Question About Drying Curds

[rsterne]

Once you have cooked the curds, and are maintaining the temperature, will the curds dry faster BEFORE or AFTER draining?.... Intuitively you would think they would dry faster if drained, but is this actually the case?.... I know if you continue to stir them, without salting, they will continue to acidify and the structure will change as they dry out and shrink, and that acidification is a function of temperature, but assuming the same temperature, would curds left in the whey end up moister for a given ending pH and time?....

Bob

[rsterne]

No replies?.... 

Bob

[mikekchar]

Like you say, acidification is a factor.  The longer it's in the whey, the faster it will acidify.  Curds will drain quite quickly in the vat.  I really don't know which one will be quicker, though.  The main point is that you will acidify faster in the vat.

I'm going to say something here that I don't really understand, so take this with a huge grain of salt.  The final calcium content of the curds is super important to the texture and the pH of the curd as it ages.  I *think* that slowing down the speed of acidification preserves calcium.  I don't know how that would happen, but it's the only explanation I have for some of the textural features of slowly acidified cheeses -- even when they hit the same final pH.