Hey all, I am making some cheese next week after the holidays (probably Asiago) and am picking up the milk from the farm i buy from today. I have always used milk that is 1 day old tops to make cheese before, but this time around the milk will be 5-7 days old.
Are there any adjustments I should make in the recipe to account for raw milk that will be nearly a week old?
Might be controversial, but if it were me, I'd pasteurise it (bring it up to 65C and hold for 30, then cool down to your target temp). Then add a bit of calcium chloride.
I wouldn't do that.
Raw milk requires care. I use it exclusively for cheesemaking.
I refuse to use anything over 3 days old and prefer it less than a day old.
An alternative is freezing. I have tried this and it makes little difference to the end product, the only problem being the hygiene required during double handling of the freezing and thawing process.
I found that no changes were required to the making process after freeze/thaw.
Thanks for the opinions. Any other thoughts from others on freezing, or using older milk in general?
The milk from this cow, when the jars are unopened especially, tastes just fine at 5-7 days, but I am sure that there is stuff going on microscopically that my taste buds don't pick up on.
Is the concern about using older milk more a safety issue or more a concern with the cheese not turning out well?
I wouldn't be afraid of the milk. But you can expect its pH to be starting lower than normal so you'll need to watch your times/acidification--it'll get away from you.
Quote from: GortKlaatu on December 22, 2018, 05:05:15 AM
I wouldn't be afraid of the milk. But you can expect its pH to be starting lower than normal so you'll need to watch your times/acidification--it'll get away from you.
I was thinking that too...
Originally I was planning on using more starter culture than usual for this make because lately my makes have been taking way longer than expected due to the enhanced buffering of winter milk. But due to the fact that this milk will be older, should I actually use a bit less starter culture than what is called for?
If you're using late-lactation milk, then yes, a bit more starter culture is commonly necessary due to enhanced buffering, but if the milk is a bit older with a lower pH, then I'd just use your normal amount of starter culture