I have a question. The pics below is of feta. About 6 weeks old and very good! Ate three chunks so far! But a couple of days ago i noticed a milky substance coming off a few of them, sorta flouting a little above them but still attached!Maybe contamination? Hope can make out in pics!
How strong is the brine and is it made with fermented (acidic) whey or just salt water?
Did you add calcium to the brine?
Yep can see it in pictures!
perconally I wouldn't worry about it, I now always use whey from the nake as base for my ripening/storage brine.
MERRY CRISTMAS ALL! Not sure on strength of brine... 1/2 cup salt to 1/2 gallon water. Added calcium and vinegar. Ph was where it needed to be two weeks after adding too brine. The only thing i thought might of contaminated it is i use tongs to fish out the feta but thinking the brine would have floaties in it and shouldn't be coming off the cheese. Was wondering if shelf life would the same with a whey base brine solution? Will be doing that next go around.
I'm new to making cheese but have a couple batches of Feta sitting out right now. How do you know if your cheese is contaminated? What risks are there? In my trial batches I didn't sanitize anything and it has me worried.
There are risks such as when making any food, but especially when using raw milk to make fresh, unaged cheeses such as Feta.
That said I don't sanitize, just wash and have never had a problem.
I don't use raw milk only pasteurized. I'm still confused how to tell? I read somewhere that if the cheese has evenly distributed small bubbles, it is considered bad.
General rule around here is if it smells reasonably OK then try a little piece.
Evenly distributed small bubbles if not induced via propionic bacteria for Swiss type cheeses could be a yeast infection, some body mechanical texture issues listed here (https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-cheese-body-defects-mechanical-holes/).
Well took your advice John on smell and went ahead and pulled a few out. Smelled good and tasted great!