G'Day from Sydney, Australia

[Crystal]

Hi everyone! Im from Sydney, Australia!
Im new to cheesemaking, i havent done a course or anything, just going by the book, which isnt always accurate! So ive had a few successes and one terrible failure yesterday! I love the whole process of cheese, the waiting too! So far ive done cottage cheese (was a bit dry), a delicious fetta (family favourite ao far), ive done a few whey ricottas, did a farmhouse cheddar thats ageing, and need to wax my second one today. Ive attempted a longhorn, but the recipe was very flawed and it is awful...
We will be making a flavoured colby today with chives from my garden!
I havent attempted any mould ripened cheese, as i only have a kit for hard cheese ;-)
Hope i can get some pointers here!

[margaretsmall]

Welcome Crystal, I'm in Armidale, and there's quite a number of Australian cheesemakers on this forum. Just ask, someone will come up with an answer. What is a longhorn cheese?

[Crystal]

Lol, hi! Well, i had to google it and got a million answers and not one recipe! I think, its a kinda colby or a kind of cheddar... lol it could be called longhorn because it was originally from longhorn cows, or cos it was first made in texas or because of the shape its made in! So, as you can see i was never going to ave nuch success when no one even knows WHAT it is! Anyway, thanks for the welcome, i shall wander off to the help section and see if i can find some answers!

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Hi again Crsytal,

The chives you are going to add need to be kept in the acidic whey for a while or dunked into boiling water for about 5 seconds to reduce the foreign bacteria that may ruin your cheese.

[boothrf]

Hi Crystal,

I'm from Nar Nar Goon in West Gippsland, just out of Melbourne, in dairy country. Originally from Sydney, but no amount of money would get me back there!

I caught the cheesemaking bug about 6 months ago and like most newbies, have had my share of successes and failures. This forum is a great resource for any information about cheesemaking you need. Plenty of active Aussies here too, who can help with local supplies and ingredients.  We are all learning and sharing the journey together. If you need help, make sure you post details of your recipe and photos.

Have fun!

[Crystal]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I had noticed the boiling extras thing in a recipe and was planning to do that. Mine says to add the boiling liquid to the milk then the extras when you salt it?

I do have one q about curds tho, as im working from books that have no pix and are very lacking in describing what each step should.look like! Im good at waiting for.the clean break, but, when i stir the curds, no matter how careful i cut and stir, they fall apart. Theres a few 'cubes' but mostly just lumpish lookin curds... am i doing something wrong or is that ok? Ive tried adding a bit of extra calcium chlpride, which i read can help firm up curds. Ive waited longer before cutting, ive tried being super gentle with the stirring...

[boothrf]

Crystal,

Here are a couple of photos of my camembert curds. This is typically how mine look during stirring, after letting them sit and "heal" for 5 minutes. I am lucky enough to use raw milk so I suspect if you are using store bought milk your curds might be softer and more breakable.

[iratherfly]

Hi Crystal and welcome to the forum! Many Australians here!

Your problem sound easily solvable. Let's get some info as it may have a lot to do with your milk quality / calcium deficiency, or not waiting long enough for a good set.  What milk are you using? (raw? pasteurized? Ultra-pasteurized? Homogenized?) How are you adding the Calcium Chloride to it? You should always use liquid Calcium Chloride and mix 1/8 teaspoon liquid in a 1/4 cup water for each 1 gallon (4 liters) milk.  Don't ever add it directly to the milk without diluting it first. (Don't worry, it won't dilute your cheese, the extra water becomes part of the whey)

When your curd smashes into lumpy substance, does your whey become milky and whiter? Or do you have a clear or green-ish whey?

Also, what is the recipe you are using? How long do you wait between culture and rennet and between rennet and cutting? (Is this for the Colby? Cheddar?). You should never mix the curd immediately after cutting. Always wait 5 minutes for the cubes to begin releasing whey and start sinking under it. Give it the first stir then (and cut any cubes that seem to be too large). Let it rest for another 5 minute and give it a second gentle stir. The curd should begin to compact and strengthen, releasing more whey in your pot/vat.

For your curd washing/cooking, NEVER add boiling water to the vat. It scalds the curd, dentures the proteins and kill off the lactic bacteria, affecting pH and extracting the butterfat.  Use warm water. 160°F-180°F (60°C-80°C).

Cheese recipes are rather generic formulas that don't consider the real life variable of cheesemaking (milk quality, room temperature, strength of cultures, etc.) It is up to you to develop a sensory to interpret what is right and what should be adjusted so that the recipe will succeed in your individual conditions based on your senses: touch, smell, look.

[Crystal]

Ok, your my hero! Lets see if we can solve this.
Im using store bought milk and a basic hard cheese recipe.
Im using liquid calcium chloride and my booklet says tip it in, nothing about diluting! It also says 1/8tsp in 8lt. So, ive been doing a 1/4 anyway assuming it was that causing my problem!
So, i will dilute it from now on

My whey is greenish or yellowish mostly, maybe a smidge milkish... lol!

My recipe for a farmhouse cheddar says culture, then after 45mins, rennet then wait 45mins, cut. Or, wait another 5 if curd isnt set. Ive waited over an hour once and still had smooshed curds!
Oh, and on the adding boiling water, i meant the water i boiled the chives in was added once it d cooled! Atleast i got one thing right!

So, ive just added my rennet but ive already added the calcium direct, so i will dilute it next time! If anyone is here in 45 ill check back during my waiting/cutting/stirring phase!

[iratherfly]

Rennet and Calcium Chloride both needs dilusion in water. It doesn't affect their strength but it gives them very good and even distribution throughout the milk when you mix them.  (Imagine trying to get a few drops of calcium mixed evenly in 8 liters of milk; it's  a lot easier and faster to do it with 1/4-1/2 cup and a thinner liquid.) This is especially important with rennet because it becomes active within 30-60 seconds so by then you want it to be evenly distributed already. It will really effect your yield quantity and how even your cheese is.

Milky whey is an indication of degrading curd. Your goal is to keep it as clear as possible. That means that more solids are in your curd instead of the whey. Yellow milk is more typical when the weather gets nicer and cows are grazing on fresh grass again; it's beta carotene. Green is just riboflavin. All good stuff.

The milk however may be your biggest issue actually. You want to use gently pasteurized (batch pasteurized, not HTST, UHT or Ultra Pasteurized milk which are most of supermarket milks. What does the label say?). You would also get a MUCH better cheese texture, better and deeper flavor as well as higher yield from milk that is not homogenized (also called Cream-Line). This mechanical crushing of fat golubles in supermarket milk (AKA homogenization) is quite horrendous to milk.  This sort of milk also comes from cows that are often living in close quarters and treated with antibiotics which resist your starter bacteria and destroy coagulation. Moreover, if they are fed corn and silage it will produce gas that may give the cheese bitter flavors or even cause it to bloat and explode (happened to me once!).  The better the milk = the better your success rate will be.

Are there any dairy farmers available for you? Can you get raw milk legally where you live? Do you have supermarkets around that sell milk that is not homogenized perhaps?  I guarantee you will see a night and day difference.

Yes, use more calcium for supermarket milk. Less for cream-line/gently pasteurized milk, no calcium needed for raw milk and reduce all cultures by half for raw milk too.

[Crystal]

Wow, your like the yoda of cheese, except u speak better lol!
Ok, ive got homoginised and pasturised milk. I can tell you now that no, i cant get raw milk, im in sydney and i know its illegal in australia. But, i can get an unhomoginised milk from the supermarket.

Its rather expensive tho, so ill make a few more mistakes with the cheap crap first ;-) then one day ill move out of the city, buy a few cows and make cheese till the cows come home! Lol, i will persist for now with this one.

I cut after an hour as its colder today and it was as set as its going to get. I did wait to stir and their holding up, but still.not brilliant. Got yellow whey today! I hope they will taste alright enough tho...
I love the science side of cheese, and will continue to.make mistakes and learn from them wth help.from this.forum!

[iratherfly]

Yoda me not. All we forum members like that speak!

I think what you are describing is one of the strangest and most typical cycles I have seen around this hobby of cheesemaking. People coming to it don't feel immersed and committed enough to justify investing in expensive milk on recipe they have not yet perfected and suspect it may all go to the trash.  Sadly, that cheap milk is the exact cause behind the disappointments and dismal failures and someone who would otherwise be a great cheesemaker ends up frustrated and demoralized by the experience (especially after few good months of care). Many don't feel like making cheese anymore and let go of this great thing.  In the grand scheme of things, if you intend on making a cheddar and care for it for 6 months and have the proper equipment, make the move to good milk. It's 98% of the cheese.

Aging of cheese tends to amplify qualities of milk immensely. There are nuances which you have no way of feeling when drinking milk with cookies, using it in your coffee or breakfast cereal. These will come out bright and strong in aged cheese.  that's the difference between succeeding in fabricating cheese versus making cheese at home that far surpass what you get at the market, from day 1.  Give yourself a chance with good milk. At least try it on one cheese. Even do a soft cheese to see how good it is. You will see a huge difference fro coagulation behavior to flavor and aroma, I guarantee it.

[Crystal]

Alright cheese yoda, i will get organised for a quick feta next and will splurge on good milk. Ive done a feta before so atleast ill notice the difference! If my backyard was full of vegies and 6 kids (human kind) id get a goat! Maybe i should just move to the country to help suport my hobby?

[iratherfly]

Yes! Goat!  Oh, if I could only have them here in the middle of New York City:)

Have you done any softer bloomy cheese, washed rind or Tomme yet?  I would test the good milk with those.

[Crystal]

Umm, no i havnt done any of those. I never even heard of them!
Actually i noticed u were in NY, where on earth do you get your milk?

Ill search for a recipe in a min, unless you know where i can find one?