Stilton - Acidification Phase Discussion

[george13]

I am following the Washington Guild recipe for Stilton.  I have drained all of the whey at the recommnded pH level of 6.0 and now have the settled curds in the bottom of my pot sitting there for 8 hours or until I hit the next pH targret of 4.6.  Is this an acceptable practice, or should I be holding my curds in a lined colander for further wey drain for the 8 hour duration.
Thanks

[Boofer]

I'm a blue newbie, but I kept my curds in the pot for 6 hours with the lid on and periodically checked and drained off any accumulated whey. This continued until the curds had reached the target pH point.

-Boofer-

[linuxboy]

There's not much sense holding it past 4.6. The variance in timing comes due to culture, temp, milk, and the overall combination of variables. I mean, you can wait longer, but thing is, once you hit 4.8, the residual acidification takes a long time, because this is a meso cheese. I specified 4.6 for that recipe because if you do everything right, it will increase the creaminess and give you a really unctious, spreadable paste with some notes of buttermilk and cheesy acidity.

[george13]

I get it, thanks.

[george13]

 linuxboy - I should have mentioned that my Stilton trials were comprised exclusively of 10 gallons of 100% goat milk, which leads me to the next couple of questions/comments. 
I kept to the pH benchmarks exactly as per the recipe.  When I hit the pH of 4.65 I decided to mill, and noticed that the curd was crumbly, hence no need to use a knife as per original plans, just broke it up with my fingers. After salting, I placed in a mold and continued with the prescribed flipping.  I feel it was somewhat dry and there is not enough cohesion between the pieces.  But since this is my first trial at this type of cheese I would like your opinion on it.  Maybee it's supposed to be like this and in four days it will have formed as planned.  From past cheeses, I would have liked to have the curd a bit more moist or at least use some more force in compacting it.
Lastly, with the 10 gallons, I only got one large mold filled (have not checked the weight yet) I thought that the yield would be greater.
Thanks

[linuxboy]

It will still work with Nubian milk at 4.6. Mixed breeds or others, it tends to be too grainy if you let it acidify that much. It's hard to say, you have to see what the curd is doing and adjust the recipe.

With goat milk, you have to play around a bit with the drain pH/mill pH balance to make sure that when you fuse the curds together, they are still curds, and not like a lactic style chevre frais. Draining is different, too, because cow milk curd will find an equilibrium based mostly on the floc, rennet amount, and cook schedule. Goat milk curd lets go of moisture a tad faster.

It shouldn't be dry. It should be fairly moist (that's why we add in cream, to help with the creaminess). But if dry, it will still come together, and you can still smooth out the sides. It does compact some.

Check weight. If your yield is low, might be a mismatch for rennet and your milk type, or something else is off.

[george13]

thank you very much, I had some nubian in there but not much, I can see that higher butterfat would have been a plus here.  But I am very happy non the less to have achieved the given results on my first try.  Next batch I will add some of my Jersey milk into the mix.
As far as quantity of curd, it may actually be okay, the scale reads 8.10 lbs.. As far as renneting, I used 1 teaspoon to the 10 gallons and let it sit for 1.5 hours before cut. 
Lastly, the four day period at room temperature, does that include the day of initial processing?
thanks again.
George

[linuxboy]

1 teaspoon to the 10 gallons and let it sit for 1.5 hours before cut

What was the rennet strength and floc? For this time of year, mixed goat milk, you should be using 8-8.5 ml single strength per 100 lbs of milk.
Your floc should be 12-13 mins. And multiplier should be 5-6x. If the milk pF is low, say, .7, then you can kick the rennet up to 9-9.5 ml/100 lbs milk.

Lastly, the four day period at room temperature, does that include the day of initial processing?

Gauge by the cheese. If it is solid, no more whey is dripping off, it holds its shape when you demold, etc, then 4 days is enough. I like to let it sit because my stiltons are very very fatty. I add a good deal of cream in them, so for me, I need the full 5 days before they are stable enough on their own. I think this one for you was a tad dry when you milled, so 3-4 days should be fine.

[george13]

You are very correct about this cheese being very dry.  will the mould formation aid in holding it together, I am afraid that if I bump into it with something, it will all crumble apart.  It's in the cave now, so it should begin doing its thing.