Stainless steel pot

[cheeseboard]

I heard on a Youtube that its important to use a stainless steel pot........

It got me thinking as I've made 3 batches so far, I've made some mistakes, but the worst 2 came when I used the non-stick pan, I will stick to the stainless steel from now on. But is it true that you have to use stainless steel pot (& presumably spoon too.....) ?

[mikekchar]

No.  It's not important really.  Use whatever pot you want.  Non-stick is totally fine.  If it's scratched (and even if it's not) make sure to boil water in it for 10 minutes or so to kill any bacteria in the scratch.  Enamel is fine too.  If you had a sous vide (or some other way to create a warm water bath), you could even make cheese in a food grade plastic box because it never gets hot.  Traditionally the dutch used wooden "pots" (which is why they developed the washed curd technique -- it was used to raise the temperature of the milk above blood temp).  Regiano Parmegiano *must* be made in copper pots (not for any particularly good reason -- it's just in the PDO regulations).

Some people avoid using aluminium.  This is due to an incorrect feeling that aluminium can lead to Alzheimer's (the paper that showed the link was in error, but helpful newspapers never printed a retraction, so now it lives on as an urban legend).  However the acidity of the of the whey can lead to pitting of the pot, so it will eventually wear it out -- in a very, very, very long time.  Some people seem to have an ability to taste aluminium from acidic foods cooked in aluminium pots.  I've made cheese frequently in aluminium pots and I can't taste it.  Most of the time I use a stainless steel pot only because it's the only pot I have in that size.  Personally I wouldn't hesitate to use any other pot if I happened to have one that size.

Stainless has some nice properties, though.  It is quite durable.  It doesn't tend to pit or degrade (unless you add bleach -- don't sterilise stainless steel equipment with bleach).  It won't flavour your cheese.  It heats very slowly and holds heat reasonably well.  I don't like it for ricotta, though, because stainless steel does not have a good affinity for water. When it gets near boiling, it creates very large bubbles because the water doesn't interact well with the metal.  You end up getting big blurps rather than small fine streams of bubbles.  This is important for not disturbing the ricotta floating on the top. Having said that, I do occasionally use my stainless steel pot just because I don't have another one that size.

In terms of non-stick pots/pans, you can use them pretty much for everything cooking except one thing.  You should never heat up the pan to a very high heat with nothing in it.  The teflon will produce a poisonous gas at very high temperatures.  At temperatures normal for frying and boiling it's OK, but never just sit a non-stick pan on the burner and forget about it (or warm it up in an oven).

As for other equipment, it's basically the same thing.  I use stainless equipment simply because that's what I happen to have.  I also have a bamboo paddle which I use sometimes.  I boil/steam it to sterilise it, along with all my other equipment.  Silicon tools work very nicely and are easy to sterilise (you can boil them no problem).  Plastic tools can scratch which can harbour bacteria, but you can usually steam them to get them relatively sanitised.

[Susan38]

I don't like it for ricotta, though, because stainless steel does not have a good affinity for water. When it gets near boiling, it creates very large bubbles because the water doesn't interact well with the metal.  You end up getting big blurps rather than small fine streams of bubbles.  This is important for not disturbing the ricotta floating on the top.

Mike, I'm wondering if you just solved the mystery of why my ricotta NEVER floats.  ALL my pots are stainless steel.

[cheeseboard]

Great going Mike, you definitely know your stuff ! Very handy to know all that and reassuring.

My cultures, lipaise & rennet arrived yesterday. I had used the Mad Millie stuff, but there's no cultures with that kit, so I just got bland cheeses. Now I'm looking forwards to making some "proper" cheeses on the weekend.....I should have got both types of culture, I just got Thermophilic B cultures, but should have got some Mesophilic cultures, got to pay the postage again. Well, will leave as long as possible.......

[Bantams]

I don't like it for ricotta, though, because stainless steel does not have a good affinity for water. When it gets near boiling, it creates very large bubbles because the water doesn't interact well with the metal.  You end up getting big blurps rather than small fine streams of bubbles.  This is important for not disturbing the ricotta floating on the top.

Mike, I'm wondering if you just solved the mystery of why my ricotta NEVER floats.  ALL my pots are stainless steel.

You really don't want your ricotta milk to come to a simmer - turn it off at 185. If it simmers/boils it will definitely get churned up and settle to the bottom.
I can assure you that every single batch of commercial ricotta made in the US is made in a SS vat.

[Susan38]

You really don't want your ricotta milk to come to a simmer - turn it off at 185. If it simmers/boils it will definitely get churned up and settle to the bottom.
I can assure you that every single batch of commercial ricotta made in the US is made in a SS vat.

Bantams...I DO turn it off at 185 but I was wondering if there were some teeny bubbles going on that I could not see.  So maybe mystery is not solved yet and will post more in the Ricotta board to see if I can sleuth the issue out there.

[cheeseboard]

New pot arrived today. 21L for £ 25. Will be able to make loads more in 1 batch than multiple. Very happy.

[Lancer99]

I'm with bantams.  If you get to the point where you're worrying about bubbles (of any size), you're probably overheating the whey.

Having said that, on several occasions I've had pots boil over, so a mix of both floating and settled ricotta, and they were fine.

-L

[H-K-J]

I don't like it for ricotta, though, because stainless steel does not have a good affinity for water. When it gets near boiling, it creates very large bubbles because the water doesn't interact well with the metal.  You end up getting big blurps rather than small fine streams of bubbles.  This is important for not disturbing the ricotta floating on the top.

Mike, I'm wondering if you just solved the mystery of why my ricotta NEVER floats.  ALL my pots are stainless steel.

I've made beautiful ricotta in my stainless pot  never a minutes problem.

[mikekchar]

Because I started the "stainless doesn't have affinity to water" thing, I should point out that I've made lots of ricotta in my stainless steel pot :-)  It's just that aluminium is better because it doesn't "glop" when it comes to a boil (copper is also good).