Yes, thank you very much! I'm working my way through them, looking up the terms as I go.
I've been pre-ripening with MM100 at about 76°f, then proceeding with the thermo culture at thermo temperatures, so the meso dies off or at least becomes inactive before the real make begins. This makes a cheese with a lot of initial flavor, but it's made at thermo temps, and the thermo seems to be what drives the acidification for the rest of the make. I guess any CO2 that's produced dissipates long before the curd is formed and cooked. I've been pretty much cheddaring these, and they're at their best at 3 weeks. At 6 weeks they are crumbly, salty, and a lot like feta. But when the curds are fresh, before I press them, they are very tasty. I don't think I would ripen them for the three hours I usually do for mozzarella, but I'd think that an hour might give a fuller flavor, then use your thermos like usual.
Dave in CT
