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Help!  I'm fairly new to making cheese, and my first three hard cheeses came out pretty well.  We enjoyed eating them. 

But since then, every cheese I've attempted has not gotten a clean break.  Yesterday I waited three hours after adding the rennet, and the curd still wasn't firm enough.  I've tried different starters, even a freeze dried one.  I've replaced my rennet, thinking maybe it was too old.  I've used calcium chloride because I'm using store-bought milk until I get my sheep next year.  I've tried three different brands of milk.  I believe I've followed the directions accurately.  I've tried a few different recipes, thinking some weren't accurate, and I've repeated the ones that were originally successful.

Is something floating around in the air that prevents the curd from forming? Do temperature and/or humidity have anything to do with it?  Do I need a cheese angel sitting on my shoulder?  If so, how do I get her back?

Patit

It's difficult to suggest a solution without knowing exactly what you did. Did you take notes? You might want to post your recipes and how you did it then we might be able to suggest solutions.

patit, welcome to the forum, some ideas here, plus as Debi says we need more details such as what type and amount of rennet, how did you add it, ie how did you dilute it, how stir in, temp of milk, was the milk cow's milk and was it whole or skim and was it pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized or UHT, etc.

Also, for clarity, are you trying to make a soft fresh lactic coagulated type cheese or a hard pressed & aged rennet coagulated type cheese?

I've found with supermarket milks that freshness plays a big part in getting a good curd. Make sure there is plenty of time before the sell-by date. 15 days seems to be the life span on the shelf, and I won't use a milk unless there are at least 10 days before the sell-by date.

Thanks for your responses.  Answers to your questions:

I am using liquid animal rennet.  I added it with a 1/4 cup of cool water with the up and down stirring motion I've read about.  The temp of the milk has varied with each recipe.  I have been using recipes from Ricki Carroll's book.  I have tried the Farmhouse Cheddar, the Traditional Cheddar and the Gouda and although I originally had success with the first two recipes, they no longer are working, and the Gouda never has worked.  I am using whole cow's milk that is homogenized and bought at the store and none of the milk says that it is ultrapasteurized, and I know for certain that one of the three brands I've tried is not.  And a second of the three brands worked originally, so I don't believe it is either.  The third brand could be but it doesn't say that it is. 

I have read Ricki Carroll's book twice in an attempt to find the problem.  I've read the Cheesemaker's Manual by Margaret Peters-Morris.  I'm not finding the answers.  I just got Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods by Kosikowski and Mistry.  Hopefully that will help! 

I really want to make cheese!

Thanks for any assistance.
Patit

Patit

Saw your other post on using highly mineralized water for pre-dilution of your rennet before adding to milk. That may be the problem.

What brand/strength of rennet, single or double and what amount are you using for what volume of milk?

Rennet has a temperature range that it like to be active in, and while it varies with cheese making recipe it should fall into a tight range of 30-36C / 86-96F, after which depending on recipe you then heat higher. What is your milk temp when you are trying to form forming your rennet coagulated curd?

Rennet degrades over time and quicker if stored improperly for extended time.

Don't know if this helps but once I had a thermometer that was off (reading higher than the temp really was) and I couldn't get a firm curd. (Are you using CaCl?)
Good luck!
Pam

I have only ever used fresh cows milk, but I thought homogonised milk was no good for cheese??

It's still not working!  I tried the distilled water for my rennet.  And it didn't make any difference.  I have milk--not curds of any kind.

Two days ago I made neufchatel cheese according to the recipe in Ricki's book.  It came out beautifully.  We will be eating it mixed with salmon tomorrow evening.  Yum.

Today I tried making the traditional cheddar cheese in Ricki's book again.  I've had success with this twice before, but no luck at all getting a solid curd recently.  This is what I did:

I bought 2 gallons of whole Western Family homogenized and pasteurized (not ultrapasteurized) milk yesterday that doesn't expire for sixteen more days.  I heated the milk to the appropriate temp. (86 degrees), added Darigold cultured lowfat buttermilk for my starter.   I allowed it to set for 45 minutes.  Then I added 1/2 tsp. rennet.  I am using liquid animal rennet bought from New England Cheesemaking Supply on March 1, 2010.  I have kept it in the refrigerator all this time.  I mixed it with distilled water.  An hour and a half later, I still have milk, no curds.  I have used the same milk and recipe successfully previously.  I maintained the temp. all the while at exactly 86 degrees, just as recipe says.

I just checked my thermometer and discovered it is about five degrees off.  Okay, that's too much, but I should still get something because the temp. is still within the range of temp where mesophilic starter works.  I heated until it said 86 degrees, but it was really 91 degrees.  It still should work.

I have previously tried the emmental recipe in Ricki's book.  For that I used a freeze dried thermophilic starter from New England Cheese Supply, the same rennet, the same milk, and it also did not form a curd. 

Have I left out any information?  I really appreciate any ideas you might have.

Just a gut feel -- it sounds like your rennet needs to be replaced.

I started out with vegetable rennet... I'm going to switch to animal when I reorder after reading about the results people on this board have had with it.  (Some would argue differently, but that's just my opinion.)

I am by NO means an expert....

-Michael

patit, the coagulation is primarily a function of the rennet, a slightly lower pH if starter culture has been working for 1/2 to 1 hour helps but is not critical.

I haven't used that rennet, but as "no curd of any kind", I suggest you increase your rennet dosage by 50% on next try. The temperature range of the milk at 91F is in the middle of the optimal range for rennet to work (86-96F), good. FYI the curd that you get should be very soft, nothing like jello.

As a side note, not the cause of your coagulation problem, when using cultured buttermilk as your mesophilic starter, make sure that it is ripened first so that it is very active.

thanks so much for your replies.  I will make the changes next week when I have time.  This job that pays for all the milk I'm throwing out is really interfering in my cheese making!

The first rennet I bought was the liquid animal rennet from cheesemaking.com and it got really weak within a few months.  Purchase date and production date can sometimes be pretty different, too.  I had better luck with Junket rennet tablets, but when they were no longer available locally I purchased dried calf rennet powder that I can keep in the freezer.

Good luck with your future efforts.

I have used animal and vegetable rennets and didn't have any problems with either. I still use Junket quite often and it lasts for 2 years. Just follow their instructions

Woohoo!  I finally figured it out (after umpteen gallons of milk.)

My thermometer is a piece of junk.  It was five degrees off when I tested it at the boiling point, so I thought I could just make the adjustment.  But when I finally thought to test it in ice water, it was 18 degrees off.  Who knows how much it's off when it says 86 degrees. 

I made some alpine cheese today using the forum's recipe, and it worked. 

Now that cow can come!