I a new to cheese making and am interested in making cultured mozzarella. I am using non-homogenised pasteurised whole milk, calcium chloride, Abiasa Thermophile type B culture and liquid microbial rennet.
I have made about four batches of cheese now and I'm starting to have some success. What I have noticed in most recipes, eg Caldwell, is that they start at a low temperature and then increase, increasing further after coagulation. Eg 80F --> 90F --> 97F.
In my eyes this is making for a slow process. I note that the optimum temperature for Thermophile type B is 106F. Would it be possible to go straight to that temperature at the start of the process and maintain it, or at least start at, say, 95F?
Lance
You are correct, most cheeses temp start low and increase. The reason for this is it's a balancing act, you want the culture activity to grow while also having enough time to get the right amount of moisture out of the curds. Im sure there's other stuff to consider but that's what came to mind first. This being said I think the mozz recipe from peter dixon starts at a temp of 98-100 degrees with a 1 to 2 hour wait before renneting.
Thanks for that and for pointing me towards the Peter Dixon recipe. It looks like a good recipe - I'll give it a try.
Lance
I've been upping the temperature in my cultured mozz lately to try and decrease the acidity time, too. Been leery about doing so before renneting, as I wasn't sure how the rennet would react at say 98 F instead of 90 F...but now that I know there's a recipe out there calling for 98-100 pre-renneting, I think I'll give that a try. I've been upping the temp during the cook/stir phase to about 105-108 degrees (and it still takes longer than I think it should, but way quicker than keeping it at lower temps) using Thermo B culture. Maybe there are other thermo cultures out there that are quicker acidifiers? I'm pretty new to this process so am still experimenting around.
Quote from: Susan38 on August 17, 2020, 11:14:58 PM
I've been upping the temp during the cook/stir phase to about 105-108 degrees (and it still takes longer than I think it should, but way quicker than keeping it at lower temps) using Thermo B culture.
Yes, I too find it takes a long time for the pH to drop to the right level; I've just wound up the amount of Thermo B I add! As an aside I have to say I don't like these DTV cultures when you are trying to use small amounts - as soon as you put the spoon in to measure some out it starts sticking and clumping.
One problem I'm having with the Peter Dixon recipe is that the cheese ended up rather dry the last time I made it - just wondering what the likely cause is?
Lance