Hello all, cream problems again ...
I would like to make some recipes which have added cream, but am having problems sourcing it here in India. Don't want to make it myself because I have some doubts about my milk source (it's raw milk which I thermize -150F for 30 ms, a bit higher than normal out of caution- for cheesemaking but don't want the added uncertainties of trying to get cream out of it.)
So what I have available is:
(1) A brand that is allegedly fresh cream, which comes refrigerated with a two week expiration. It tastes like cream which has been cultured, ie; has a tang more like sour cream than the fresh cream I am used to in the US. This tangy flavor is representative of the brand, I've tried many packets, it's not just one that's gone off (in fact, many of the reviews on Amazon India complain that it tastes sour.) Maybe has some added stabilizers/emulsifiers, no disclosure about ingredients or process, whether pasteurized/homogenized, etc. The description say it is 40% milkfat and “standardised for all applications”, whatever that means. Works fine in (eg) ice cream, frozen yogurt, casseroles, but the single time I used it in cheese resulted in a super fast flocc time and what seemed to be a reduced yield, which makes no sense to me. That cheese, a cam batch, had a number of problems with the make, but won’t be ripe enough to try (if it survives) for another six weeks or so.
(2) An extended shelf life, unrefrigerated, UHT whipping cream in a box which is described as being a “dairy based whipping cream”. Despite that somewhat unappetizing language, it does appear to be pure milk/milk solids/water with emulsifiers added to stabilize. It also specifically states that it is made solely with milk products (not, eg., added vegetable oil as I believe some dairy based products are.) It tastes like cream, albeit a paler version, not greasy/oily, rather milky and fatty but but without much flavor. 30% milkfat.
I made a blue cheese (the Castle Blue from 200 Cheeses) a couple of days ago using this and there did not appear to be any issues with the make, it flocc’d fine although a little faster than the recipe called for. I got a clean break and cut according to the multiplier at 50 minutes instead of the hour stated in the recipe. It did seem a bit wet after unmolding, so I drained it for a bit longer than the recipe called for (also because other folks who made that recipe here reported some excessive moisture problems.) Again, won’t know about the result for a couple of months.
I have read in various places that although UHT milk is hopeless for making renneted cheeses, it will work with lactic ones, but that ESL milk would not work for either. I have also read that “regular” (I assume refrigerated/normal shelf life) UHT cream added to non-UHT milk works with renneted cheese as well, because it is being added to increase the fat in the recipe, and that the non-UHT milk will allow coagulation . But I have not read anywhere about whether ESL UHT cream will work with renneted cheese if added to non-UHT milk. Again, I’m using thermized raw milk.
I know that neither of these alternatives are great ones but any thoughts on which is better? Maybe in small amounts (if so, how much, eg; a gorgonzola recipe I am looking at now calls for 1 liter of cream to 4 liters of milk which seems like a lot?) Or should I just give up on the idea of adding cream at all?
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Company disclosure/info on the creams (nothing else relevant on the box or online):
(1) Fresh cream: "Milkymist fresh cream is pure milk based, uniformly consistent thickness, standardised for all applications. Technical Profile: Texture - Uniformly thick and Creamy/ Odour – Milky. Fat % NLT 40.0”. There are no ingredients listed on this cream at all.
(1) ESL Cream “Ingredients: Milk Fat, Water, Milk Solids and Permitted Emulsifiers (INS460, INS464, INS466,INS472, INS472b,INS472e). Composition: 30% Fat (Pure Milk Fat).”
