I was wondering if it is alright to use store bought milks for making cheese? I will try to find fresh be I want to start making cheese. If there are any reasons not to use it please say. TIA. :P
whichwhey, good question, I assume you mean cow's milk.
So far I've made 50 batches of cheese and all with store bought milk (https://cheeseforum.org/Making/Milk.htm). Mostly past & homogenized whole cow's milk and no problem, one with 2% also no problem, one using Ultra Pasteurized (ie almost dead) goat's milk, I did not get a good curd set.
Stay away from UP milk, run away from UHT milk and as you say, search through shelf to find freshest date. Also, I always buy the cheapest stuff on sale which here in Houston Texas is USD2 per US gallon ;D.
Have fun!
Thank so much for replying. I just wanted to make sure it would work before trying.
I'll second that. 11 cheeses in a month, all store bought, all great...except for a stilton that got infected with something bizarre.
Don't forget to include your calcium chloride (CACL) when using store-bought pasteurized, homogenized milk.
-Boofer-
I never had success with store bought milk. I tried to make Camembert twice, the curd was just a mess. The "best" store bought milk I can get is 3% fat, pasteurized and homogenized. I've added CaCl. When I pasteurize raw milk I add about 0.8 gram to 3 liters of milk. Somebody told me about adding more fat, like cream.
I know most of you are very experienced with store bought milk, I'll be glad to have some advice. TIA.
Alex, that's strange (https://cheeseforum.org/Making/Coagulation%20Problems.htm), if you look at any of my cheese making records (last 5 in Washed Curd Board except for small Lactic cheese) you'll see my method. I do nothing special, maybe our rennet amounts are different?
Maybe your store bought past & homogenized cow's milk in Israel is more past than that here in US? Or (I'd be shocked) have more chemicals?
When I lived in France I used store bought pasteurized whole milk to make excellent Gouda. We moved to Thailand 5 years ago and here I never managed to coagulate the store bought milk using rennet, although I added CaCl2 solution. Then I found a goat farm and got raw milk, which works without any problem. Does anyone have an idea why store bought milk doesn't work? I read somewhere that the pasteurization process differs from country to country. Could the reason be that the pasteurization process in a tropical climate is more intense than in other more moderate climates, thereby making it impossible to coagulate the milk?
Txs for any input.
I use raw milk and occasionally a store bought non-homogenized milk with great success. I have tried a couple of hard cheeses with cheap store bought and have not been happy with the results - longer time for curd to set, weak curd, less flavor... But I'm probably just spoiled on the "good stuff". ::)
I feel that homogenization causes lots more problems than pasteurization. Alex for example home pasteurizes his raw milk and has no problems. If using store bought milk, try to find one with a higher fat content that is non-homogenized. They're out there but harder to find. But worth the effort. I found my source by searching the internet for non-homogenized milk in my area. Then called the dairy to find a dealer.
If your milk is not coagulating, it is probably ultra-pasteurized and will not work. Don't trust the label. Change brands.
Eric, good point, here's some info (https://cheeseforum.org/Making/Milk.htm) I coagulated ;) on milk. There's a link there to US based "Intl Dairy Foods Assoc" that has several different Pasteurization temps and times, so pasteurization in one place can be very different to another, ie container may say past but it could be same as another person's Ultra Pasteurization (almost dead) milk.
John - I tried more rennet, didn't help. I think you might be right about pasteurization temperature. I'll try to find out.
Sailor - Store bought milk we have here is from only three brands (small country ;)). All of them the same, ultra-pasteurized and homogenized. Only one company, the biggest one, has not ultra. There is no non-homogenized store bought milk.
UHT milk for example, is produced by one diary and packed in same size boxes with 3 different logo's.
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on October 03, 2009, 11:22:43 AM
I found my source by searching the internet for non-homogenized milk in my area. Then called the dairy to find a dealer.
Sailor: I saw some water buffaloes in the rice paddies. Maybe I should milk them under the cover of darkness and try my hand on Mozzarella ;D
Bottom line is: I'll stay with the raw goat milk, eventhough it is rather expensive (60.= Thai Baht per liter, which amounts to about 6.60 USD per gallon).
I would love to get some water buffaloe milk.
Goat's milk here is $10-$12 dollars a gallon.
Oops! What am I complaining about?
6.60 US$ a gallon is not bad at all then.
Nope not bad at all!
This week/end I have gotten a LOT more curd out of the store milk with the Calc. Chloride and better rennet prep., and keeping the starters in the freezer. Even pressing my goudas for extra hours (due to sleep) I wind up with bigger cheeses. My 8" hard cheese mold is almost too small for 3.5 gallon cheeses.
When be farmers dry up their goats? I want to check around for prices but not sure if now is the right time. ???
Quote from: whichwhey? on October 05, 2009, 02:33:53 PM
When be farmers dry up their goats? I want to check around for prices but not sure if now is the right time. ???
Depends on the breeding schedule and goat type, but generally right around now, Sept-Nov.
Quote from: Baby Chee on October 05, 2009, 01:31:48 AM
This week/end I have gotten a LOT more curd out of the store milk with the Calc. Chloride and better rennet prep., and keeping the starters in the freezer. Even pressing my goudas for extra hours (due to sleep) I wind up with bigger cheeses. My 8" hard cheese mold is almost too small for 3.5 gallon cheeses.
Autumn and winter cow milk typically has higher protein levels because of where the cows are in their lactation cycle, and feed type. So it might be that, or it might be your revised approach, or both :)
Okay thank you for the info. I was thinking about just staying with cow milk for now. Can one use the store bought goats milk?
Quote from: whichwhey? on October 06, 2009, 11:18:00 PM
Okay thank you for the info. I was thinking about just staying with cow milk for now. Can one use the store bought goats milk?
Most store goat's milk is not very good. It's ultra pasteurized and rather nasty. If you can find a local source, it may work.
Ditto linuxboy, I tried to make a Chevre (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,833.0.html) once using store bought Goat's milk, all I could find was Ultra Pasteurized, didn;t get a good set. I may try again though with more rennet.
I don't think more rennet would make much difference. Ultra-pasteurization really damages the milk structure. "Organic" milk is usually UP and is worthless for cheese.