Feta #3 (#1 to actually age)

[smilingcalico]

Good, hope your cheese comes out well.  I just made a batch today.

[T-Bird]

calico, you had a whey brined cheese soften? How long did you let it sit before salting it? I let my whey sit in the fridge for 3 days while my cubed up curds sat, salted in a clean tupperware container "tuffening up". I then salted the whey. Maybe it's the "tuffening up" that prevented the melting. I had some last night- quite firm-no vinegar or calcium. T-Bird

[smilingcalico]

I let mine sit out for 2 days, to toughen as you say.  I shouldn't declare it all or nothing.  Sometimes they melted, sometimes they didn't.  So, now I don't bother to risk it.  I add a teaspoon of vinegar per gallon, and no problem.  It's a good cheap fix.

[T-Bird]

Maybe I was lucky. First time's a charm, or something like that. I guess any research that has a sample size of 1 is likely to have some unrecorded data. T-Bird

[smilingcalico]

HAHA, yeah, my first batch came out perfect too.  I didn't know what all the hullabaloo was about.  Now I know that not all makes behave as well.

[ellenspn]

The pH of my brine for this batch is hovering around 4.5.  It maybe that it got too hot when I was stirring the curds?

[smilingcalico]

With what are you taking pH?  Some meters are sensitive to the temperature of the subject being measured.

[ellenspn]

Brand new Extek pH 110. I'm taking my readings when the temp stabilizes.

[smilingcalico]

If it doesn't come back up on its own you can add baking soda a little at a time to bring the pH to your desired target.

[ellenspn]

I've been slowly eating this.  Other than amount of salt making it a bit bitter it tastes good.

I plan to re-use the brine.  Any pointers for me filtering and storing it?

[mtncheesemaker]

I just skim off any scum on the top and filter it through cheesecloth if it looks like it needs it, and keep it in the fridge. You can check the salinity to see if you need to add more salt.
Pam

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

I boil, filter, adjust salt and pH and keep it in the glass jars in my pantry.