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Depends on how much. If you go above .02% by weight, you will get a chalky cheese. A little bit goes a long way. In general, for raw summer milk, there's just no need for it.

I read somewhere in this thread that stupid questions are encouraged!!
so here goes....
CaChloride - dont you have to add it into your brine?  The brine making page states this?

All my milk is raw farm milk so I dont need it for that, but thought if I am going to get this brine thing correct I need it for that? 
PS I my Feta started melting in my brine  .
Next brine I am going for whey instead of water.  and I assume I wont need CaCl.

another question - do I need to add CaCl if I pasteurise my milk???
I havent so far.

Cath -

Not everyone uses calcium chloride in there brine mix. Some people just use salt and water. I prefer whey, salt, calcium chloride and vinegar for most cheeses. We all have our own thing.

OK - I understand.  Its a trial and error thing I spose.

The surface of higher fat cheeses can become very soft and slimy if you don't use Calcium chloride in your brine. If the calcium content of your brine is less than the calcium in your cheese, the calcium in the cheese will leech out into the brine.

thks for that snippet of info Sailor - our herd is predominantly Jersey and our fat tests out at about 5% fat and will rise to about 7% by May.
I wonder if that will affect it.   I will store it away somewhere in my 'memory banks' - 

Debi - vinegar in your brine/whey? How much? Why?

-Boofer-

I made Havarti yesterday.  I ran out of liquid calcium chloride and bought some in a pellet form.  I mixed 16 oz of water with 1 oz of the pellet calc chl and my cheese came out perfect as far as I can tell.  I refilled my small bottle and put the rest in a jar in the fridge.  I think I have enough to last at least two years.  I have also been making my own meso culture with the buttermilk recipe.  My last six batches have been excellent.  I have another quart of yogurt sitting on the counter now getting ready. 

Boofer I add about a tablespoon to about a gallon of whey/brine. It seems to keep the mold from forming on my cheeses.

Thanks, Debi. I'll add that to my list of tweaks.

-Boofer-

The pH of your brine should approximate the pH of your cheese. You can use vinegar or citric acid to bring the pH down as needed.

That is another good use for vinegar I forgot to mention - adjusting the pH of your brine. It is particularly important if you are not using your whey for you brine mix.

like sailor, i use a pinch or two (as confirmed by my pH meter) of Citric Acid to adjust brine.
Its cheap.  1lb for 3.75USD

I have been adding salt to my whey and using that for the past several cheeses when I brine. That should be acidic enough, huh?

The justification that I read for adding vinegar was to ward off mold.

-Boofer-