Flocculation and coagulation

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Hi

I am planning on making my first Colby this weekend and I looked on line for detailed recipes.  What puzzles me is why there are such strong deviations between recipes when it comes to the amount of Rennet and the amount of milk where the rennet type is the same.  Further more I see recipes where for the same amount of Rennet and type, the flocculation calculation varies from 3x to 5x.

Other than the obvious acidification issues, what really happens if someone uses 3x vs 5x?.  Is it ever a good idea to wait a bit past the usual 3x rule?. 

Thanks

[Stinky]

It's not a 3x rule. It's a "many cheeses use 3x" rule. This chart may be helpful for you.

EDIT: And the other one.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Longer coagulation results in more moisture in the finished cheese.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

I like moister cheeses for sure

[Stinky]

I like moister cheeses for sure

Do you want moister cheeses or older, more flavorful cheeses. If the cheese is too moist, it can't be aged as long and won't reach the same delightful flavor.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Good call.  I wanted to understand the impact of waiting longer.  I mostly make Goudas, Havarti and Jacks and I am not thinking I should hold it far more than the standard but often I wonder if I would have less chattering if I wait 3.5x flocculation vs 3.0.

Thanks

[Sailor Con Queso]

It's not a 3x rule. It's a "many cheeses use 3x" rule. This chart may be helpful for you.

FYI. These 2 charts are so full of errors that they are worthless and should not be shared publicly. For example it shows a pH of 6.4 at the time of molding for Cheddar. That's about a full point off. Cheddar should be around 5.4-5.5 at hooping. The whole point is to let cheddar build up acid before salting. And it shows a moisture content of 53-62% for Parmesan, 39-52% for Mozzarella and 40-50% for Gouda. That makes Mozzarella the lowest moisture content of all those cheeses and Parmesan the highest. REALLY??? There are too many errors for these to be "typos". They are simply wrong. You should consider removing them, and certainly don't use them yourself.

[Stinky]

I just posted the first one because it had almost the same name without really looking at it. It was probably one of the things I looked at once. What's wrong with the other one? It seems to be a basic rule of thumb sort of chart.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

I noticed that too.  I even went as far as making a spreadsheet to list out the differences between many references and then decided that I should choose what makes most sense and what values are most refenced.  It is definitely a challenge to trust which source is right and which one is wrong.  Once I come up with a plan of attack I run that plan and make a cheese and the modify as I see how my runs tend to run. 

I am putting together a visio on how to make Gouda and would like your opinions.  When I am done I will post it tonight.  These instructions are really a compilation of all the research I have done as well as the cheeses I have made.  Here is the catch, while I have made about 8 cheeses, they are not aged yet.  So they can turn out really well or be a total disaster .  At least none have grown legs or exploded......yet

[Stinky]

Post the recipe here before you make it, if you'd like feedback.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Here is my recipe.  I built this Visio to instruct and document every cheese I make.  I welcome all feedback and specially corrections to bad instructions.

Thanks

[Stinky]

DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert and some of this may be incorrect. It's happened before.

I'd cut all at once and then heal for 10.

Don't stir "occasionally", just do it constantly. Easier and safer. The Swiss traditionally say not to let the curds sit between cutting them and molding. I generally keep stirring once the curds have healed.

I've never heard of a milled Gouda. What do you do that for?

The rind needs no drying before you put it in the brine. Brining and salting helps firm up the rind.

You don't need to dry that long, generally just until the rind is not really moist anymore. If you're waxing, it would be longer, but if you plan to natural rind at least at first, don't stress out about that part.

"Monitor once a month?"

I'd leave many more spaces for that, as different molds occur. Are you planning to wash, or dry brush? You might want to keep this one a bit shorter, like 2-3 months, as it's your first one and if you're not waxing or vacuuming it might dry out fairly fast with 2.5 gallons.

But that's a beautiful, fancy chart and I never do anything like that.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

The rind needs no drying before you put it in the brine. Brining and salting helps firm up the rind.

This instruction comes directly from Peter Dixon "When acidity is .35-.40 %TA or pH 5.40-5.50
Remove cheeses from press and place in a cool (50 F) room overnight and then in a saturated brine (50 F) the next morning or place immediately in a saturated brine for 3-4 hours per lb. of cheese depending on desired salt content"

I've never heard of a milled Gouda. What do you do that for?

Mill is probably the wrong word.  When the curds are pressed in the whey for 15 minutes, they form a mass.  I can't put that mass into the finish mold unless I cut up the curds.

You don't need to dry that long, generally just until the rind is not really moist anymore. If you're waxing, it would be longer, but if you plan to natural rind at least at first, don't stress out about that part.

But that's a beautiful, fancy chart and I never do anything like that.

I wax all my cheeses so far and thanks for the comments and compliment .  A cheese for you for giving me feedback

[Stinky]

The rind needs no drying before you put it in the brine. Brining and salting helps firm up the rind.

This instruction comes directly from Peter Dixon "When acidity is .35-.40 %TA or pH 5.40-5.50
Remove cheeses from press and place in a cool (50 F) room overnight and then in a saturated brine (50 F) the next morning or place immediately in a saturated brine for 3-4 hours per lb. of cheese depending on desired salt content"

I've never heard of a milled Gouda. What do you do that for?

Mill is probably the wrong word.  When the curds are pressed in the whey for 15 minutes, they form a mass.  I can't put that mass into the finish mold unless I cut up the curds.

You don't need to dry that long, generally just until the rind is not really moist anymore. If you're waxing, it would be longer, but if you plan to natural rind at least at first, don't stress out about that part.

But that's a beautiful, fancy chart and I never do anything like that.

I wax all my cheeses so far and thanks for the comments and compliment .  A cheese for you for giving me feedback

Hm. I wonder why.

That makes sense.

Okay. Then I'd say seven days is more reasonable. I've had a decent bit of trouble waxing just a few days afterwards, except with cheddar types, which have lost moisture and tend to be fairly well-behaved.

[FRANCOIS]

The time to wait until brine has nothing to do with drying. You need to hit the correct pH.

Also cut multiplier does not relate to final cheese moisture but to curd moisture. For example you can use a long multiplier then cut the curd small and cook it resulting a dry cheese.
Multiplier is only one of the levers a cheese maker has.