Cheese melting issues

[Tedybar]

I have had issues with all my hard cheeses (gouda, farmhouse, red leicester, etc) melting right. They go soft, but the piece stays in shape sort of like halloumi.  The texture and taste are right, so I don't think the issue is acid. I have been told it could be that I do not have enough protein in my cheese.  My question is, how do I increase the protein?

[mikekchar]

Although the texture and taste is right, it will be acidity (or moisture).  "Not enough protein" does not make any sense at all, I'm afraid.  I'll guess the acidity is on the low side (pH too high) or else you would notice texture problems.  So basically just wait longer before adding the salt.  How long are you waiting after draining before salting the gouda, for example?  Also, how long are you aging it?  Longer aged cheeses will not melt as readily.

The other potential problem is not enough moisture, but again I would expect texture issues if the cheese is too dry.  However, it may be that you are just a bit outside the acidity range and just a bit dry, leading to your problems.  What kind of milk are you using?  Homogenized milk is quite difficult to work with and you can easily end up with curds that are too dry.

[Tedybar]

I do use homogenized milk since creamline is not available where I live.  I hope that changes, but until it does, I have to use homogenized milk.

As for the salting, Red Leicster is the only one that I have salted before pressing. It has been cheddured for an hour then salted.  The other cheeses are either dry rubbed with salt after pressing (Farmhouse) or brined (Gouda, Guidio's, Bel Paese, Caciotta, etc).  One thought I do have if to low acidity is my problem,  when I first started making hard cheeses I did have issues with to high acidity and so I started cutting back on the time I initially let the culture develop in the milk by 10 to 15 minutes, plus I altered how I was stirring the curd since my curds seem to get to the point of being ready to be drained by the hand test a lot quicker than the called for time.  So I tend to only give a stir every few minutes instead of constant stirring.  Could I have gone to far....?

[Bantams]

Are you using Ricki Carroll's book? Her cheeses generally are vastly over cultured - the recipes just aren't very good.
I highly recommend getting a copy of Gianaclis Caldwell's book instead

[MacGruff]

I would double down on Bantams suggestion. Get Caldwell's book!

Specifically for your situation, she has a technique where she uses low fat homogenized milk and replaces a portion of it with cream. The homogenized milk gives very weak curds which results in problems like yours. Her technique fixes those. I had similar problems and using her guidance am now able to get good results.

[Tedybar]

I have Gianaclis Caldwell's Mastering Basic Cheesemaking, plus Mary Karlin's Artisan Cheese Making at Home that I use mostly. I also do have Rickies book, and occasionally pull from Jim Wallace's recipes on New England  Cheesemaking's site and from Gavin Webber.

MacGruff, I do not remember the technique you mentioned. Is it in Caldwells other book?

[MacGruff]

It's in her Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking book. I loaned it to a friend or I would look up the exact proportions and post it here. Sorry.

[mikekchar]

I haven't made cheese in *ages* so hopefully I'm remembering this right...  For homogenised milk my latest technique is to use the "flocculation technique" (search around here and you'll see a description).  I cut *very* early at a 2.5x multiplier.  Wait 15 minutes without stirring (to a total of about a 3.5x multiplier).  Then stir once every 5 minutes.  There will be a point where you can stick your hand in and stir without breaking the curds.  At that point switch from the large spoon to your hand.  Someone recently mentioned using a wooden spoon/paddle and it making a bit difference as well.  Because the curds fracture, they will also drain quickly so you don't have to stir as much.

If you can manage to find pasteurised skimmed milk, and pure cream you can make your own cream lined milk.  This is reported to work quite well.  Even if the cream is not pasteurised it should be OK.  However, if it's full of carageenan or other gums/gels then it won't work.  You want just pure cream.  And finally, it's work experimenting with milk from other producers.  My dad makes cheese from homogenised milk and I've made cheese with him on occasion with virtually no problems.  So the homogenisation technique seems to make a difference.

[rsterne]

I also use 2% partially skimmed P/H milk and add 18% cream to get the butterfat content I want.... For very low fat cheeses (eg. Parmesan), I start with skim milk plus cream, and for high fat cheeses I use whole milk (3.25%) plus cream.... It has been working great for me for 2 years now.... My first cheeses using just P/H whole milk did not want to set properly, changing to a millk/cream blend worked wonders.... Here is a chart from a spreadsheet I did for our local (Dairyland) milk and cream....



To use it, start on the left axis, find the BF percent you want (eg. 4%), and slide horizontally until you hit a solid line (eg. red, which is 2%).... Where the line crosses 4%, go down vertically to read the volume of 18% cream to add to 8 litres (of 2%) to get that 4% BF, in this case about 1.13 litres of 18%.... The dotted lines give you the Protein/Fat ratio, but they are only correct for our Dairyland milk....

Bob

[Tedybar]

Thanks for all the info. I plan on giving adding in cream a try....