup (covered) and left them in the fridge overnight to thaw.
On Sunday morning before Church, they were still frozen cubes so I filled the cups with fresh milk, covered and let sit on the counter (75F) as I would be home in about 2.5 hours to start the cheese.}
I added the approx. 1.8 oz of TA61 primer culture (in a cup of milk), 7.2 oz of LH100 primer culture (in a cup of milk) and the Lipase and stirred it in well for about 90 seconds.
I diluted 1 tsp liquid animal rennet in 3.3 oz of water.
After about 6-7 minutes I checked the pH of the milk and it was already down to 6.65 (I was a little surprised it got there so quickly) so I added the rennet and stirred it in for about 45 seconds.
I spun my plastic bowl and ended up with a floc time of 12 minutes. (I was pleased as with my previous makes the floc time was 6-9 minutes so I have been adjusting my rennet usage down trying and hit the 10-15 minute target window.)
Based on posts on this board I chose a multiplier of 2X and at about 25 minutes (hmmm it just occurred to me that I used 25 minutes after it flocked instead of 25 minutes from the time of rennet addition). That mistake makes my results even more perplexing. Anyway......
When I began to cut the curds at 37 minutes after adding the rennet, they were very delicate. My curds from the Colby make a few weeks ago (which flocced at 7 minutes) and cut at (hmm another mistake... 28 minutes after adding the rennet) were beautiful and made this papa proud but these curds were very weak and delicate so I still began to cut them in 1" squares but I did so very very slowly and carefully. It took about 6 minutes to make the vertical cuts.
I let them rest for 10 minutes and went back and made some horizontal cuts but the curd was still more delicate that I would have preferred.
Maintaining 93-94F, over the next 20 minutes, using my wire whisk, I stirred the curd to break them into smaller pieces. They whey seemed to be getting a little to cloudy for my taste but I proceeded on per the recipe being as gentle as I could.
Once I reached the target pea sized pieces, I began to raise the temperature to 130F. The recipe called for 20 minutes but my cooker took about 30 minutes to get there. I had to stir constantly and vigorously to keep the curd from matting together on the bottom of the pan. They really wanted to mat up and stick together.
Once I reached about 128F I cut the heat and continued to stir for another 10 minutes, the temp overshot to 133F.
At this point the curds were not trying so hard to stick together and following the recipe, I drained them into cheese cloth and poured the whey back into the pan. The pH was 6.31 at this time.
I tied the curd in the cheese cloth and immediately suspended the curd in the hot whey (130-134F) and let it sit for 60 more minutes.
About every 20 minutes I tried to roll the curd mass around in the cloth to form a smooth round ball but the curd was not real interested in sticking together very much at this point. It was forming a mass but not a very tight one.
During this time, I took about 3/4 gallon of the whey, added a cup of salt and 1 tbl Calcium Chloride to make a whey brine and brought it up to 135F.
At the end of 60 minutes, (pH 6.24) I took the curd, dunked it in the 135F whey brine and rolled the curd mass around in the cloth for about 60 seconds again in an effort to create a smooth ball but it still was not very smooth.
I then placed it into my 7-3/4" Mold and began pressing.
Now I do not have a real cheese press as of yet. I will eventually build one (when I settle on a design and have time) but my busy work schedule has not allowed for that just yet. In the pictures below, I have included for your amusement, a picture of my "cheese press". The mold is in the bottom of the gray bucket with the others stacked on top of the follower with a large can of soup as a spacer. ::)
I pressed this 7-3/4" dia. mold with about 35 pounds for 15 minutes.
Removed, redressed, and pressed with 35 pounds for 15 minutes.
Removed, redressed and pressed with 75 pounds for 30 minutes.
Removed, redressed and pressed with 200 pounds for 12 hours.
When I removed the cheese from the mold the next morning (about 11 hours at 200 pounds).
I carefully removed the cheese cloth. This took several minutes as it was stuck on there pretty good. I only lost one dime sized chunk off one edge. I was surprised that the knit was very nice. It was smooth and looked very good.
I weighed it and it was 2 pounds 15.5 oz. Here is where I was disappointed.
Per the recipe, I put the cheese back into the mold, covered it with a 5 gallon plastic bucket and let it sit at room temperature for 48 hours.
This morning I took some pictures and then placed the cheese into 55F brine and plan to leave it for (6 hours per pound) 18 hours.
I only had 2 problems (that I know of) with this make. The very delicate curd and the less than expected yield which I suspect are connected.
Although I hit the floc time perfectly at 12 minutes, my cut time ended up being 3X (2X was the target) and yet the curd was still very delicate.
Does anyone see any errors or have any suggestions for this make? The 3 pounder I ended up with looks (and smells) pretty good but 12 months is a long time to wait before I see the results and I would like to get a few more in the cave before them.
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Your previous make that had good curd, was it the same milk?
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Nice press. Don't think a bucket press has reached that high before. Kudos.
Thank you for detailing your process so completely. Very inspirational.
-Boofer-
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Your previous make that had good curd, was it the same milk?
Yes same milk from the same cows as before. pH of the milk when I made the Colby was 6.85
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Then in your case, you need to target a lower time to floc due to the lower solids in the holstein milk. Target somewhere around 9 mins. You could also stand to build up a little more (.05) acidity before adding rennet.
Your scalding schedule was also off as you wrote. Those curds were a tad overcooked. Makes a difference in the knit quality. But honestly, that yield is not terrible for Holstein milk. Not great, but for parm, not terrible. 8-9% is usually in the normal range.
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Would the reduced butterfat content make a difference? Did I remove too much cream?
What is the ideal percentage of butterfat to use in a Parm?
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It's not the butterfat per se, it's the PF ratio of the milk. And for parm, so long as you're above 1.25, you're good. For Holstein, that's somewhere in the 2.5% range. I don't think you removed too much fat. Of course, less fat means lower yield.
Nah, it was the rennet amount combined with the casein quality. But it's not terrible. The real stuff, they also use Holsteins, and it takes a bit over 1000 liters to make ~200 lbs of cheese. The vats are 1100 liters each, and each vat makes 2 wheels that are 45-50 Kg. So really, you did fine :). It's just how parm is. That's why they recover the whey fat to make whey butter, and then recapture the protein for the piggies.
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Thank You Very Much! I will make the adjustments to the recipe and procedure and try it again in a week or so. ;D
Just wish I did not have to wait a YEAR to taste the results lol. ::)
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Is your Parm waxed? Does waxing parmesan affect the final flavor at all. I've been trying to age some natural-rind parms, and they keep turning blue on me! I'd love to be able to wax them, but didn't think they would turn out right if I did.
D
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Does waxing parmesan affect the final flavor at all.
yes. If you want natural rind, make them a decent size (5+ lbs) and form factor (even cylinder, no thin disks or tall cylinders), and use saturated brine. It will dehydrate the outer rind and salt it to such a point that nothing will grow on it.
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So - I have 4 3-lb wheels currently aging. Would it be best to wax them at this point, or add salt to the rind to discourage mold development? I've been using a vinegar brine wash to clean off any growth, but it keeps coming back :(
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If you haven't conditioned the rind by now to create a proper gradient of salt and moisture, it's a little late. You can salt, but with wheels that small, you'll lose quite a bit of cheese to the rind that way.
I would wax or vac pack and age them out to 14-18 months. They'll still taste great, I bet.
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Thanks for your help! These are my first parms, so I'm looking forward to trying them. The oldest is a little over 2 months now, so it probably is too late to adjust the rind. I will try waxing or vacuum sealing. Unfortunately, I currently don't have a way of making larger wheels. Thanks again.
D
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OK, well my make did not go exactly as planned (low yield) and even if it did, the plan had some flaws (too large diameter mold for one thing) and now I have a really good looking thin disc where a cylinder is needed to naturally age. I see above where you said that it would be OK to vacuum pack a Parm. My question is, how long do I need to wait?
For my Colby, I waited 2 weeks but those curds were not as dry at the time of pressing and I also did not press it as hard and it is almost twice as thick as the Parm. After one week I noticed a very small amount of liquid in the Colby package so I removed it from the pack, dried it off and let it sit overnight in the cave and re-vacuum packed it. Now when I handle it (twice a week) to turn it over there is no liquid in the bag and it has a good "cheesy" feel to it. Not too firm, not too soft, juuuuuust right (I hope). :)
The rind on the Parm is already very dry and there is very little give to it when I pick it up. I am afraid that if I don't do something soon, it will be a large hockey puck and inedible. The combination of it being thin, drying at room temp for 48 hours and the 18 hour brine has dried it out a lot (so it seems to me).
All that to ask.... how fast can I vacuum pack it?
What is the downside to sealing it up it too early?
Does it need to breath to age properly?
I know the vacuum pack is liquid tight but can oxygen molecules (enough of them) get in and waste gasses get out?
Thanks In advance.
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What is the downside to sealing it up it too early?
If you had a decent make (even curd size), and a good press ( even drainage), you can pack after a day. Most people have trouble because of their make process. It's not conducive to vac packing, so there's excess whey.
In your case, I think 2-3 days is fine, and then vac pack.
Does it need to breath to age properly?
No.
I know the vacuum pack is liquid tight but can oxygen molecules (enough of them) get in and waste gasses get out?
Generally, for most plastic bags, not significantly.
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Sweet, it gets Vac Packed tonight and I hope it is not already too dry.
So just to get more education. And thank you so much for all that you share with us.
I have read hundreds of threads here and several talk about the pros/cons likes/dislikes of vacuum packing cheese.
Recommendation and opinions vary widely. Most (it seems to me) recommend a few weeks before vacuum packaging but I never really saw much scientific information about why or why not. I see many commercial operations vacuum pack their Cheddar and Colby right out of the molds.
I also certainly recognize that different cheeses have different requirements but my focus is on the basic hard cheeses.
Cheddar, Colby, and Parmesan can all be Vacuum packed after a day if they are made and pressed correctly?
They do not need any oxygen in or need to allow any waste gases out to age properly?
Your saying the most important thing is basically the moisture content?
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Recommendation and opinions vary widely.
Everyone's process is subtly different. but there are some constants:
- Curd must let go of all whey along its microfissures. It's fine if the curd has stable water incorporated in its matrix. It's not fine if there are residual whey pockets. Whey pockets are caused by: uneven curd size, uneven stir schedule, heat gradients in the vat, heat gradients during press, pH gradients, bacterial flocculation leading to uneven distribution, improper brining where surfaces do not get even exposure, etc. Mostly, though, it's the uneven curd size or mismatching the curd size to the flocculation multiplier and milk type (this is why most cheeses are 3/8" curd with a floc of 3x)
-Slight rind must form in the sense that it can't be wet. Typically coincides with #1. Rind drying is accomplished naturally in most cases by resting wheels for a day after brining.
- Milk quality is drastically different among makers, so are cultures. Cultures that offgas tend to not do quite as well when vac packed.
I see many commercial operations vacuum pack their Cheddar and Colby right out of the molds.
Yes, because the moisture is rather low (37% ish), and the huge press for cheddar dries it out, no whey left.
Cheddar, Colby, and Parmesan can all be Vacuum packed after a day if they are made and pressed correctly?
Yes. Typically, below 38% moisture, you can get away with it. Above, it requires a bit of kajigerring, like aging at lower temps.
They do not need any oxygen in or need to allow any waste gases out to age properly?
No, they'll be fine. But typically for vac bag aging, you can't do it quickly. You need to keep them at 40-48F.
Your saying the most important thing is basically the moisture content?
Whey pockets, actually (process control). Then moisture content (cheese style).
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Update on my Parmesan - One of my makes is starting to crack. It has several small cracks along the flat surfaces. This one is in an aging container. Should I go ahead and open it up, or continue aging it? Would it help to Vacuum-seal or Wax at this point? It is a wheel from 3 gallons of goat's milk and is about 6 months old.
I had 4 wheels that I was struggling with earlier. I followed Linuxboy's advise on one and waxed it at about 2 months aging. It developed quite a bit of moisture under the wax. I ended up removing the wax, cleaning it up with a strong brine, letting it air out overnight, then waxing again. It appears to be fine now. I left the other 3 unsealed to taste the difference, but now I'm having trouble with this one. Any advise?
Of course, I'm dying to try it! So maybe I just need someone to tell me to be patient. . .
Diane
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If it is cracking, then you have an aging issue, most likely due to humidity being too low. Either coat it somehow (wax, vac pack, lard, etc), eat it, or increase humidity.
If you are getting moisture under wax after waiting for 2 months before waxing, it points to uneven moisture in curd, mismatch between flocculation and curd size, or inadequate stir/scald schedule with excess moisture retention.
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Thanks for responding so quickly. I'd really like to figure this out, as I love Parmesan.
Whey pockets are caused by: uneven stir schedule
Can you please explain this further? Do you mean constant, even stirring? Or something else? This is one aspect I hadn't heard before.
I have 5 others aging currently (3 waxed, 2 natural rinds), so I think I may 'sacrifice' this one and just eat it. I'm hoping to 'up my game' next year, and improve my processes and results. I also plan to get the necessary supplies to make larger wheels, which will probably change a lot of the factors. I'm out of milk for a few months, so I'll take the down time to study up on details of the proper techniques. Thanks again.
Diane
Diane
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Can you please explain this further? Do you mean constant, even stirring? Or something else? This is one aspect I hadn't heard before.
Think about it like this:
- You are trying to get a huge blob of solid curd mass into a small, solid wheel of cheese. To move from A to B, you need to remove water. You need to remove as much water as is appropriate for the cheese style. For parm, this is a LOT of water. You have to get it to a point of about 25%.
- Everything you do influences the rate of water excretion (called syneresis), and the amount. For example, say you have a long set time due to a high floc multiplier. The curd will be strong and slow to release water. Or say that the milk has a ton of fat in it... same thing, will let go of water slowly. Or say, you use a low temp (90ish)... water will go out of the curd slower. Or say you have temp gradients in your vat... one part of the curds will have less moisture, and the other more. Or say the curd size (most important) is uneven. Well, then some curds when they fuse will be really wet, and some dry.
- When you press, it's not like all this equalizes. Those curds will fuse, and your moisture will be uneven.... aka whey pockets.
Constant, even stirring is about agitation. Curd collisions encourage syneresis. Look up whey pockets and other past threads. I've talked about all these things before in detail here.
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Thanks - this helps a lot. I'll also look up more detail on whey pockets. I know I've had issues with even curd size - something I've been struggling with.
I used whole, raw goat milk, so butterfat is probably one of my issues as well. I knew the butterfat was too high, but didn't realize it would affect the release of whey. Since I plan to continue using whole goat's milk, is there any way to work around this? I can make the Parmesan when the butterfat is at it's lowest, but it still averages about 3.5% at the lowest point in the lactation. Would stirring longer, or at a higher temp help offset this?
Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge!
Diane
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Which breed? What's your protein like?
For parm, I would separate out the cream. It's just too tough to get the milk to do what you want when the fat is higher than 3.0 (assuming protein is 3.2 ish) ... and that's pushing it. And then when you scald it, you lose too much much of the fat to the whey.
An alternative is to do the best you can, but eat it younger... say 9-12 months. By do the best you can, I mean add in a little calcium chloride to increase strength, increase rennet amount a little, and cut to 1/4" size or smaller to help push the moisture down.
Stirring longer does help. For parm, you shouldn't do more than the standard 122-125F so can't do so much with temp. Controlling flocculation and using the above suggestions also will help.
Overall, I would say curd size control is the #2 or #3 causal factor of cheese inconsistency for smaller-scale producers.
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>Overall, I would say curd size control is the #2 or #3 causal factor of cheese inconsistency for smaller-scale producers
LB, do you have any suggestions for us home cheesemakers who are working with 4 gal or less of curds. Is it just a matter of practice of making even cuts with a knife?
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I think a whisk is much easier than a knife. The way you can do it with a whisk is first plop the whisk straight down. Then move it along the edge while rotating slowly. The movement will give you cuts in one direction and the rotating will take care of the rest. After you finish the outer edge, the middle is there, so you move to the middle and repeat, moving all along the perimeter of the uncut part, until everything is cut. Then when you stir, there will be large pieces on the bottom, and you can cut those with the whisk. It takes just a bit of practice, and you might need to buy a new whisk that has the right number of strands (cheap chef ones work best I've found.. good openings/size between the strands). With a whisk, you typically have 1/2" curd right away, and a few more passes reduces them down if necessary to rice grain size.
FWIW, I have never been able to use a knife properly to achieve even size curds. I read my first book on cheese many many years ago and started with the instructions, and was so frustrated I tossed the thing and figured it out on my own. I figured I was too dumb to do it the "right" way, so I might as well have a good time doing it the wrong way. :)
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Ah, that's how you use a whisk. I have a huge one I got in my first kit from Hoegger and of course smaller ones. That makes sense now :) Thanks! :)
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Which breed? What's your protein like?
I have a mix of Nubian, Alpine, and Nubian-Alpine crosses. My herd average for fat for the year is 3.8% and protien is 3.0%. I don't currently have any way of separating out the cream, and a cream-separator is/was pretty low on my list of priorities. I will have to try the alternative for next year.
You mentioned adding a little calcium chloride: I add calcium chloride to ALL my cheeses, except Chevre. Is there a reason/situation why you wouldn't add calcium chloride? I've been wondering about that. . .
I cut open the Parm with cracks this morning. The cracks were not deep at all, but there were some pockets in the cheese. It looks good, but I didn't try it. Will update after I do.
D