newbie questions

[DougL]

Well, what makes the flavor of the traditional way better? As I said, I could add lipase to the 30-minute variety. But maybe the bacteria adds some flavor as well? I suspect that's true, because different traditional cheese styles are distinguished mainly by the kind of bacteria used. Maybe just adding time develops flavors? If I'm doing pH measurement, consistency in acidification in 30-minute variety is just a matter of putting in enough citric acid. If I'm not doing pH measurement, then yes, the bacteria may self-regulate the pH.

[DougL]

Just reporting back. Sorry, it's been a while. I did exactly the same 30-minute mozz recipe with storebought, pasteurized and homogenized milk, except this time with 1/4 tsp calcium chloride solution/gallon (as marketed for cheesemaking). Much better. I didn't do a lot of stretching, but it was smooth and reasonably flexible, and I kneaded it with a spoon and balled it up. The result was very much NOT cream-cheese like, as I got without the calcium chloride. When I pushed on it, it pushed back. So thank you for the suggestion.

Lot's of stuff online about how you should NOT add calcium chloride if you want kneadable cheese. Not true in this case.