rennet amount v's set time

[NimbinValley]

Is adding a large amount of rennet and setting for a shorter time the same as adding a small amount of rennet and setting for a longer time?

What are the implications of this in cheesemaking?

NVD

[linuxboy]

No, not exactly. I've talked about this at some length. Think about it in terms of rate of reaction, and in terms of the changes of how a gel forms through the multiple phases of gellation, and how that works with protein, fat, and water in a curd matrix.

For example, a 3x floc with a 3 min time to floc will not be the same as a 3x floc with a 15 min time to floc. Part of the reason is acid development, and another part of the reason is that the duration of various chemical changes and the rate of reaction do not produce identical outcomes. Basically, slower is better.

More rennet also tends to result in excess retained rennet, which may result in too rapid hydrolysis.

[NimbinValley]

Thanks.

I was specifically thinking about fetta which seems to have less rennet and a longer set time till cut.  I was wondering why I couldn't up the rennet amount added and reduce the time to cut.  Maybe need to increase the amount of culture added to compensate for less time to develop acidity.  Do you think this would work?  Or would it lock too much moisture in, even at a reduce time to cut?

NVD

[linuxboy]

For fetta, you actually could get away with it, within reason.

Yes, it would tend to create a very fast set, possibly trapping too much moisture, that's one other challenge- faster required response time.

I've done some fetas that way before, but I always let them acidify a ton to make sure the calcium was broken down enough.

You do need more culture, yes. This approach works much better for something like a bloomy rind crottin.

[zenith1]

and excess retained rennet=bitter flavor notes in your final product.

[linuxboy]

mmm, much of time, yes. It does depend on the rennet. For example, can use a specific protease that is heat-inactivated at 102-105F. Or, can use 2-3 rennets mixed together to target a specific residual rennet amount for a target rate of breakdown, while at the same time reducing the make time.