Two cheddars, different cultures

[scasnerkay]

I made two cheddars, one week apart and am hoping to compare the flavor differences. It is really hard to control all the other variables, but the main differences follow. Size and milk type: the first has 2 gals of raw Jersey, and 2 gals of non-homogenized purchased milk, and the second is just 2 gals of raw Jersey. Hopefully the more significant difference is the culture selection: The first had a primary culture of Kazu, with a dash of FD added (LL, LLC, LLD, LH + LL, LLC, LLD, LMC). The second had a primary culture of MM100, with a dash of Su Casu (LL, LLC, LLD + ST, LBL, LH). The makes were pretty similar, though the second one cheddared more quickly I think due to the cultures selected. Now to wait...

[scasnerkay]

First the system did not want to let me add the images, and now there are two of the same (larger) cheese. Here is the second.

[Spoons]

Nice experiment!

I opened an 8 month old cheddar with 1/8tsp Ma11 + 1/16 tsp ST61. It clearly has an italian bite to it, but it's more sweet and velvety than sharp. I felt it was lacking something. But now at least I know what an overdose of ST does to a cheddar. It's a good profile, but in smaller doses.

I too made a cheddar with a similar experiment in mind; it's a 6 gallon make though (I hope it comes out good... lol); 13/32 tsp MM100 + 1/8 tsp FLAV 54 + 1/32 tsp PS. Yep, a bit of propionic, LH and diacetyls in a cheddar.

I'll be following this thread and see how yours turn out. Thanks for sharing.

[John@PC]

The makes were pretty similar, though the second one cheddared more quickly I think due to the cultures selected. Now to wait...

Nice cheeses Susan of Sunnyvale .  I assume you go by pH to determine the endpoint of the cheddaring process?   If so what is your target pH?

[scasnerkay]

John, it is pH 5.3 or close to that. I have had them a bit on either side with no ill effects! Peter Dixon suggests whey pH of 5.3 to 5.4. So I would think that means 5.2 to 5.3 on the curd measurement.

[John@PC]

Thanks Susan.  I don't do much cheddar, and in fact my first cheddar was so bitter I tossed it.  I think part of the problem was I used Karlin's book for my first makes and she avoids pH targets altogether. Maybe they're in the book somewhere but I don't remember seeing them.  Good pH meters are not cheap, but for those of us that don't make a lot of cheese but like to do different varieties it is a worthwhile investment.