Yesterday I tried my first attempt at "squeaky cheese", or cheddar curds which you eat (or deep-fry, mmmmm) prior to the pressing process.
I used buttermilk as a starter which I believe to be the main source of difficulty I had with good, solid curd formation -- I don't think I let it acidify enough. Didn't get a very good clean break, and as a result the curds were too soft and didn't hold their shape and I ended up with cottage cheese after stirring/heating the curds.
Anyway, I'm going to keep experimenting, I ordered some "real" Meso-A culture, but in the meantime I was curious. When making the 30-minute mozzarella, you use citric acid to acidify the milk.... Since this is a fresh, non-aged cheese I guess this is acceptable because you won't need the cultures present for aging.
Since the same is true for 'squeaky cheese' do y'all think it would be acceptable to use citric acid (or lactic acid, which I also have access to) to acidify the milk prior to adding rennet, in an attempt to speed up the process and get a better clean break, thus ensuring better, more "rubbery" curds (which is crucial if you want to bread and deep-fry them.)?
Any thoughts on that?