A question on raw milk

[avaserfi]

I recently got access to a steady source of raw cows milk and it is wonderful. In the past I had given up cheese making because of inconsistent results with store bought milk. I decided I would start simple and work my way up, so I started with an acidified milk cheese.

I took one quart cups of my milk (shaken to incorporate the cream) and brought it up to 180 degrees F then I added 3T of lemon juice and stirred. Instantly I had curd separation, I poured the mixture through a cheese cloth. The remaining whey had a milky color to it and my yield was just under 4oz. Clearly I made a mistake. The cheese also had a slightly rubbery/dry texture.

I started to do some searching and came across a Serious Eats post that said take 2 cups milk and 2 T white vinegar mix and microwave until the curds separate. I tried that and got a more clear, but still slightly cloudy whey and a similar yield to the attempt above, but it had the same texture. (http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/02/how-to-make-fresh-ricotta-fast-easy-homemade-cheese-the-food-lab-recipe.html)

Clearly something wasn't working right. Lastly, I tried the method from the New England Cheesemaking company, cutting down to 2 cups of milk and using 2 T vinegar instead of citric acid. Mix the two together, heat to 170 and saw some flaking, so I continued to 190. I had a small raft in the center of the pot that looked good. I kept it in the center and let it sit 12 or so minutes. At that point the instructions said to ladel out and that no cheese cloth was needed. This netted me about 1.5oz of cheese and a very creamy looking whey, but had a lovely creamy texture. (http://www.cheesemaking.com/includes/modules/jWallace/ChsPgs/11Ricotta/Index.html).

The last batch I only drained for about 1 hour while the others were drained for about 2, but the difference was huge in creaminess was huge.

The long story leads me to a question: Do I need to take special measures when making cheese with raw milk because of lack of standardization or something like that? If not how do I go about troubleshooting the low yield/odd texture problem/

Thanks

[MrsKK]

I honestly have never enjoyed queso blanco/paneer.  Even when they turned out, it just seemed like a version of tofu, something else I don't enjoy.  The creamy texture you describe from the Ricki Carroll recipe sounds more like ricotta than queso blanco.

How are you heating your milk?  If in a kettle directly on a burner, your milk may be getting hotter than you think, which could cause the toughness.  A microwave isn't gentle with milk, either.

A hot water jacket method works well for heating milk.  Simply put, it is one pot inside another, with the larger pot filled with water to the level of the milk.  Stir the milk frequently to distribute the heat.

Quite honestly, since you have good milk to work with, I'd just delve into more complex cheesemaking, but that's just me.

[avaserfi]

Thanks for the tip, next time I can try to use a double boiler. That shouldn't be a problem. I tried to use both a microwave and a saucepan on the stove.

Do you have any recommendations on a cheese to make? I have done citric acid mozzarella before, but that doesn't taste the same as something that is done with a bacterial acidification. I don't have a cave yet so I was thinking feta was a good option or is there something better? We like feta, but it isn't a go to cheese like a good mozzarella is. Of course, most of my favorite cheeses need to be aged so if all goes well I might work toward a cave.

[sstrantz]

My 2Cents...

I encourage people to try Queso Fresco when starting out.  It is a cheese that allows you to learn the basic techniques of cheesemaking but you don't have to age at a higher temp.  It also allows you to work out some "technique bugs" before aging something and finding that you made some basic mistakes and had to wait so long to find out!  The one I make is a little different than in Ricki's book, but very close.  There was also a recipe on fiascofarms.com.  They encourage letting it "age" a couple weeks before cutting and I agree...tastes much better if you wait a bit.

[sstrantz]

http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/quesofresco.htm

[avaserfi]

Thanks for the tip. Right now I do not have a cheese press, so I can't really make the queso fresco. I think my next step will be citric acid mozz and then I will get into more complicated stuff from there.

Is there a good place to read up on the different types of cultures? I already make my own yogurt and use it to culture butter so I know I have some of them around, I just don't know when to use what etc. edit: I found this with a little searching.

http://www.cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Thermophilic_Culture.htm
http://www.cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Mesophilic_Culture.htm

Thanks again!

[Tomer1]

I recently got a source of FREE raw milk ,how sweet is that?  (well im giving a few bottles of my wine as an act of good will).

Im not sure how to treat it, whether to pasteurize it to 73 degres or just use it as is.
Using the search function I didnt find exact "instructions" on raw milk cheese production other then using less starter and aging for 60 days. (Impractical rule for soft moldy cheeses isnt it?)

Im making mainly aged cheeses , semi soft,smear ripened and planning on doing a few large wheels of italian clasics (parm and romano) as soon as I come up with a diy press and a form.

[MrsKK]

I don't pasturize my cow's milk, but that's because I know how healthy she is and how clean my milking practices are.  If you have any doubts about the quality and cleanliness of the milk at all, I recommend that you pasturize it.  Then you can use it for fresher, younger cheeses with no worries.

[Tomer1]

I went ahead,heated it up to 31c and followed the recipe  Had some to drink too, totaly different then the standartized milk from the supermarket.