In the recipe posted at the end of this forum it says:
QuoteDilute rennet in 1/2 cup cool water, then slowly trickle into the milk stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir for at least 5 minutes.
https://cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Parmesan.htm (https://cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Parmesan.htm)
Is it really necessary to stir the milk for 5 minutes? The last time I stirred the milk this long after adding rennet the resulting curd had very grainy structure and was falling apart when I was cutting it.
I'm no expert but most of the recipes that I have used call for stirring the rennet in for 1 minute. I stir with an up and down motion using my flat perforated ladle.
Quote from: mtncheesemaker(Pam) on August 29, 2010, 02:45:20 PM
I'm no expert but most of the recipes that I have used call for stirring the rennet in for 1 minute. I stir with an up and down motion using my flat perforated ladle.
That's exactly what I've always been doing. 1 to 2 minutes at the most, depending on how soon after I started mixing I glanced at the clock and then how vigilant I was to check the clock again while stirring the milk.
That exact parm recipe was one of the first cheeses I ever tried to make and I thought 5 min was what I was supposed to do, so I did it. Either because of that, or something else I had done wrong (many possibilities back then), during that long stir, the whole pot seized up into a big gluey glob in liquid.
Something obviously had gone very wrong, but I proceeded with the 'cooking' and eventually put the glob into a mold, and pressed it for the experience. It came out small and much like a hockey puck. If I had dyed it black, I could have sold it to the NHL.
After aging for a couple months I was able to chisel off a piece, and it had a surprisingly nice taste. It's still in the cheese cave and someday it might make it into a graveyard lasagne for other 'lost' cheeses. Or I might just use it as a doorstop. ;)
Since then I've made other parms and only stir for 1 minute using a timer.
I stir aggressively for just 15 or 20 seconds and then stop the motion of the milk. 5 minutes is just wrong.
I'm doing the same Sailor, that's very correct!!!
I concur with most here.
I stir for no more than 1 min. I make sure that I stir top to bottom as well as side to side.
Also, I use a 40:1 dilution ratio.
That is, if you decide that you need 1ml of rennet, then dillute that 1ml rennet into 40ml of cool distilled water.
I usually stir for abput a minute or 2. Don't want the milk moving once it starts to gel.
I coincidentally read this earlier today in the book American Farmstead Cheese, The Art of Cheesemaking chapter, by Peter Dixon:
"After rennet is added to the milk, it should be stirred in for a period of time relative to the size of the vat being used. This can be anywhere from 30 seconds for a pot of milk to five minutes for a 3,000-gallon vat. ... The swirling milk should then be slowed down so that it comes to rest as soon as possible. Spend another 30 to 60 seconds using a flat-bladed tool,... to 'break' the motion of the milk."
I don't know of anyone who stirs for 5 mins, even when using 20,000 liter vats. Usually, it's dilute, add rennet evenly from the bucket into the vat, and then 2-3 passes with the agitator, paddles turned off. So paddles off, agitator on, and it travels the entire length of the vat up and then back to the original position, and that's it (depends on vat type, sometimes it's 2 passes). Then stop motion with shovels. That doesn't take long, maybe a little over a minute total. Maybe he's seen it done differently. I can't think of a good reason to take 5 minutes, though. I usually take under a minute.
Perhaps the recipe should be corrected then? Just in case another newbie decides to follow it to the letter? :)
Oh Giovanni! We need an edit!
I'm a newbie and appreciate the clarification. I would've stirred for 5 min. :P But already stuck on step 2. It says get to 100. Let ripen for 45 min. Am I holding it at that temp for that 45 minutes it is ripening?
Yes, you hold the milk at that temperature, as best you can. I use a hot water bath to heat my milk and the temp holds pretty well in that situation. Better than being on a stove burner...which heats the milk up unevenly and cools off too quickly if it is shut off completely.
Good luck!
Thanks Karen. Holding a temperature is an issue I have been working on. I tried it in the sink with hot tap water (comes out about 110). But it cooled too quickly. I'm thinking of putting some insulation around the sink bowl under the sink. I still need a 'cheese cave' but working on it. Then I'm going to branch out. Can't wait!
Susan
I use my utility sink (many are in found laundry rooms), so it is a really deep, wide sink. It is made of some plasticky/PVC type material, maybe fiberglass, and doesn't hold heat really well, but after putting the lid on the kettle, I put a boot tray over the top of the sink and then cover it all with a heavy towel.
I still have to replace the hot water about every 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon how warm the room is, but it is more consistent than the stovetop. Also, my hot tap water runs about 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
I'll have to think about your idea of insulating the sink, as the water at the bottom is always much colder than toward the top of the sink.
I keep a teapot full of hot water on the stove and add a little every few minutes in the winter. My basement isn't heated and the sink is stainless steel so it cools quickly.
I have some nesting SS kettles, 3, 3.5, and 4 gallons, and nest two of them with the smaller one holding the milk, and the bigger one acting as a water jacket. It keeps the milk stable for a long time, and can be used to raise the temp of the milk without diluting or scorching. When nesting, there is about an inch gap all the way around. If you add just the right amount of water, the milk kettle will be just buoyant enough to put little stress on the handles.
Quote from: susanky on September 17, 2010, 12:26:43 PM
Thanks Karen. Holding a temperature is an issue I have been working on. I tried it in the sink with hot tap water (comes out about 110). But it cooled too quickly. I'm thinking of putting some insulation around the sink bowl under the sink. I still need a 'cheese cave' but working on it. Then I'm going to branch out. Can't wait!
Susan
I use a big aluminum steamer pot as a double boiler and suspend my SS milk kettle inside of it. Once I get the milk to temperature, the heat on the big pot is off and the milk in the kettle holds its heat for 60 minutes or longer. If it needs to be tweaked up a bit, the big pot goes on for a bit. Works well for me. I tried the sink deal but it cooled off fairly quickly or drained away. >:(
Sounds like hammerhead and I are on the same page. ;)
-Boofer-
Okay, I realize that this is an old post but I haven't been on here in awhile. So........
as for the rennet stirring: I also did a lot of my early cheese making according to the same site the original poster referred to and found that the stir time was WAY too long.
Now I stir the rennet in for exactly 60 seconds, quite vigorously. Then I stop the motion of the milk with my ladle.
As for heating/cooking I'm lazy so I do not use a double boiler. I simply put a very heavy bottomed cheese pot over the burner and moniter closely. I'm not saying this is the proper method but I've found that with a double boiler I always go way over the approximate times given in a recipe.
Now I do use a Ph meter so I guess the timing isn't all that important but I still like to see my makes come out at least close to the recipe I'm using.
I have had a problem with cooking too quickly and it's something that I'm working on. I might have to go back to a double boiler setup to achieve my goals in this area.
My main problem has been with Monterey Jack style cheese. No matter what I do this cheese does not turn out ofr me and I'm certain that it has to do with the cook part of the make.
If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them since I have both red and green jalepenos just wating to go into a cheese.
Okay, that's enough for now. Sometimes I get carried away when it comes to cheese chat. :)
Dave
Hi Folks.
I read somewhere and practice stirring for at least 1 minute and no more than 3 minutes.
I usually stir for only 2 minutes.