My Baby Is Swelling Up.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Cream Top (aka Cream Line) milk is really good because it's not homogenized. A 50/50 blend with 2% is probably a good mix.

Christy - Are you making a true Swiss or a Baby Swiss? Big difference. Swiss uses thermophilic starter while Baby is a mesophilic. In either case, the Propionic is in addition to your regular starter and has an entirely different mission than the lactic bacteria. With a true Swiss I would use 1/8 teaspoon of Propionic. With a Baby, I would use 1/16.

Sominus - no telling what else they have in that aging room besides the Baby Swiss. Vac packing does have its merits, but a tight vaccum might also restrict rind expansion and inhibit eye formation. I prefer Au Naturale. Another approach I want to try is to dry the freshly brined wheel for just one or two days during the cool phase then place the wheel in a large ziplock or vac bag with no vaccum. The bag will stay in this bag for the rest of the cool phase and throughout eye formation. My thought is to keep the rind super moist to prevent cracking. This should also produce a softer, more edible rind.

There are several choices - none are wrong.

[cmharris6002]

I'm making a true Swiss. I went ahead and used 1/8tea. I have made this a few times but this is my first attempt with the goat milk ran through the separator. I don't know what the fat% is but it is sure to be lower that full fat goat milk.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Since goat's milk is naturally homogenized and acts differently than cow's milk, I don't know how much difference the lower fat content will make. (interesting question). But I'm sure it will be a great cheese. Have you had trouble with eye formation on your whole milk?

[cmharris6002]

No, my eye formation is pretty good for the small 4 gallon batches I usually make. This is how they usually turn out. However, with whole milk I have to allow for eye development at 60F because at 72F the cheese will ooze fat. My goat milk is around 3.5% butterfat. Because of the lower temp I used more propionic, 1t for four gallons.

My goal with reducing the fat is to be able to use less propionic and to allow for eye development at 72F with no oozing. I am hoping for larger eyes 

[Sailor Con Queso]

I remember your cheese. Looks great.

Sweating a little fat is normal and I feel that it actually helps the rind stay pliable. The milk I am using runs around 4% butterfat and I just let it sweat at 70F. I figure it won't hurt if I lose a little butterfat in the process. Have you tried just letting one go at 70F to see what happens?

1t of Propionic in 4 gallons is really high, but I understand you are compensating for the lower temp. Your eyes are numerous, but a little small. That can be attributed to the high dosage and the low temp during eye formation. Swiss is traditionally made in 200 pound wheels so the CO2 gas has a long way to travel before reaching the rind. In small wheels such as we produce, the gas has a much shorter path before it gets to the rind and starts increasing pressure. So it is much easier to get big eyes in larger wheels.

[cmharris6002]

I have noticed the difference...

The cheeses that oozed fat at 70F had wonderful flavor but a somewhat dry, flaky texture while the ones that didn't ooze had a nice firm but moist interior, typical of what you would expect.

[Boofer]

In the videos during the pressing I was wondering how long they press. It seemed like it wasn't too long at all. I caught the 25 pound weight comment. With that and the mechanical advantage they might have working, it seems like the press weight would be at least 100 pounds.

Also does it seem like the cheese table is maintained at a warm temperature to facilitate the prepress with the steel plates and the subsequent cutting of the curds?

Any other speculation or opinion?

-Boofer-

[Sailor Con Queso]

Time is money, so the commercial guys press hard and fast. Nothing like what we do. Francois might be able to give some pressures and times.

Christy - dry and flaky can be caused by over acidification, usually because of too much starter bacteria.

[cmharris6002]

Yes, perhaps. I am very good with my times, temps and measure but still, it could have gotten away from me.

[zameluzza]

Sailor, can you please help me. ( or anyone else )
I would like to try the baby swiss tomorrow, following Dixon's recipe , but not sure if using mm100 or aroma B yet.. I have both.
but I really need help with the mesurements, I'm so confused with ponunds and all that.

my batch will be 200 liters of milk, can you please tell me how much mm100 or aroma B I need for this batch, and how much propionic?

thanks

[Sailor Con Queso]

200 liters - cool.

I use 1/2 (.5) teaspoon of Aroma B and 1/16 (.0625) teaspoon Propionic for a 5 gallon batch.

So 200 liters = 52.83 gallons
Aroma B = .5 tsp/5 gallon = .1 tsp/gallon so .1 x 52.83 = 5.25 teaspoons (rounded off)
Propionic = .0625 tsp/5 gallons = .0125 tsp/gallon x 52.83 = .66 teaspoons - round up to .75 = 3/4 teaspoon

These are my measurements scaled up to fit your 200 liters. I would check with your culture supplier and get their recommendations based on the strains that you are using.

[zameluzza]

200 liters - cool.

I use 1/2 (.5) teaspoon of Aroma B and 1/16 (.0625) teaspoon Propionic for a 5 gallon batch.

So 200 liters = 52.83 gallons
Aroma B = .5 tsp/5 gallon = .1 tsp/gallon so .1 x 52.83 = 5.25 teaspoons (rounded off)
Propionic = .0625 tsp/5 gallons = .0125 tsp/gallon x 52.83 = .66 teaspoons - round up to .75 = 3/4 teaspoon

These are my measurements scaled up to fit your 200 liters. I would check with your culture supplier and get their recommendations based on the strains that you are using.

thanks a bunch 

[zameluzza]

what do you guys think?to keep the cheese at room temperature and keep the humitity right do you think this greenhose would work?

I will store my cheese in the new house, but it's pretty dry there and a little dusty since it's still under construction, is that an idea?
http://www.princessauto.com/farm/lawn-garden/garden-equipment/8211534-72-tall-green-house?redirected=1

[linuxboy]

That's a tough one. You need to keep the temp constant, it's the variations that often make for defects. If you can keep it constant and the humidity fairly constant, then it will work.

were you thinking of just putting it outside and letting the sun heat it up?

[zameluzza]

That's a tough one. You need to keep the temp constant, it's the variations that often make for defects. If you can keep it constant and the humidity fairly constant, then it will work.

were you thinking of just putting it outside and letting the sun heat it up?

nope not outside just inside the house in a room, I can leave it open and just close it up when we do some work.

and not close to a window where the sun shines on it..