My first Butterkase (and first cheese!)

[awakephd]

The ripening stage of any cheese lets the bacteria get well established ... and for thermophilic bacteria, 90° is just fine. Yes, meso can also grow at that temperature, but if you didn't add any, you aren't likely to pick up enough to make any difference in the short time of ripening. Some cheeses make use of both meso and thermo intentionally, and of course if you are using raw milk, both will be in the milk (along with various others) -- but the bacteria(s) you use to "seed" the milk with will be the one(s) that dominate(s).

With many thermophilic recipes, it is in the cooking stage, after the curd is formed and cut, that you go up into the temperature range that thermo can tolerate (not necessarily multiply rapidly at), but that will kill off any meso bacteria. The enzymes left behind by the dead meso bacteria can continue to add some nuance to the flavor.

[DoctorCheese]

Ok, I must make misinterpreted the recipe I mimicked. Next cheese I will keep the temp more in line with what you have suggested.

[Boofer]

The search function is very useful. As a PhD candidate you no doubt have to do a bit of research. I would recommend you avail yourself of the many postings in the forum. A lot of people have already made the mistakes you may encounter.

Attention to detail, following a recipe, and taking good notes helps to assure a good outcome.

-Boofer-

[DoctorCheese]

Quick update. I bought a scale and this cheese is 2 lb 8 oz from 2.5 gallons of "365" wholefoods brand milk. From what I have read, a pressed cheese should be about 1 lb per gallon of milk, so the yield here is fine.

[Cfhebertjr]

Hello cheese people of the internet. My name is Jobe and this is my first real attempt at making cheese. I decided to try Butterkase because it has a short maturation period. I followed a recipe for the most part but added lipase because I like a lot of flavor. Here is my process:

10L 365 (whole foods) milk
1 packet Thermophilic
Half rennet tablet
2.5 ml CaCl
¼ tsp lipase

108 degrees. 40 minute inoculation, 40 minute rennet set. ½ inch cut, 5 minute heal. Stirred 30 minutes, 60% whey removed, 1 gallon water added. 15 minutes stir at temp.

Pressed 10 lb ~ 4 hrs, 24 lbs 12 hrs.
Brined 12 hrs
Aged 30 days at 60-90% humidity (my current situation is highly variable)*
*I keep it under a glass container to make the humidity higher than the rest of my "cheese cave"

It will be ready just after new years and I am very excited! I noticed that the yield from 10L of milk was about 50% of what I expected and would love advice if anyone has it.

Can you please clarify the cooking directions for a Newb like me? Specifically the 15 minute step.

Can CaCl be omitted if using Raw Goat or Cow? Will either milk work the same?

Waiting on Lipase from a supplier. Already have the rennet and thermo.

[DoctorCheese]

Hello Cfhebertjr,
For the record, I am an amateur and as it says this was basically my first cheese. In light of that, I would advice you to follow this recipe http://www.cheesemaking.com/Butterkase.html. Having said that, I have great news for you! I plan to crack this cheese open tomorrow to give it a taste, so we will soon know if it was wise of me, in my nievity, to add lipase to a butterkase  .

Now, to answer your specific questions.

Can you please clarify the cooking directions for a Newb like me? Specifically the 15 minute step.

When making butterkase, regardless of the recipe, you will eventually "wash" the curds. This process consists of removing a portion of the whey, then adding back in hot (~105 F) unchlorinated water followed by a period of stirring. Doing the washing process will, as I understand it, slow down/halt the acidification of the curds and leave you with a more mild cheese as you would expect out of this type of cheese (and other washed curds e.g. Gouda). For this specific cheese, I took out about a gallon of whey and added in a gallon of water, then stirred that for about 15 minutes.

Can CaCl be omitted if using Raw Goat or Cow? Will either milk work the same?

That is my understanding, yes.

I would wait to add lipase to Butterkase until tomorrow when I will post the resulting flavor and some pictures. For all I know it will have unforseen consequences, but hopefully they are tasty ones  I also made another Butterkase recently that I did not add lipase and followed the recipe I linked you to above. https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,16073.0.html

For a video tutorial I found useful, https://youtu.be/Vb8fRWtqRmg

[Duntov]

Here's another recipe for you to consider.

-Boofer-

That is the recipe I use and it always turns out good.  I age it with a washed natural rind up to two months and it develops a very nice taste.

[DoctorCheese]

Taste Test
I did a taste test today of my modified knock-off Butterkase and the results were very interesting. The texture is very much like the baby cheeses you can get at the supermarket aka soft and a bit spongy. However, the taste is what you would expect given what I did for the recipe. Buttery but with a funky piquant note from the lipase that I put in it. My girlfriend (who did not like it) described it as almost being a blue cheese taste despite there being no blue mold present. What I have created is a monstrosity... but one that I really enjoy the taste of. Also, the end product did not have an odor.

[Y2kbugger]

That looks awesome. I'm jealous

[Al Lewis]

Looks great!  AC4U!

[Duntov]

Looks great and have a cheese on me!

[Danbo]

I can't believe that it is your first cheese. It looks really good. Wow! AC4U.

[AnnDee]

Nice!

[awakephd]

Jobe, I expect the taste issue is indeed due to the lipase. Lipase, in my experience, has to be used with extreme caution and in very miniscule quantities. But AC4U for your first cheese!

[DoctorCheese]

I 100% agree. While I do enjoy this cheeses flavor, I would not put lipase in a mild cheese like this a second time!