Small butterkase

[mikekchar]

I made a butterkase based mostly on cheesemaking.com's recipe: https://cheesemaking.com/products/butterkase-recipe

I went to cut the curd and thought, "That looks strange" -- the curd was a bit "frayed" as if it was over acidified.  I thought maybe I let the rennet go too long and just continued to make the cheese.  Then I washed out the milk cartons and realised what the problem was: I was ill on the weekend so didn't make cheese when I wanted to.  I had left the cartons of milk in the fridge on their side for 3 days.  The cream had risen to the top (now the side of the carton) and stuck to it.  When I rinsed out the cartons it came out pure white :-(  I only made a 3L batch thinking that I'd definitely get at least 400 grams -- 325 grams post brining 

Oh well... I'm sure it will be edible...

[mikekchar]

Cut it on Monday (almost exactly 4 weeks):



I couple of things... I decided to go with a washed rind for no particular reason.  I have my cursed reblochon ongoing and so I guess it seemed fun to make everything a washed rind :-)  My original idea was to do kind of like an alpine treatment, but then I realised: this cheese is only 325 grams ;-)  So drying out the rind seemed like a bad idea.  Starting from about the 3rd week I got some expansion and you can see that I've got eye development.  Not sure where that came from...  The starter culture was a mix of a home cultured butter milk (which I cultured from cultured butter!) and a thermophilic yogurt culture.  I've used the thermophilic several times without CO2.  The buttermilk I've only ever used with acid formed cheeses, so it's quite possible it produces CO2 -- Butterkase #2 is also slowly expanding.  The recipe has a 1 hour ripening at mesophilic temps and then everything happens at 40C IIRC.  There is an equal temp curd wash with about half of the whey.  I would have thought that the meso wouldn't hang on, but it's possible that my thermometer is off by a degree (and it's right on the edge anyway).

Taste wise it is phenomenal.  The wash rind character shines through.  Not too stinky.  The flavour is very cheesy (which is a terrible description for cheese, but I wonder if it makes sense).  The paste is very soft, even when chilled.  The rind is soft and pliable.

Probably my best cheese yet.  Too bad I'll never be able to duplicate it ;-)

[River Bottom Farm]

Nice job Mike. ACFU

[awakephd]

Looks yummy. Another C4U!

[bansidhe]

I know this is late but Your cheese looks beautiful almost like Tilsit.  Did it taste like Tilsit?   I tried it yesterday being sure to keep the temp between 80-90F during the draining phase.  After 5 hours, I removed the mold and put the cheese in a cooler, drier place.  After a few hours, I saw it had spread at the bottom.  I tried to fix it, but that was a disaster. Sooo I made it again today.  The cheese is just as moist.  I think I may press a bit more and leave the mold on over night.  Did you have any similar issues?

[rsterne]

Great job.... another C4U....

Bob

[mikekchar]

I've actually never had Tilsit, so I can't say.  Even though I said I'd never be able to replicate that cheese, I've made it a few more times.  I actually have one in my normal fridge right now that suffered from the exactly same problem with the cream sticking to the milk container :-)  I really like this cheese, though I'd be hard pressed to give it a name.  Probably pretty close to a Port Salut in some ways.

I'll give you my recipe:

• Milk: 4 liters
• Mesophilic mother culture (Flora Danica): 30 grams
• Thermophilic mother culture (Bulgarian Yogurt): 30 grams
•     (Total amount of culture 100% of normal, 50% each)
• CaCl2: 20 drops
• Rennet: 16 drops (46 IMCU, 100% of normal amount)
• Water for curd washing: 1.5 liters

• Add cultures and CaCl2
• Ripen milk for 40 min at 32 C
• Raise temp to 38 C over 20 minutes (why do I do this slowly?  Even when doing it I was asking myself that question... :-P)
• Stir in rennet (diluted in non-chlorinated, cold water)
• Flocculation time 17 minutes (not sure why it's so slow -- probably target 12 minutes, but it's been that way consistently for this cheese)
• 3x multiplier, for a total of 51 minutes
• Cut vertical cuts only at 2cm (about an inch).  Let heal for 5 minutes
• Cut vertical cuts in half and the cut horizontal cuts.  Let heal for 5 minutes.
• Stir for 10 minutes at 38 C.  (note: total time since adding rennet is 71 minutes or about a 4.2 multiplier on flocculation time.  Will discuss below)
• Ladle out about 1.5 liters of whey.  This is most of the accessible whey.  Give it a quick stir to stop matting
• Ladle in 1.5 of water that's at 38 C (same temperature), over 10 minutes.  Stir a bit to keep it from matting.
• Stir for a further 20 minutes or so at 38 C.  Break apart a curd.  It should no longer be "juicy".  It should have the same consistency all the way through.
• Let settle for 10 minutes (note: total time since adding rennet is about 126 minutes or about 7.6 multiplier on flocculation time)
• Ladle out the whey as much as possible and then transfer the curds into a cloth lined mold.
• Let sit with no weight for 15 minutes.
• Flip cheese and let sit with a few hundred grams for 15 minutes.  You goal is to have a whey bead up on the outside of the mold, but *no* running whey.
• Flip cheese and let sit for 30 minutes with up to 500 grams of weight.  Same goal as before.
• 2 more flips, 30 minutes each, aiming to close the rind at the end.  You want the least amount of weight that will close the rind.
• "Depress" the cheese, meaning to take it out of the cloth and let it sit in the mold without weight.  If it's still not closed, put enough weight on it to close it.
• Wait until the whey has no sweetness left, but also no tartness (about a pH of 5.5 or so).  The amount of time depends on the temperature.
• Weigh the cheese.  Take 1% of the weight in salt and sprinkle it on top of the cheese while it's still in the mold. Wait 1-2 hours
• Flip and put the same amount of salt on the other side.  Leave for several hours or over night.

Aging:

• Remove the cheese from the mold and keep for a few days at room temperature, or a bit below (16 C is ideal)  Wait until the cheese is either dry to the touch or a slimy to the touch.
• If the cheese is slimy (yeasts are growing on a moist cheese), just rub the slime around the cheese with your finger and put the cheese in the cave at 13 C.  Try to keep the humidity down.
• If the cheese is dry, then put the cheese in the cave at 13 C and try to keep the humidity up a bit.
• Your goal is geotrichum growth.  Try to maintain that greasy feel.  If you find that you start to get a beige growth (kind of gel growing), or if you get blue mold or especially if you get black mildew, then the humidity is too high.  Wipe everything off, dry everything off, try to keep the humidity down (raising the temp by 1 C can help)
• If you get a white bloom, then everything is going well.  Whatever blooms, wash it with a 3% brine, let the rind dry out a bit and back in the cave.  Let it bloom again.
• Keep doing that until the b. linens shows up (it depends a lot on the strain, but because the cheese is pretty high pH is should show up in a couple of weeks).  Then into the normal fridge.
• Hold it for another month or so.

Notes:

The trick to this recipe is that we want to develop some of the butter notes from the mesophilic culture, but we also want the creamy/nutty notes from the thermophilic culture.  38 C is a good happy medium.  We do the early ripening at a lower temp to favour the mesophilic.  I *think* that's why I heat it up slowly, but I can't remember any more.  Mother cultures are *highly* recommended here (Basically get some milk and add the mesophilic culture about a day ahead and leave it at room temperature.  Get some milk and add the thermophilic culture, hold at 42 C about 8 hours ahead.  Use the resultant yogurt.  You'll have *much* more control.  But if you don't want to faff around, then you want 50% of the recommended amount of each.

For this kind of cheese, I like the slow cutting of the curd.  I go for a 3.0 multiplier, but cut it slowly over 15 minutes or so.  This allows it to drain while firming up.  It gives you fairly small, firm curds that don't hold too much moisture.  I find that washing the curd can be pretty traumatic if you don't have a firm curd to start with.  If I had raw milk, probably I wouldn't worry about it.

Make sure to pasteurise (at least) you water before use.  Just boil it and let it cool.  Keep it in a separate pot and heat it up to the correct temperature while the rennet is going.  The temperature is *crucial*.  It needs to be the same temp as the curds or it won't work properly.

I'm giving timings based on flocculation time, because that's the best indication of acidity level if one doesn't have a pH meter (which I don't).  Assuming you added the same amount of rennet and the temperature was the same, then the speed that the flocculation happened is an indicator of the speed that the milk is acidifying.  We want a pretty high pH at drain, so the timing is quite important.  In some ways, adding less culture and therefore having a longer flocculation time, gives you more time to dry out the curds.  I think probably I get a long flocculation time because I only have half the mesophilic culture, so things are going fairly slowly until I ramp the temperature up.  This is worth thinking about.

Curd structure at drain is also very important.  Probably best to err on the side of a bit too dry.  The description I've heard is to avoid "juicy" curds (stole that from Hammock Haven Farm videos).  But just break apart a few curds and see if they are liquid inside.  You are aiming for a uniform texture here.  On the other hand, don't dry it out too much.  The curds shouldn't be wrinkled, for example.  You want that sweet spot in the middle.

Pressing is super important.  You can actually get away with no pressing at all in this cheese if you get the pH right.  A *small* amount of weight is nice just to make sure the rind is closed, though.  Likely your problem previously was over pressing.  It closes the rind too quickly and holds the moisture inside.  Cheese will drain on its own.  You don't ever need to press it to get whey out.  You only need to press it to close the rind (which you don't want to do too quickly).  Probably this is the most common mistake that beginners make.

Aging is slightly tricky.  You *can* do a schmear if you want to.  I've done it that way before.  It ends up with a thicker rind, though.  I prefer this "mixed-rind" approach.  You're waiting until the geo brings the pH up and *then* you introduce the moisture that will get the b. linens growing.  I know Alp says to keep the rind wet (and he really *is* the expert on this kind of rind), but with the technique I use, you want a fairly dry rind.  We literally don't care about other molds (except mildew because it stains the rind) because we can always wash it off.  The rinds are really pretty different, so it's worth trying both to see what you like better.

As soon as the b. linens is present, though (in either case), I recommend going straight into the normal fridge and keeping the humidity fairly low. Otherwise you will get more like a Trappist washed rind (gooey, very strong tasting cheese).  The goal with this cheese is buttery, pliable, and easy to eat.

[bansidhe]

This is fantastic!  Thank You!  AC4U
It is similar to the NECheesemaking recipe except the pressing is a bit different and no bLinens wash is done.  The temps a little;e different also.  Starting at 30C and and rising to 40C.

You mention a depress stage.  How long was this for?
When I did my first cheese I pressed with only 4lbs.  (I did it the second time, too.. so hopefully it will still be ok).  I like your step of letting it drain a bit before pressing. 

I also noticed your cheese used only 4l (~1gallon).  I have been doing 2gallon makes.  Will this affect the weight used for pressing?

I will definitely try your recipe.  I think I will do yours and Gaven Webbers, trying to keep all things equal, of course...  and see how the different details of the make affect the ultimate cheese.   

[Aris]

It looks more like a Reblochon. Tilsit is pretty similar to Raclette in texture (semi hard, elastic yet soft and creamy) and flavor (funky and stinky rind and nutty and sharp paste), at least from what I tried which was a Swiss Tilsit. Gavin's "Tilsit" also look like Reblochon but a little thicker.

[mikekchar]

The depress is for as long as it takes :-)  It depends completely on the temperature.  Just got to keep tasting the whey that's draining and when it is completely neutral, you are good to salt the cheese.

For pressing, my normal rant is not to follow recipes :-)  Each cheese is different (unless you've really dialed in your make and you've done it lots of times).  The amount of weight I use and the amount of weight you need will be completely different even if we are making the same size cheese.  The moisture level,  curd consistency and pH all affect how you'll press it and there is no way for you to duplicate what I'm doing based on a recipe.  The golden rules (which I got from Caldwell's book) are: 1) Close the rind in 2 hours, not sooner 2) Enough weight to have the whey bead up on the outside, but not to have the whey run at all.  For uncheddared cheeses, I practically never put on any weight for the first 15 mintues -- the whey is still running. But especially for this cheese, the pH is so high that the curd will knit with no weight (or just a tiny amount).  4 lbs at the beginning could easily close the rind and cause it to hold too much moisture.  But it might not.  You'll find out :-)  Always keep in mind that your hobby is making cheese and if it's not perfect today, then it's simply an excuse to do your hobby again!

Aris, it does look a bit like a reblochon, mainly because of the mixed rind and a bit of softening near the rind, but it's quite different.  The paste is fairly firm and pliable due to the washed rind and the high pH at salting.  That particular one may have been just a bit on the acidic side... I can't remember to be honest.  But, yeah, it's not as hard as a raclette, for sure.  It's a butterkase recipe and I think it probably *is* pretty close to a butterkase texture, but again, I've never had one.  Similar in texture to a havarti, I guess.

[bansidhe]

So, I am trying this make today.  I notice you mention Geo and BLinens but dont see it in the ingredients so I assume you mean Ambient GC and BLinens, correct?
I've made other cheese and BLinens never appeared.  Would it help if I smeared it with a BLines wash after a few days?   I am now dry salting.  My cheese was 1lb 15.6 oz, so I put 0.3 oz of salt on top.  The salt also collected at the border of the cheese and the mold.  Will this be a problem?  Also, even salting is important.. so I worry about the sides since the cheese is kind of tall. I used the Small Hard Cheese mold from NECHeesemaking (4 1/2W x 5"H).  Can you or anyone else comment on this?  Thanks!

[mikekchar]

I hope things are working out.  I'm taking a bit of an internet break.  Sorry about that!

Yes, just letting GC and Blinens show up from the wild.  The key is to allow the geotrichum to grow early.  This raises the pH of the rind.  The b. linens won't grow until the pH is high enough on the rind.  Then it will grow when the humidity is high enough.  So you should be washing with a 3% brine any time anything grows on your cheese, but otherwise just let it go.

In terms of the salting, even salting is actually not that important for short cheeses.  The salt will migrate through the cheese anyway.  Don't worry about it.

Looks like you are about 10 days in, which means that if you did the early higher temps, the rind should be pretty slimy, if not already growing visible yeast (or other things).  I just opened my cheese today (which prompted me to check here).  I'll try to post pics later.

[bansidhe]

Hi!  Glad you are ok.  I was a little concerned when you were off the grid.  Anyway, the cheese started off with a dry surface. Now it does get a nice white covering of GC but it doesn't feel slimy.  Here are two pics, one before I wiped the rind and one after.  After I wipe the wind you can see a mottling.  I have never seen that before except on my OTHER butterKase.  It's on that cheese but not as much as this one. Any thoughts on what the deal is?

[mikekchar]

Looking really fine!  It wasn't slimy because your humidity is low enough.  You'll get an obvious bloom instead.  When you wash it, wipe is hard enough that you pull up that mottling into the "schmear".  Geotrichum grows into the surface of the rind.  Wiping the rind hard enough to pull some of the paste into the wash basically makes the lactate in the paste a bit more accessible to the geotrichum, so it will grow a bit faster.  This will raise the pH of the rind and allow the b. linens to grow (eventually).  You should start to see it show up in about a week or so.  Even if you don't, it's a lovely cheese :-)  I need to get off my butt and send picks of my cheese.

[bansidhe]

Yes, Yes you do!  :-). Thanks for the info.  I cannot wait to try it and the other butterKase...