Good Morning from chilly Melbourne, Australia

[Wrangler]

 Hi Everyone,

Short time lurker first time poster here. So far I've made a few cheeses with varying success. My 1st was a cheddar made with a Mad Millie kit. She was my baby. I waxed her and aged her for 1 year. She broke my heart with her bitterness 
Then a goats feta, then a haloumi. Yummy, but too simple and easy to make. As of about a month ago, I have made two more cheddars. Both cloth bound and collecting some interesting mould in my cave (Average 12c-85%)

At the moment I'm interested in learning about and making hard cheeses, anything that can be aged and ph levels which I know nothing about and have only recently learnt the importance of!

Great to be here and look forward to picking everyone's brains and of course, helping out if I can

[Jay-1]

 Welcome to the forum...

[Wrangler]

Thanks J1

[Schnecken Slayer]

Welcome to the forum. Remember to post pics, we love pics.

[Andrew Marshallsay]

Welcome to the Forum, Wrangler (from slightly less chilly Adelaide).
I'm sure that you will find plenty of valuable information and assistance here.
Good luck with your cheesy adventures. I will look forward to hearing about them.

[Wrangler]

Welcome to the forum. Remember to post pics, we love pics.

Here's a pic of my first clothbound cheddar - been in the cave for nearly one month.
Average temp & humidity: 12c - 85% What do you guys think?

[AnnDee]

Welcome to the forum!
Nice cheese, you bound it so neat and evenly!

[awakephd]

Welcome to the forum!

With regard to the bitterness you experienced with your first cheddar, a couple of questions: what type of rennet did you use, and how much per liter of milk?

I do not have personal experience with this problem (so far - I hope I haven't just jinxed myself!), but my understanding is that the vegetable rennets can sometimes be more bitter, and that too much rennet can lead to bitterness. And there are probably some other possible causes that others can chime in with ...

[Wrangler]

Welcome to the forum!
Nice cheese, you bound it so neat and evenly!

Thank you for the welcome Ann!

[Wrangler]

Welcome to the forum!

With regard to the bitterness you experienced with your first cheddar, a couple of questions: what type of rennet did you use, and how much per liter of milk?

I do not have personal experience with this problem (so far - I hope I haven't just jinxed myself!), but my understanding is that the vegetable rennets can sometimes be more bitter, and that too much rennet can lead to bitterness. And there are probably some other possible causes that others can chime in with ...

Hi awakephd,

I used Mad Millie veg rennet tablets x 2
>60 imcu minimum

Unhomoginised Milk x 6 Lt


After you posted this question, I had a look at the packaging for the rennet - it says 1 tablet for 4Lt of Milk
But - for the recipe in the Mad Millie book it says x2 tablets for 6Lt of milk!

Could this explain the bitterness? Thank you so much for your help! Much appreciated  And thank you for all the warm welcomes everyone 

[AnnDee]

2 tablets for 6 litres?  That is a lot of rennet.
1 use 1/2 tablet for 8-12L, even less if I make soft cheeses.

[Wrangler]

2 tablets for 6 litres?  That is a lot of rennet.
1 use 1/2 tablet for 8-12L, even less if I make soft cheeses.

Hey Ann, do you think this was the reason behind the bitterness? I was just following the recipe  I was really disappointed after taking so much care of that cheese. The thing is I have the same amount of rennet in 2 other cheddars  I gotta get moving on some new ones me thinks.....

Thanks for the reply  W

[AnnDee]

First of all, do you use veg rennet tablet for your cheddar? I would not age it too long if using veg rennet because that can cause bitterness too, I use veg rennet for some of my soft cheese and bloomy rind for my vegetarian friends and that is absolutely fine. For a long aging cheese, I suggest you use an animal rennet (tablets, powder, paste or liquid) to avoid bitterness.
I am testing a microbial rennet for longer aging cheese (the manufacturer suggest it will work), so hopefully that can be an alternative to vegetarian long aging cheese.

And yes, too much rennet will cause bitterness. I had a case of absent minded renneting that resulted bitter tasting cheese.

[Wrangler]

First of all, do you use veg rennet tablet for your cheddar? I would not age it too long if using veg rennet because that can cause bitterness too, I use veg rennet for some of my soft cheese and bloomy rind for my vegetarian friends and that is absolutely fine. For a long aging cheese, I suggest you use an animal rennet (tablets, powder, paste or liquid) to avoid bitterness.
I am testing a microbial rennet for longer aging cheese (the manufacturer suggest it will work), so hopefully that can be an alternative to vegetarian long aging cheese.

And yes, too much rennet will cause bitterness. I had a case of absent minded renneting that resulted bitter tasting cheese.

I do use veg rennet - the details are further up. How long can I age with veg rennet? Even when I checked the cheese at 6 months it was slightly bitter after a year it just got stronger in bitterness