Tomme Style Cheese

[bansidhe]

Today, I made the Tomme Style Cheese from New England cheese making.  I think, for the most part it went well.  my Floc test came in at 13minutes.  I figured, it being an Alpine kind of cheese I should use a multiplier of 2.5, which gave me a time of 34 minutes for cutting the curd.  This was 4 minutes after the recipe, so I think I was in the right ball park. 
Figure 1 is of my break.  Then I carefully cut, waiting between a series of cuts for the curds to heal a bit. Then I used a wire to break the curds down.  After a bit, I used my hand to stir, gently bringing curds from the bottom to the top.  I noticed when I did this the bottom of the pot was noticeably cooler than the mass.  I thought that was odd.. and bit concerning I worried that acid development the area near the bottom was slowed .  Anyway, then I took off 3qts of whey, and replaced it with 1 qt of 120F water.  I did this slowly. At the end of the water addition the curds were only about 83F, instead of the 98 the direction said they should be. SO I put put in a water bath and increased heat of curds until they were 98 degrees. I did this over 6 minutes.  Below are picks.  First fo the break, then early curd, then later.  I ask you mature cheeses for your input, are the curds too small?  Do you think 2.5 is the right multiplier for that type of cheese? Why was the bottom of the pot so cold compared to the mass?  And as always, Thanks!

[rsterne]

Most washed curd recipes add back the same volume of water as you remove, I see that one uses less (15% added back, vs 40% removed).... I always do a quick calculation to see what water temperature to use, as recipes vary hugely.... Eg. on a Gouda, the warm wash might be specified as 120*F in one recipe, 140*F in another, and 175*F in another.... Obviously, you can't add the same amount in each case....

If your 3 qts. of whey removed was 40%, then you must have been doing a 2 gallon make, right?.... That leaves you 5 qts. at 87*F (assuming the curd mass was as that temperature).... If you add back only 1 qt. of water at 120*F, you will end up with (5 x 87) + (1 x 120) = 6 qts. at (435 + 120) = 555 / 6 = 92.5*F.... Obviously, you must use warmer water, or more of it.... If you increase the volume of 120*F water to 2 qts., you would end up with (435 + 240) / 7 = 96.4*F, closer, but still not the 98*F target.... If you use 3 qts. of 120*F water (the same volume as you removed), you should end up at (435 + 360) / 8 = 99.4*F.... If you added the water slowly (I add 2 cups at a time, through a skimmer to spread it out.... then stir 1 minute before adding more).... the mix would probably cool to 98*F by the time you are done.... Have a bit more water than you need heated, or have it at a bit higher temperature, to make sure you don't run out....

Alternately, if for some reason (eg. this recipe) you didn't want to get back to your original milk volume of 8 qts., and stop at the 6 qts. of the recipe, you could use hotter water.... If you added back 1 qt. of water, to reach 98*F you would have to start with (6 x 98) - (5 x 87) = 588 - 435 = 1 qt. of 153*F wash water.... Either method would work, it depends on what final volume you want to end up at.... The hotter the water you are adding, the more careful you should be to avoid scalding the curds in one part of the pot when adding it.... That's my theory, anyways.... I usually figure out how hot the wash water needs to be to bring the volume back to what I started with, and add 5*F to allow for cooling during adding it....

Heating the curds and diluted whey afterwards should work just fine.... IMO what is really important is to finish with the volume the recipe calls for (in your case 6 qts.), at the temperature specified, not how you get there.... I had to do exactly what you did on a Fontina, and it turned out great!....

In terms of the curd size, that recipe calls for a curd cut of 1/4-3/8", that should result in about pea-sized curds after cooking.... The recipe states.... "A broken curd should be firm throughout and the curds should have a moderate resistance when pressed between the fingers. ".... If they are mushy, you need to cook them (stir at 98*F) longer, until the curds are a bit springy....

I use a water bath to heat my cheese pot, and have never noticed any large temperature difference, top to bottom.... I use a 3 gallon stock pot, inside a 4 gallon pot, with enough water in the outer pot to have it come to within 2" of the top when the inner (cheese) pot is in place.... Not quite enough water to make the inner pot float (it hangs on the side handles).... The outer pot sits on a burner, and I have a thermometer in both pots.... You quickly get used to how much above your desired temperature the outer water bath needs to be to hold the temp. constant, or raise it at the required rate....

Bob

[bansidhe]

As usual, your comments are very helpful!  Yes, IO thought about going back to my PCHem days and looking at the volume needed to get Temp where I wanted it.  I had my pot in hot water but I was afraid it would continue to heat a bit sine the hot water was too hot...  I think the child marble counter top probably contributed to the heat loss at the bottom.  At any rate, the recipe said return 15% of volume.. (And yes I did a 2 gallon make since that is the biggest pot I have. :-( ).

My curds felt as if they were the right consistency based on the description.. so I think they are ok..  They just looked a little small/. But I think it might turn out alright.  SOOOOO many variables to cheese making... I never knew!

[Bantams]

If your curd was only 83° after partial heating, then it sounds like the milk temp really dropped during renneting. Next time I would use a water bath to ensure it stays at 89-90° or whatever your recipe specifies. It's very important that the temperature stays very consistent at all points, especially during renneting when you can't adjust temps. 

If you ever have trouble reaching your target temp with a washed curd, make up the difference with direct heating (versus adding additional water). 

The curd does look a bit weak, which would be due to the low coagulation temperature. Looks like the curd broke up excessively.

[rsterne]

Bantam, that brings up a question about the Floc. multiplier.... If the curd is "a bit weak" as you say (possibly partly from the temperature drop of sitting on a marble countertop), wouldn't that also be due to the multiplier used of just 2.5X ?.... I have never seen anything below 3.0X for a washed curd cheese, and it frequently is about 3.5X.... That longer multiple, of course, makes the curd less fragile, right?.... What would you have used as a Floc. multiplier for a Tomme like this?.... Also, isn't the norm to bring the volume back up to where you started when adding the wash water?.... Under what circumstances would you do otherwise?....

I also use a water bath, with 2 thermometers (inner and outer pots) so that I can maintain the temp. of the curd during the renneting, and indeed, all stages.... Once you get used to the differential required (not more than 2 deg. to hold the temp steady), I find I can add a bit of heat (usually 1 min. at "2" on the burner control) each time the outer pot drops below its target temp.... Since the inner pot is suspended in the outer (the handles hang on the rim of the outer), all the inner pot touches is the water bath, and it stays very stable in temp. as long as you watch the outer one.... If the outer gets too hot, I remove the inner, take out a cup or two of hot water from the bath, replacing it with cold to readjust, and the replace the inner and restabilize.... I never leave the cheese pot out of the water bath for any protracted period of time, except when adding warm wash water to raise the temp. (placing it on a wooden cutting board would be better than a stone counter top) and during that addition I raise the temp. of the water bath, so that when I place the cheese pot back inside it doesn't heat or cool, but can then easily be maintained at the higher temperature....

Bob

[bansidhe]

Good points.  I wasn't sure what the multiplier was to be, so I looked some up and it said for an alpine it would be 2.5. But I really have no idea if that was right or not.  It would see it was not right and I should have used at least a three.  I'll make of not of that to be sure!.
I am surprised my Temp dropped so much during renneting, as it was only for about 1/2 an hour.  But alas.. it's something I will keep a closer eye.  This is what my cheese looks like now (post brine, air dry phase).  I will try this one again with a multiplier of 3-3.5. ...  And will try harder to keep my temp more consistent.

[Bantams]

Right, the curd was also cut early so that was likely part of it. But any curd that is 82° or so is going to be pretty fragile I think.

I always use 3.5x for my Tomme style. Alpine style usually refers to the higher temp cooked Alpine cheeses. I do not consider Tomme part of this group since it is only cooked to 100° or so. 

The curd washing water can be any quantity. Some recipes use larger amounts of moderate temp water, others use a smaller amount of very hot water. Really just depends on the effect you're after. 

[rsterne]

I would have thought that using a larger volume of wash water would cause a greater reduction in the amount of remaining lactose, and hence the ultimate lactic acid content, resulting in a "sweeter" cheese.... Assuming you removed 1/3 of the original milk volume (typical) as whey, then more of the remaining lactose would move out of the curds into the diluted whey after you add the wash water if there is a greater volume added, since dissolved chemicals always move from the more concentrated to the more dilute.... This assumes that your final temperature is the same, of course....

In general terms, when would you use a small volume of hot water, rather than a larger volume (eg. replacing all the whey removed) ?.... What type of cheese would benefit from one or the other?.... I understand the concept that the hotter the final result, the drier the cheese, I'm talking about the same final temp, but arrived at by using more or less wash water....

Bob

[jmason]

Well you kind of answered your own question.  Remove/replace whey to the extent that you want to limit lactic acid production.

Jim Wallace has several Tomme style recipes on NEC.

I wouldn't worry to much about your curd size.  It looks like it knitted just fine and will likely become cheese, maybe different than the cheese you hoped for but it should be just fine, and a 2 gallon batch won't last long and a tomme is a fast maturing cheese.  Make another adjusting from this experience until you hit on something you're happy with.

Floc factor 3-3.5 sounds about right about the same as a gouda.

Good luck
John

[bansidhe]

Why Thank You!   I am having a ball learning about all of this.  I appreciate all input.  Thanks again