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Vermont USA Peter Dixon's 2 Day Course - Learning's Excessive Rennet & Starter Culture

Started by HOPOIL, March 31, 2010, 02:14:20 PM

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BigCheese

Linux, what I dono't understand is what is .5-2 units per hundredweight. What are units?

linuxboy

See http://www.cheeseforum.org/Glossary.htm#Direct_Culture_Unit

Danisco calls them DCU, other makes call them units. One unit represents at least 2.1^10 bacteria cells. When you buy DVI culture, it will say 10, 25, 50, 100, etc units, for you to reweigh and use in smaller batches.

Note that many recipes out there, and manufacturer guidelines, suggest usages that far exceed my personal .5-2U/100 lb rule of thumb. Sometimes, I think this is valid, other times, it seems excessive. It depends on what the cheese needs, type of culture, how fresh the culture is, etc. Some of it has to do with the milk you use... some milk is more conducive to faster bacterial growth. What I'm trying to say is that many recipes out there are a guideline for what worked for one person at one point in time. They are rarely recipes used by DOC/AOC makers, or recipes used by commercial cheese plants. There are some exceptions... for example many of the recipes people have posted here will produce great cheeses, and many of those are commercial quality or better. Cheesemaking is not easy, there are so many factors to manage. That's why this board is such a great resource - you can try something out and if it doesn't work, post about it and many people try to help. :)