I have the Skoel book, which left out a Key Ingredient in one recipe, so I tend to look foor other recipes just to make sure I don't run into that problem again, and what I have found is a wide variation on instructions!
One is how long to wait for the curd to set--anywhere from 1/2 hour to 90 minutes. This is slightly confusing as they usually add "or when the curd has set" so it's ambiguous.
The second is wrt cooking the curds. Skokel has a lot of times when you have to raise the temp extremely slowly, like 2* every five minutes, while stirring!!!! so you end up over a hot stove for up to an hoir and a half.
Others just say to raise the temp, without being so particular.
Do these things make any difference? I'm going to do the 90-minute curd set for parmasan because I looked up why my cheeses were so dry and it was excess acidity from being allowed to set a long time (i'm easily distracted!) so I have been more careful, but the parm of course I want to be dry.
Thanks so much :D
Hi Annie,
While I cannot speak of the temperature raising, I can say a word or two about the set time of your milk.
Most recipe books give you a time period to wait for your milk to solidify but the recipe does not account for your milk quality. I would recommend that you look up "floculation time" in the forum. This method will give you a good idea of when you can cut your curds.
- Helen
Quote from: Annie on July 13, 2011, 08:36:07 PM
The second is wrt cooking the curds. Skokel has a lot of times when you have to raise the temp extremely slowly, like 2* every five minutes, while stirring!!!! so you end up over a hot stove for up to an hoir and a half.
Others just say to raise the temp, without being so particular.
There is a fine balance between temp (bacterial activity) and moisture release (which happends more rapidly in warm temp).
If you feel your losing too much moisture during cooking just cut larger.
Regarding 2 degres, are we talking C or F? if it celsius then it makes sense.
Going from 30c to 38-40c in 30 minutes is reasonable.
Quote from: Helen on July 13, 2011, 09:05:45 PM
Hi Annie,
While I cannot speak of the temperature raising, I can say a word or two about the set time of your milk.
Most recipe books give you a time period to wait for your milk to solidify but the recipe does not account for your milk quality. I would recommend that you look up "floculation time" in the forum. This method will give you a good idea of when you can cut your curds.
- Helen
Ah, the set time varies with the quality of the milk? I do hope it's the faster the set time, the better the milk ;)
And folculation is the amount of time it takes to set, so if you keep an eye on it one time (or whenever you need to know, because I read about 3 or 4 x folculation on the mozz board) then you have an idea of how long it takes, and you don't have to wait? I was thinking that waiting before cutting might sometimes be better, as a couple of instructions have mentioned waiting til the curd pulls away from the wall of the container.
Thanks so much :)
Quote from: Tomer1 on July 13, 2011, 09:14:28 PM
Quote from: Annie on July 13, 2011, 08:36:07 PM
The second is wrt cooking the curds. Skokel has a lot of times when you have to raise the temp extremely slowly, like 2* every five minutes, while stirring!!!! so you end up over a hot stove for up to an hoir and a half.
Others just say to raise the temp, without being so particular.
There is a fine balance between temp (bacterial activity) and moisture release (which happends more rapidly in warm temp).
If you feel your losing too much moisture during cooking just cut larger.
Regarding 2 degres, are we talking C or F? if it celsius then it makes sense.
Going from 30c to 38-40c in 30 minutes is reasonable.
Ahhh, the warmth and moisture thing is good to know :)
Yes, I'm talking about Fahrenheit, going from 90* to 124* by 2* every five minutes, which I figured would take close to 90 minutes; I think Celsius degrees are about 2.5 of F degrees.
Maybe the author get mixed up with C and F?
Anyway, wow, I can see why people call cheesemaking at art... all these variables!
Thanks very much!
Quote
Ah, the set time varies with the quality of the milk? I do hope it's the faster the set time, the better the milk ;)
Annie, quality may not have been the correct word. I think characteristic should be a more accurate description.
Using the flocculation time instead of a given time will allow you to have more consistent results in spite of farming practices, feeds and seasonality. I am sure more experienced cheesemakers have expanded on the advantages of floc time in prior posts.
- Helen
Just FYI, I've summarized some of the flocculation posts in the Wiki: Curds, When to Cut (https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-cheese-curds-when-to-cut/) article.
Annie I think it is time for you to get a pH meter. ;) Especially, if you are dealing with raw milk.
And yes Flocculation technique is a must.
These two increased my consistency a lot.