So far I am have not actually made any cheese yet. Tried to make some Mozzarella cheese, but didn't make it past the curd stage. Actually all I ended up with is a pot of what looked like oat meal. :o
I've done some reading and bought a couple of kits and some additional supplies as well and eventually I will get my cheese! I want to make hard cheeses, but am trying to start slow. I just found this site and started poking around. Looks like alot of good info and great folks. :D
welcome to the forum-now get going making cheese!
welcome!
what kind of cheese making kit did you get? i have actually never really seen one and am very curious as to what they are comprised of =)
I have only successfully made cream cheese and ricotta. I am currently in the process of making halloumi.
I got it on the net and it included a basic recipe book, butter muslin, citric acid, a cheap thermometer (that I will not use) vegetable rennet tabs and cheese salt.
I don't know if the rennet tablets are bad or what though. I could not get a quarter tab to actually dissolve in water. It broke up but it still looked kind of like a snow globe after 20 minutes. I might go get some liquid stuff.
I think liquid rennet is probably best. Most recipes call for liquid measurements. I have been using Junkett rennet tablets and they are "junk" ;D
Welcome, there was a thread here on the undissolved amount of tablet rennet somewhere, many have problems with tablet type rennet, just Search on word tablet.
Welcome to the forum, you will find a lot of people willing to help here!
Welcome. Be sure to check what processing your milk has undergone. UHT and homogenized milk often cause problems. Look for raw milk from a local farm, or simply pasteurized milk at the store.
I agree with Smiling--the source of your milk is probably the cause--too many UP's that don't form curds--you'll have to test local products to discern which works best. Good luck!
I finally got some cheese for my efforts. I used a local brand milk in glass containers but the curd was still really just very small gobs. I just ran the whole works through some cheesecloth and managed to squeeze out 14oz of mozzarella. next time I am going to add a bit more salt and maybe some chives. Also I over worked it just a bit and the texture was firm yet very pleasant. Perfect for patty melts ^-^
Next batch I am going to try the same milk with liquid rennet. That way I will know for a fact if it is the rennet tabs or the milk that is giving me the curd grief.
Here's our Wiki: Coagulation Defects (https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-cheese-curd-coagulation-defects/) article.
I have only ever used cheap store bought pasteurized & homogenized cow's milk and have never had a significant coagulation problem (except with store bought UHT goats milk).
There are several posts in the forum on avoiding store bought Organic cow's milk as it's Ulta-Pasteurized.
Another way to check if it's your milk or your rennet is to try another batch but double your amount of rennet, several of the threads on tablet rennet talk about having to use higher dosage rates than on the label.
Quote from: drjillian on June 15, 2011, 11:32:24 PM
what kind of cheese making kit did you get? i have actually never really seen one and am very curious as to what they are comprised of =)
A version of Leener's kit (http://www.leeners.com/cheese-kits-ultimate.html) is what I started with. They've changed in two and a half years, and probably improved.
-Boofer-