Making Mother Cultures - A Photo Essay

[shotski]

hmm? rennet does not expire. It gradually loses strength until it has no clotting activity left. Not sure what you mean... what kind of formula? to what end?

You are right linuxboy it was the penicillium roq. that has an expiry date of 22\05\2013. It has been kept in the freezer will it still work? As for the Rennet I thought Jeff posted a formula as to how much more rennet to add the older the rennet is. i.e. if 3\4 of a tsp for 13-15L after 6 months it would be 1tsp and after 1 year it would need 1 1\4. something to that effect.

thanks John

[JeffHamm]

I posted a formula to work out how much rennet one would need of a different known strength (i.e. I have some 750 strength rennet, and 280 strength, and 65 strength, in IMCU - I needed to work out how much of the latter two to use based upon the fact I knew how much 750 strength rennet was required), but not a "decay function" for rennet strength over time.  To be honest, I've been using that 750 strength stuff for a few years now, and haven't noticed any drop in potency.

- Jeff

[shotski]

Thanks for the help linuxboy and Jeff for the replies. My mistake.

[linuxboy]

hmm? rennet does not expire. It gradually loses strength until it has no clotting activity left. Not sure what you mean... what kind of formula? to what end?

You are right linuxboy it was the penicillium roq. that has an expiry date of 22\05\2013.

That means just a little bit more than nothing. In hypotonic solution, mold spores last for more than a decade. Realistically, you have 4-5 yrs of life in that packet.

It has been kept in the freezer will it still work?

Yes.

As for the Rennet I thought Jeff posted a formula as to how much more rennet to add the older the rennet is. i.e. if 3\4 of a tsp for 13-15L after 6 months it would be 1tsp and after 1 year it would need 1 1\4. something to that effect.

Depends on the degradation curve. Check your floc for a make, adjust for subsequent makes based on the practically known degradation.

thanks John
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[shotski]

Thank you very much for your help. I plan on making a stilton and a spiced gouda this Thursday.

[Curdtastrophe]

This is great information!

Thank you!

[felku]

Sorry for reviving this thread. I was trying to do the mother culture thing with a thermo starter . I don't know if I'm doing things the correct way but right now I'm getting a ph of 5 and I'm getting like a yogurt consistency but is also separating from whey. Is this normal?

[Sailor Con Queso]

It will be fine but you incubated it a little too long. Use less bacteria when you start the MC and incubate a little less time.

[awakephd]

Sailor, is it the texture or the pH or both that indicate too long? I've never made a mother culture, but have thought about it ... I'm curious about what the outcome should be, especially in terms of pH.

[felku]

It will be fine but you incubated it a little too long. Use less bacteria when you start the MC and incubate a little less time.

Thanks for replying I was confused because the ph readings I was getting. Next time I will pay more attention to the consistency of the milk

[Stinky]

How long do the ice cubes last before losing strength?

[Sailor Con Queso]

We make fresh Mother Cultures every day. I used to test pH, but now we just go by consistency. What we are looking for is a little bit of coagulation, like a medium thin yogurt. That is where the bacteria will be at their optimum efficiency. We let mesos incubate at room temp overnight. We do thermos at 110-115 for about 6 hours. Beyond these limits the bacteria will produce too much acid and they will start to die in their own acidic waste. That will be very noticeable with the whey starting to separate. If that happens, the culture is still very viable, but not optimal. Less bacteria in the beginning means incubating a little longer, but you also stretch out your dried cultures. We use just 1/16th tsp for a gallon of skim.

Frozen MC cubes really don't go bad, but Mother Cultures are cheap & easy to make, so I wouldn't keep them more than 6 months. Fresh means that the bacteria are awake, reproducing, and ready for a quick lactose meal. It's easy to make just 12-16 ounces at a time, so just make enough to fill one ice tray. Better yet, make it fresh every time. You will use 1.5-2% MC, so around 4 ounces for a 2 gallon make. If you are doing the cube thing, measure how much goes into the cube tray and you can deduce how many cubes to use for each make.

[Stinky]

Well, see, I make many small batches of a variety of cheese. So ice cubes seems to be the only way this is worthwhile.

Thanks for replying. I think I may do this with 4001 sometime. It's used in a lot of things, and I don't have very much of it right now.

[Sailor Con Queso]

MA 4001 is a blend of mesophilic lactic acid cultures plus a thermophilic Streptococcus thermophilus. Because it is a meso/thermo blend, it is not a great candidate for a Mother Culture. If you incubate at a meso temperature, the thermo will be suppressed. If you incubate at thermo temperatures, you will kill the mesos. In our shop we make 2 separate MCs - 1 meso and 1 thermo - and blend them together.

[Al Lewis]

So let me ask a question you may have already answered Sailor.  Once made would I store these in the fridge or in my cave or do I freeze them in an ice cube tray?