Hi, I just joined. I am having trouble with my cheese-making and have decided to humble myself (just a little) and see if I can get some help.
I have been using a recipe that was given to me over 30 years ago by a cattle rancher's wife in Colorado. I have made this cheese many times and though it turned out slightly different every time it, at least, turned out. It's just a very simple somewhat jack-style cheese that doesn't require aging.
I have been stubbornly sticking with raw milk and letting it clabber naturally the way I always did it before. I confess that I never made note of temperature or timing but always just went by eye and feel.
So, here I am in damp, wet Oregon and NOT in dry Colorado. Would that have anything to do with my failures? My "failures" are crumbly masses of partially melted cheese curds with firmer, white curds running throughout giving a very un-smooth texture and a cheese that wants to fall apart rather than be sliced.
Also, no matter how much I press and drain the curds and no matter how dry they look and feel, I still get some separation during the final heating on top of the double boiler. that never happened before. Before, it always just came together in a nicely melted mass that I could then cool in a form and slice. Sometimes it came out creamy and almost spreadable but not often. It usually came out just a soft, creamy, cheezy tasting cheese. But now I get this unruly spotty, lumpy mass that never seems to melt, sometimes with a buttery-flavored "whey" coming out the bottom.
The "recipe" is just notes I took in the kitchen of the woman who showed me how to make it. I will paste it here so you can see what I've been trying to do. I admit to not knowing any of the science of this sport. I do not know what the baking soda does or even if it is important. The "sour cream" I've always used is just the naturally soured cream off the top of the milk. The butter is the only butter I have at the moment which is an organic, store-bought butter. Way back in Colorado I had lots of extra cream and could use my own homemade sweet butter. My rancher wife friend had Jersey cows which produced abundant cream. The milk I get now is very tasty but doesn't have as much cream on top.
So, here's my old recipe:
Place 1½ gal. of thick clabber (raw milk that’s been left out to sour) on the stove where it should become very hot. Stir the clabber frequently to separate the curd from the whey and continue cooking and stirring for ½ hour when the curd will become very tough. Drain off the whey and press the curd under a heavy weight until the whey is all pressed out and the curd is very dry. (You can drain in a cloth until cool and then squeeze) Failure in this means poor finished product.
Next, place the dry curd with 4 tbsp. of fresh sweet butter (old butter will spoil the flavor) and ¾ tsp. soda. Chop until curd is quite fine and the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Press the mixture down in the bowl then allow it to stand in a warm place for 2½ hours.
Now, put the cheese in a double boiler with 2/3 cup of very thick, rich, naturally soured cream*, (sweet will spoil the cheese) and 1¼ tsp. salt.
As it begins to heat, stir until all the ingredients melt into a mass which looks like melted cheese, which is exactly what it is, then pour it into a well buttered bowl and set it away to cool. It is ready to eat as soon as it is cool.
If anyone can help me make needed changes and/or get focused on important details that are missing, I will be eternally grateful and might even go on to make other, more complex cheeses. I seem to have a cheese-making bug! I do want very much to continue working with raw, naturally clabbered milk; it's an idea that just won't leave my head. I seems...beautiful; you know, nature just doing it's thing and giving us such treasures!
