Hello everyone,
After spending quite a bit of time searching this forum, reading and re-reading Caldwell's Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking book, looking at various websites, etc...unfortunately I still have some questions about culture choice! I know this has been a common question for newbies, and as such there is soooo much information and advice which I have taken note of (and there are some golden gems I must go back to find in this forum to put in my cheese binder). The topic can be a bit circular (as in "which culture should I use" with the answer of "depends on what cheese you want to make" which leads to "but which culture is best for the cheese I want to make" etc.) But aside from the philosophical discussions, it seems there is no one place to get a thorough, specific overview of the main cultures available comparing consistent attributes across the table (if there is and I have overlooked it, I hope someone will kindly point me toward its direction). Meanwhile, I have started to feel a bit like a sleuth-hound!
I am preceding my thoughts and questions with a brief overview of my cheesemaking experiences thus far. I would like to think of myself as a "newbie phase 2", newly morphing out of the "newbie phase 1" category. I've made quite a few soft cheeses and maybe a half-dozen semi-hard cheeses. When I started making cheeses with a basic meso starter (NEC's C101) I did not have good results. As a newbie I took a somewhat scientific approach of keeping with the same starter (it couldn't be the culture was the problem, right?) but varying other aspects of the makes. With no success. With various cheeses, the flavor was bland and results were always over-acidified. I was just about ready to give up cheesemaking when I stumbled across a review singing the praises of Flora Danica for making Gouda. Then I found a chart (more on this next) that categorized some cultures by "acid production type", and found out C101 is a "high acidifier" while FD is a "moderate acidifier". I started using FD in some Colbys, a Gouda, soft cheeses and lo and behold, I finally had cheeses I could actually eat! Thus focused my antennae on different starters in the "moderate acidifier" range to enhance my success as a newbie, until I can get a better control over my cheese makes (most recently, kazu has my attention, more on this later).
The information that has been most helpful thus far is of course Caldwell's book, but even moreso the culture chart from Karlin's Artisan Cheesemaking at Home, which has been posted in another thread but I'll insert the link here again.
http://www.artisancheesemakingathome.com/pdfs/cultures.pdfWhat I like most is the information she has in the last column "Notes and uses"...in which she documents "acid production type", flavor, texture, and most common cheeses made from it. So for me, at this stage, since I am going to stay away from high acidifiers right now, I can look down the list at the various moderate acidifiers. Also since I am interested in different flavor types, notes about that are particularly useful to me. Unfortunately though, the notes are not consistently providing all this information for all cultures. For example, for the culture called kazu, it is not noted that it can produce a somewhat nutty flavor (which is documented on the various culture websites as well as in this forum). So....since this chart seems to be of particular use to me, I am hoping to work on modifying it and filling in the blanks as I can find the pertinent information in the various sources out there.
Meanwhile, the chart still prompts other questions...and maybe they are not important for me to know the answers to at this stage of the game, but I will ask them anyway.
For example, MA 11 (LL & LC) vs Meso Type 2 (LC only)...if you used each culture in otherwise identical makes, what if any differences could you expect the resulting cheeses to have? There are so many meso cultures out there that are recommended for a particular type of cheese, but really no comparison of what the different outcomes might be. I saw JohnPC posted a spreadsheet of what cultures he uses for different types of cheeses (thank you John!) and noticed he uses Meso Type 2 a lot. I'm wondering why use this over MA 11?
And I see a lot of posts where more advanced cheesemakers are documenting their recipes and commonly mixing different cultures...obviously they are trying for a unique outcome based on their previous experiences with each culture individually....but for example (I think I saw this in a scanerkay post) why mix kazu with FD? Is it to modify acid production, flavor, or
I realize everyone will likely have a unique experience with each culture due to different milks and environments, (and I also realize I may be overthinking this subject), but I have grown a bit weary of the adventurous approach of "just try it and see how it turns out" (because it usually doesn't) and I'd just like a little more information about what I'm using before I try it.
Thanks for listening. Sure hope I haven't totally worn out an old subject for this forum. Any feedback welcomed and appreciated. --Susan38
