My Baby Is Swelling Up.

[DeejayDebi]

Heating pad in the oven might work. I have a case of those hand warmer thingies. I use a ton of them at work every winter. Good idea!

[Sailor Con Queso]

I sometimes use a heating pad inside of a styrofoam cooler for yogurt or cream cheeses. Simple, but very effective.

[DeejayDebi]

I've been keeping my brine bucket over my cheeses to keep the drafts off and setting it on the fridge. That's about the warmest place in the house. Woke up to frozen water yesterday. That hasn't happened in a long time!

[scubagirlwonder]

Hey Sailor!

I noticed in your recipe you use raw milk, I unfortunately don't have that option right now (Whole Foods has stopped carrying it due to recent issues...) How much rennet would you use for 4 gallons pasteurized milk? (Either vegetable tabs or calf's rennet, I have both)
THANKS! You've inspired me to try your Baby Swiss!
~Cheers

[Sailor Con Queso]

I don't use veg tabs. The amount varies on a number of factors - quality of milk, rennet brand, age of rennet, etc. You should search the forum and study up on flocculation.

[scubagirlwonder]

I've searched the forum and read up...but I don't see how the flocculation info helps me determine the AMOUNT of rennet to use...I have not had a problem with renneting time and getting a clean break on my cheeses, I am just trying to figure out how much rennet to use in this particular recipe using fresh, pasteurized whole milk....

[scubagirlwonder]

Nevermind....I went back to Peter Dixon's recipe and just did the math using 4 gallons instead of 5.8...hopefully it will be ok given that I'm using pasteurized milk instead of raw milk...It's all trial and error anyway, right?!

[linuxboy]

I've searched the forum and read up...but I don't see how the flocculation info helps me determine the AMOUNT of rennet to use...I have not had a problem with renneting time and getting a clean break on my cheeses, I am just trying to figure out how much rennet to use in this particular recipe using fresh, pasteurized whole milk....

It helps by letting you know how the amount of rennet affects your floc time, and if you have a target for time to floc. If your floc takes 30 mins and your milk is good, you need to use more rennet. Similarly, if your floc is 5 mins and your milk is good, you need to use less rennet.

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Hi Scuba Girl,

Rennet dosage is defined by the manufacturer. They usually say something like 10ml for 1000L milk or 100ml for 1000L milk etc on the package.

For example, I have a double strength CHR Hansen calf rennet and it says 10ml for 1000L milk. For my 8L of milk I only use 0.8ml.

Flocculation does not give you the formula for amount of rennet but gives you the optimum time for cutting the curd. Of course this time changes with the amount of rennet if you make like 0.1ml measurement mistakes. Also using more rennet than advised may result in a bitter taste in your end product. Using less rennet is OK I think as long as flocculation technique applied or enough time given for the curd formation (usually longer).

[Sailor Con Queso]

ScubaGirl,

Time is a VERY inaccurate way to do things when making cheese. Flocculation is very important because it is an easy way to compensate for variables like raw vs. pasteurized, or Jersey vs. Holstein, or Spring milk vs. late lactation, or 86F vs 88F temperature, or rennet brand X vs. brand Y.

So, here's the deal. I shoot for a "flocculation point" of 12 minutes with all of my cheeses. I use calf rennet from supplier X and add say 1/2 teaspoon for a 5 gallon batch. Well, if it takes 16 minutes to flocculate, the next time I will use a little more. If it takes just 7 minutes to flocculate I know that I need to use a little less next time.

Cheese recipes don't take these variables into consideration when giving amounts or times. Kind of like the difference between making bread in Miami or Denver. Things just don't work the same at 6000 feet as they do at sea level and you have to make adjustments. If you are using the same milk source, you get a real feel for just how much rennet to add.

[scubagirlwonder]

Sailor,
I appreciate all the advice and I understand what you're explaining about the importance of flocculation (and am learning to use it), but when I am making a recipe for the first time I need a starting point and that is what I was trying to get regarding the amount of rennet to use in the baby Swiss recipe. I did some research on my own and added the recommended amount of rennet, (and went ahead and recorded floc for next time.)
~Cheers

[Sailor Con Queso]

That's what you do. Record for the next time.

[Tom Turophile]

After reading the excellent advice on flocculation, I'm a convert.  Not that I've tried it yet, but after getting a completely different (worse) result by using better (raw) milk, I'm going to.

(link fixed, thanks Debi)

[scubagirlwonder]

Just a quick question regarding the initial aging of Baby Swiss (during eye formation): should I still be turning the cheese as I would other cheeses, or do I just leave it be? I don't want to mess anything up or risk cracking it!!

I brined it the shorter amount of time, per Sailor's recommendations (I agree with the shorter time allowing for a more pliable rind!) and allowed it to air dry for several days at 55F, now am moving it into the warmer environment for eye development....also, anything special I need to do for humidity? or is it just supposed to be at a lower humidity (eg. room air)??
~Cheers!

[DeejayDebi]

After reading the excellent advice on flocculation, I'm a convert.  Not that I've tried it yet, but after getting a completely different (worse) result by using better (raw) milk, I'm going to.

Try this link I think this is were Tom meant to send you - here