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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => Problems - Questions - Problems - Questions? => Topic started by: lead_dog on April 16, 2013, 10:46:45 AM
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For those of you who understand cheese chemistry better than I...
Two to three times per week, I make an Alpine (Gruyere style) cheese in batches of about 100 pounds, forming them into 12 pound wheels. For the past several months, my cows were primarily on hay and a little feed, and the make procedure was routine. However, they moved to fresh grass a few weeks ago and I observed two very interesting changes in the make.
1. After I press under the whey and go to hoop, the curds are MUCH drier than normal and have a little trouble staying together
2. The terminal pH is MUCH higher (around 5.50) compared to what had been very consistent (around 5.0-5.1).
Nothing has changed other than the diet switch to spring grass. Could that have anything to do with these changes?
The final cheese looks/feels just fine after pressing/brining, but I'll keep an eye on how it develops and turns out.
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I think with the lush spring growth, milk production tends to be up, but more dilute - so lower percentages of protein and fat. Since casein buffers acidity/pH, with less casein, the acidity will rise faster. Perhaps the cut curd expels whey faster too, drying out more quickly.