I just made a cheese. It's a Bel Paese using Gavin Webber's instructions. I allowed the rennet to work for 40 minutes and checked. The milk was from from set. So I checked in 30 more minutes. Still off. So I decided it was likely not going to set as I have not had good luck with this crucial step/. Anyway, I decided to check about three hours later and I actually had a clean break, although the curds did seem delicate. Anyway, my question is this: How does this longer time to set affect the final product? While waiting for a break, won't acidity in the milk increase over that time? Thank You
As I understand it, the acidity will be greater.... we had the same problem on our first cheese, using 3.25% P/H milk.... Our Solution was to go to a blend of P/H milk and 18% Cream to get the BF content we wanted.... For example, 8 litres of 2 plus a litre of 18% gives us 9 litres of 3.8%.... Since doing that, our coagulation times are normal....
Bob
Fascinating! So, you add heavy cream to 2% milk and your coagulation times have been within range? Is the cream Ultra-pasteurized? I ask because that's I see around here. Do you think that is one reason raw milk works better (higher fat content). Thanks!
Our milk and cream is not ultra-pasteurized.... I got the tip about using a mix from Ricki Caldwell's instruction book that came with her cheesemaking kit.... It worked for us!.... You can customize the BF content and Protein/Fat ratio for each cheese.... Here is a list of common ones....
https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/book-page/standardization-milk-cheese-making (https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/book-page/standardization-milk-cheese-making)
Bob
Awesome! I am quite proficient in the kitchen but this Cheesemaking game is a whole new ball park! I hope to one day make cheese like those I see on this forum! Thanks!