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I have made some really kick ass chevre using the "Fresh Culture" mother culture brand from New England Cheesemaking and it has really good flavor, but I have a hard time remembering to take care of the mother culture and I haven't recultured it in over 3 weeks and I know it's more sour now then it was when I first cultured, so I would rather just move to a direct set culture every time.

Which strains/ culture do you guys use/ recommend? I bought a lot of meso cultures from The Cheesmaker sooooo... I have a lot of culture...

Either MM100 or Flora Danica. FD has Leuconostoc, gives you a bit more thickness, more buttery flavor, and some more CO2 formation. MM100 has a cleaner finish.

Actually your options, theoretically are:

basic meso
L Lactis
L cremoris

basic meso with some aroma

L lactis
L cremoris
L ssp diacetylactis

complex meso with more aroma/flavor
L lactis
L cremoris
diacetylactis
Leuconostoc


There are special adjuncts you can add or tweak the ratio of the strains, but that's the gist of it. Use whichever flavor you like best.

Thanks! I think I have all of those I am so very excited, is it the same for cream cheese?

Yep, same idea.

Leuconostoc produces a little (or a lot) of CO2 depending on the strain. You can ask your supplier how aggressive the strain is. The CO2 gas has it's place but is not always desireable, so don't use indescrimenently just to get "more flavor".

OK and I think I am going to try an 1/8 tsp of liquid rennet in a 1/2 c water per gallon. I am using this recipe: http://www.cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Cream_Cheese_Light.htm

So does that mean each half gallon gets 1/8 tsp in 1/2 c divide it into two portions, and add another 1/4 c water so each basically has a 1/16 tsp?

Update:
I had the milk and was ready to go so I "went."
Here is what I did:
Heated the milk to 88 degrees F.
I put an 1/8 tsp rennet in 1 c water, and put each in a 1/2 gal of raw milk. Because my milk is not homogenized, I shook it a bunch. In one jar I put Florica Danica, and in the other MM100. Each jar got 1/16 tsp culture. I left them standing on the top of the jar for a while (so the cream would rise to the "bottom" of the jar) and then a couple hours later I flipped them back over. Hopefully this will help distribute the cream enough that the cheese will be uniform.