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Feta acidity and brining...

Started by Kdfoust, January 02, 2014, 05:11:25 PM

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Kdfoust

Hello all.  I'm new here and on my third attempt at making feta. My third try just came out of the light brine and is softening!  The second batch also did this but i wrote it off to lack of acid development as I had put it into the brine at 4.9 pH.

The third batch has just gone into the brine after draining for about 16 hours.  The pH on the cheese curds was 4.6 after draining.  It went into a fresh batch of brine made of 75% fresh whey ( from the same batch of feta )and  filtered water.  I weigh the liquid and salt and have salometer so I'm pretty anal, I mean confident,  :o  in the brine concentration.  It stood in the heavy brine for 12 hours and when it came out it showed no signs of softening.   Now after 12 hours in the light brine it is softening.  What's the deal?  I read fiascofarm's recommendation about hanging feta prior to brining to further the acid development.  I can do that too, but how low does the pH need to go?

I've also read info about CaCl2 content in water and had added 2 TBS. to the gallon of brine to perhaps offset this effect however the cheese is still going soft.

Thanks in advance for any light you all can shed of this little mystery!  I have the sometimes unfortunate quality of being tenacious  ;D...

Regards,
Kevin

steamairship

Hi Kevin.
Try adding some vinegar. I was brining some 300 gram fetas in about a litre of brine and they were going soft, added a teaspoon of white vinegar and they came good. Maybe google it a bit more. Seems like making cheese is all about PH lol

Steve