Rehydrate

[Gobae]

So while I was ruminating over why my roquefort curds won't set (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,14714.0.html) it occurred to me that there were a couple of other things I did differently than the instructions said.

The directions say to rehydrate the MA4001 directly in the milk for 5 minutes. I rehydrated in 1/4cup of warm water (same target temp as the milk) for ~20 minutes. In fact I do this with all powder/dry/granule ingredients (rennet, CaCl,lipase, etc) Is this a problem?

[Boofer]

The directions say to rehydrate the MA4001 directly in the milk for 5 minutes. I rehydrated in 1/4cup of warm water

I have to ask the obvious question: Why didn't you follow the directions?

I'm no expert, but it seems like rennet, lipase, and CACL2 are all passive enzyme or chemical additions, while the cultures are actually active, live populations that want nutrients coming out of stasis...and all you gave it was water.

Try adding the cultures directly to the at-temperature milk.

-Boofer-

[Gobae]

I have to ask the obvious question: Why didn't you follow the directions?

Because in the past, I've had issues with the cultures just sitting on the top of the milk and not combining well. So I figured I'd let it rehydrate on it's own time on the side before adding to the milk. And I'd had good success doing this with the Aroma B I use to make feta. But maybe that's not the best course of action.

[Sailor Con Queso]

If you are using warm tap water, it has residual chlorine and other chemicals, which can quickly kill some or all of the bacteria. If the water is over 104F you can also kill mesophilic bacteria. Tap water is not sterile and can be a source of contamination.

[Gobae]

If you are using warm tap water, it has residual chlorine and other chemicals, which can quickly kill some or all of the bacteria. If the water is over 104F you can also kill mesophilic bacteria. Tap water is not sterile and can be a source of contamination.

We're on a well so no "city water" w/chlorine at least. I do temp the water to make sure it's not too hot. I think Boofer brought up a good point though, even though the water itself might not be a problem, it sure isn't giving the bacteria anything to eat when they wake up.

[Kern]

Caldwell states that when adding PC or Geo to water for rehydrating for spraying that each quart of water MUST contain some salt lest the cell walls rupture from osmotic pressure.  She recommends using 1 tsp each of salt and sugar per quart of water (sterile, no chlorine).  I imagine that putting freeze dried bacterial in unsalted water might well have the same effect.  I'd go with Boofer's suggestion and simply sprinkle the culture on top of the milk and be done with it.