Bitter cheese troubleshooting

[fromge3ie]

Okay, after a million and one trials and errors, researching and practicing: I would like to present you with my puzzle.

First pressed cheese: Colby- after shortly aging it, it tasted like a battery, Soooo bitter. I was devastated. Maybe it was the fact that I was using homogenized milk? I went about researching and I learned about Flav 54 and its ability to prevent bitterness. I got some and started adding it to my milk as insurance against bitterness.

I made Manchego, PepperJack, jarlsberg, and a Caerphilly which all turned out great. However, in the mix of those, I also made a sweet gouda which ended up not as bad as the colby but still pretty bitter.

Hmm, maybe something else is making the cheese bitter, I made sure I was using the right amount of rennet and culture. However, I discovered I was adding too much Cacl. I was using solid cacl so a tsp of ~30% solution is 1/3 of a tsp of solid cacl would be.

So maybe I am using too much cacl. I corrected for this and decreased it even a little more to be on the safe side in my recipes. My second try at a gouda, I lowered the rennet, the cacl, had LH in it. Still bitter.. WTF.

Next time I had made another Jarlsberg and that one turned out bitter too.

Okay the common theme now is that these are washed curd cheeses. Maybe the higher moisture is leading to bitterness?

Maybe something is wrong with my water? I filter my water and it has a relativly nuetral pH.

My latest experiment: I got skim milk and bought organic pasteurized cream (no additives) to simulate a "non-homogenized" milk. (Pending results)

Since the washed curd cheeses slows the acidification, perhaps the pH is too low?

Also, my RT is a little high 77-79 F, so perhaps the proteolytic activity for my jarlsberg was too much at this higher temperature? my first Jarlsberg had problems with mold so its RT aging was very short-lived. I am curious if additional aging will balance out the peptide accumulation.

Also, My second Gouda, After aging for an additional month, I would say the bitterness was about cut in half. I am waiting further to see if this trend continues.

So I feel like I have hit all the points that can cause bitter cheese:
Too much rennet
Too much Cacl
Too little acid production before salted
Too high of moisture
Too high of an aging temperature
adding LH (flav 54) to the milk
Using non-homogenized milk

Am I missing something?

[Susan38]

Yes, I think one more thing.  In Caldwell's "Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking" book, under the "affinage" section, she says "Remember that as cheeses go through phases in their ripening, they might be bitter.  Making notes on when a bitter phase occurs and when it ceases will be very helpful in deciding ideal aging lengths for each type of cheese".

I have had a slight bitter flavor in a couple of my Jacks...sampling them first at the shortest recommended aging time (3 months).  Sampling a month later, flavor improved and bitterness was gone.  Sampling a month after that, flavor was quite improved.  You did not say how long you are aging these cheeses, but if you are trying them out in a shorter time period, I would say that might just be the problem.  Simple solution...throw them back in the cave for awhile.

Good luck!

[mikekchar]

First, welcome to the forum!  Hopefully can get your problem sorted out quickly!

I have heard that using chlorinated water for washing the curd can cause bitterness.  This would be especially true in a Colby, I imagine because the cold water rushes into the curds.  If I were you, I'd make a fresh cheese without a washed curd, to cut down on variables.  My advice is to follow a feta recipe, but salt it after about 4-5 hours in the mold (rather than all night).  Just measure about 2% of the weight of the resultant cheese in salt and rub it around the outside.  Leave that for about 3 days and then try the cheese.  This will give you a much better place to experiment.  If you have some small baskets you can even do it with relatively small amounts of milk -- I often do this kind of recipe with only 2 liters (half a gallon) of milk because cheesemaking milk is hard to get my hands on these days.

[fromge3ie]

First, welcome to the forum!  Hopefully can get your problem sorted out quickly!

I have heard that using chlorinated water for washing the curd can cause bitterness.  This would be especially true in a Colby, I imagine because the cold water rushes into the curds.  If I were you, I'd make a fresh cheese without a washed curd, to cut down on variables.  My advice is to follow a feta recipe, but salt it after about 4-5 hours in the mold (rather than all night).  Just measure about 2% of the weight of the resultant cheese in salt and rub it around the outside.  Leave that for about 3 days and then try the cheese.  This will give you a much better place to experiment.  If you have some small baskets you can even do it with relatively small amounts of milk -- I often do this kind of recipe with only 2 liters (half a gallon) of milk because cheesemaking milk is hard to get my hands on these days.

Yeah, I know my county chlorinates the water, but I figured my filter would get rid of that. perhaps not. I suppose I can buy a gallon of purified water for the 50 cents or whatever it is, next time.  Good advice on the feta, that is the next cheese I want to make. 

[fromge3ie]

Yes, I think one more thing.  In Caldwell's "Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking" book, under the "affinage" section, she says "Remember that as cheeses go through phases in their ripening, they might be bitter.  Making notes on when a bitter phase occurs and when it ceases will be very helpful in deciding ideal aging lengths for each type of cheese".

I have had a slight bitter flavor in a couple of my Jacks...sampling them first at the shortest recommended aging time (3 months).  Sampling a month later, flavor improved and bitterness was gone.  Sampling a month after that, flavor was quite improved.  You did not say how long you are aging these cheeses, but if you are trying them out in a shorter time period, I would say that might just be the problem.  Simple solution...throw them back in the cave for awhile.

Good luck!

Thank you for the response! I am thinking it might be a combination of both yours and the other answer. Colby had chlorinated water and I tried aging it for another 5 months and I just ended up pitching it because it was not getting better.
I do agree that these low acid cheese need additional time to ripen. I was checking on the shortest suggested sides ~2 months.
I am planning a cheese night with some family in another two months so I hope they round out by then.

[Bantams]

I use chlorinated water for my washed curd cheeses and have never had an issue with bitterness.
Another possible reason - the primary one I have experienced - is bitterness due to undersalting.
What size wheels (how thick, weight) and how long are you brining?

[pickles]

If your water is chloramine treated rather than the chlorine stuff there is a way to neutralise it, just boiling won't do.
Get some campden tablets, used by home brewers and put a quarter of a tablet in a gallon of tap water, then leave it until next day.
The resulting water will be right for brewing, bread-making and cheese-making.

[fromge3ie]

I use chlorinated water for my washed curd cheeses and have never had an issue with bitterness.
Another possible reason - the primary one I have experienced - is bitterness due to undersalting.
What size wheels (how thick, weight) and how long are you brining?

That definitely seems to be the most common reason but after my first bitter cheese I make sure to brine on the longer side. Most cheeses I do 3 hours per lb, some saltier cheeses, 4 hours per lb. I've also heard 1 hour per inch tall per lb. This ends up being 3 hours per lb with my mold.

[scasnerkay]

My municipal water is treated with chloramine. I have not experienced the bitter problem with washed curd cheeses.
A possible contributing factor to bitterness may be the pH going too low before brining.

[fromge3ie]

My municipal water is treated with chloramine. I have not experienced the bitter problem with washed curd cheeses.
A possible contributing factor to bitterness may be the pH going too low before brining.

The pH is my suspect. I just got a pH meter and two things, my tap water is about 7, once filtered it goes to about 6.2. this lower pH water paired with the blind making I believe my pH could be too low or too high before brineing.
I'm going to make a washed curd butterkase while monitoring ph and see how it is. It's. A quick turnaround so I'm excited.