Hi,
I'm a new cheesemaker and after making some chevre and mozzarella I embarked on making feta. I mostly followed the recipe from Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Caldwell. My procedure was:
1 gal whole milk, pasteurized non-homogenized heated to 90 F. 1/8 tsp mild lipase dissolved in 1/4 cup water added, stirred. 1/4 tsp CaCl2 in 1/4 cup water added, stirred. 1/2 cup ripened buttermilk added, stirred. Let stand for 60 min at 90 F. pH > 6.2
After 1 hour temp = 88 F. Rewarmed to 91 F.
Diluted ½ tsp rennet in ½ cup water, added, stirred 20 seconds. Let stand for 1 hour.
After 1 hour temp = 88 F.
Cut into 1 inch cubes, let heal for 15 minutes. Heated back to 90 F, stirred gently but almost constantly for 20 minutes. Curds shrank noticeably, got much firmer. Cut overly-large curds into uniform pieces to match the rest. Some very small pieces, but not many. pH ~6.0
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Ladle off whey. Spoon curds into cheese mold and let drain. After 1 hour, turned over back into mold. After 2 more hours, flipped back again into mold. I noticed there were some cracks in the cheese, as if the curds had not knitted together fully. Picture of cheese wheel attached. The red stain on the mold is cheese wax from a previous experiment.
Let rest until morning, about 10 hours. pH ~4.8. Made a brine of 200 g Kosher salt and 1.2 liters water (~15%). Added 1/2 tsp CaCl2 and ~2 tbsp vinegar. Floated the cheese in the salt solution for 8 hours, flipping several times.
Removed from brine, let dry 3 days at 55 F, turning twice daily.
Yesterday I cut it into 1.5 inch chunks to submerge in a storage brine of 80 g Kosher salt and 1 liter reserved whey. When I cut into the cheese wheel I found some holes.
Is this from the lack of pressing, or is my cheese contaminated. Is it toxic? It smells fine, and the taste is good: slightly tangy, creamy, salty. I am concerned about some nasty bug living in my lovely cheese, bringing me slow horrible painful death. Picture of cheese interior attached.
Thanks,
Brochis