Not a problem but a question

[Bernardsmith]

Has anyone on this forum ever used a slow cooker connected to a temperature controller such as an Inkbird ITC -308 when making cheese from one or two gallons of milk? The ITC-308 will switch off the power getting to the crock pot when a set temperature is reached and will switch the power back on again when that set temperature drops one or two degrees. I use this controller to maintain my "cheese cave" - a dorm type refrigerator  - at about 48 F

[valley ranch]

No, but I think it would have an application, for making cheeses that require the temperature to be kept steady for a good length of time. Maybe for Cheddaring also, the people who make cheddar often can say for sure.

Again for a cheese that is intended to be held at temp, the cheese or curd could be brought  to the temperature on the stove and transferred to the preheated unit you're talking about.

Good luck with your cheese making.

[awakephd]

Some issues to consider:

What is the rate of heating when the crock pot is on? I would guess it would be fairly gentle, but ... I don't really know. You certainly would want to experiment to see what sort of over-shoot you might get, how long the pot holds heat on its on, etc.

Another issue to keep in mind: there is at least one phase during the cheese-making - the coagulating stage - when you do not want to be adding any heat, even if that means the temp falls a bit below the optimum. From what I can tell, adding heat, even gently, is a good way to mess up the coagulation of the curds.

Final issue is the size of makes you anticipate. For me, a crock pot would not be nearly big enough - most of mine are 4 gallon makes, though I do make 2-gallon makes of camembert. I've not seen any crock pots anywhere near that large.