water - distilled ? why not spring water?

[Bernardsmith]

Why do recipes ask that we dissolve calcium chloride and rennet in distilled water rather than in spring water or water that is otherwise free of chlorine or chloramine? What did cheese makers do in the past? Did they really use distilled water?

[Schnecken Slayer]

You don't need to use distilled water, you can use boiled water that has been cooled or tap water that has been left overnight.

[olikli]

Cheese makers in the past didn't use calcium chloride... [Sorry, couldn't resist]

Obviously these recipes are tailored to avoid potentially chlorinated tap water.

[Bernardsmith]

So the issue is really the avoidance of chlorine and not the need to use demineralized water or water with a pH of 7. Sigh... 

[Gregore]

I usually use RO water but I know I have even used tap water fresh from the tap , so little is being added .

Swapping out half your whey on a washed cheese might slow things down a bit , maybe even a lot .

If the clorine  was that strong all the microbes in our guts would be killed .

[Al Lewis]

I use tap water for all of my makes and have never had a problem.  You are using very little.

[Fritz]

Green cheese guy, Gavin, uses rain water... I think that's cool

[wattlebloke]

So far as I can see, a lot of what we do as amateur cheesemakers is try and control as many variables as possible. That way when something goes not-quite-right we know we can rule out issues with, in this case, water quality: chlorine and bacterial/fungal/mould contamination.  I use boiled town water, bottled the day before I make cheese, or sourdough bread.
As a matter of interest, in 'The Old Days', people in towns discovered that it was safer to drink beer, than it was to drink the local water from wells, which were teeming with pathogens. 'Small beer', or low alcohol beer, was brewed to sterilise the water and make it safe for drinking.