Floculation Techniques

• Add your rennet and start a timer.
  
• Put a small bowl on top of the milk.For teh first 5-10 minutes the bowl will easily spin.
  
• When the bowl will stop spinning at around 10-15 which is the flocculation point.
  
• If it is shorter that 10-15, less rennet should be used and if longer use more. This helps you compensate for changes in milk and/or changes in rennet, cutures

Parmesan is born #1

Today I'm going to make a Parmesan. Ive read a number of recipe's and decided to base my cheese on the Artisan Cheese book by Ted. I bought just under 2 gallon of raw milk from Chapel Street market in Islington.

1. Heated 2 Gallon of milk to 33c. (1.6 Gallon Raw full fat milk, 0.3 Pasturised semi + .1 double cream)
   
2. Added 1/8 Lipase Mild. 1/8 Calcium Chloride & Added 1/4 Thermophilic starter and let it ripen for 30 minutes retaining temperature of 33c
3. Added .75 tsp of liquid animal rennet and let it stand for 45 minutes.
4. After a clean break the curds are cut into 6mm cubes and gradually heated to 38c over 45 minutes. During this time I used a whisk to cut the cuds into rice sized pieces. This helps to expel a lot of whey from the curds.
5. The curds are then heated over 15 minutes to 43c and help for 10 minutes while continuously stired. At this point the curds is very small and ready to press.
6. The curds are pressed at 20lb for 15 minutes, then 30lb for 30 minutes. The original recity called for 30lb for 24 hours but I decided leave it overnight at 30lb and then 40lb for another 12 hours.
7. The hard pressed cheese was then brined with its own whey salted at 20% + a little calcium chloride. The cheese was brined over night, turned and left for another 12 hours

Curds after first cut at 33c

Curds during second cut with whisk at 38c

Curds after finnal cooking at 43c

Pressing curds

After 24 hours of pressing

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Goat/Cow #2 - 7 week tasting

The lactic Goat/Cow cheeses are stating to look like fossilised brains! The taste is becoming more more complex and very goaty. I think next time I'm going to make them bigger as the are quite small after the mold has been cut off. If the mold is eaten you get more of a bitter taste, not sure if this is healthy? The paste has also firmed up, I have just 2 left so Ill try them in a few weeks.

Final tasting = Bad

Over the last few weeks all my lactic cow cheeses seemed to develop a thick blue rind. The salt wash cheeses where too salty, the beer soaked cheeses tasted very bitter and the Marc Brandy cheeses tasted less bitter, but not great. Washed rind cheeses seem to attract a great deal of molds that cause bitter tastes, I feel I need more experience and better conditions so from now on, Ill stick to the harder varieties that are easier to manage.

Salt brine, very salty

Beer soaked, very bitter

Marc Brandy washed, a lot less bitter, not not great

Marc Brandy washed

Tomme 1a after 3 weeks

The rind development didn't go too well with Tomme 1a. For the first few weeks it was very slimy and didn't really develop. I decided to leave it and it seems to have worked although the rind is still a little sticky in areas. This could be due to a yeast problem or maybe some kind of PH imbalance that normally occurs during brind? (this was not brined) Ill try find out what it could be.

TOMME #2 - 3 weeks

Over the past few weeks I have been washing the large 1.5kg Tomme with salt water brine with a little Geotrichum Candidum. Its started to develop a semi hard rind which I hope will continue to harden to protect the cheese. This is my first Tomme style cheese so I went for a cleaner rind rather than letting it run wild. I'm going to let it develop now, it looks like it has picked up some blue mold from my goat cheese? Ill keep an eye on how it goes. Ideally I would like a hard rind to develop over the next few weeks.

Goada #1 after a month

I made a bit of a mistake with my Gouda. I decided to oil it as I want to develop a natural rind. Over the past month I have gave it a light salt brine wash every few days so its developed quiet well. Today I oiled the Gruyere and decided to do the same to the Gouda. I just realised that its not good to oil washed cured cheese as the PH is high due to the curds being washed. Its also higher in moister as its pressed lightly so it contains more food for yeast to thrive on. Ill leave it to dry out and see what happens.

Gruyere #1 after 1 month

After a month of brining every few days the Gruyere developed and good enough rind to be oiled. This will help protects the cheese from unwanted surface microorganisms and control's the moisture content.

• Do not use on small cheeses
• Oil should be applied lightly over a number of days until a hard skin has developed. Once this has developed it can then be done every month
• Lightly pressed washed curd type cheeses such as Gouda and Edam should not be oiled because these types of cheeses have a high pH early in the aging process. Because of this there is lot of food on their surface which can cause yeast to grow.
• Salt can be added to help control surface mold
• Oiling too early with cheese still moist can result in yeast injections
• Dip cloth in the oil, dab it on the rind, then wipe the excess off
• Cheeses should be aged for 8 days to produce a natural rind before oiling
  

Dutch Style Press Calculations

Here is an equasion when using a Dutch style press

• Mechanical Advantage (MA) = Total Arm Length / Distance from Plunger to the Fixed Point in the back (fulcrum)

• Weight Applied = MA * Weight + (Weight of the Arm and Plunger)

You also need to work out the area of your follower. For a circular follower the formula for area = radius squared by Pi which is 22/7 or approx 3.14, your 6 inch diameter follower has a radius of 3 and an area of 3x3x3.14 = 28.26 square inches.

Using that number you can determine that if you want to press your cheese at 10 PSI you need to put (28.26 x 10) 283 lbs of weight on top of the follower. Conversely, if you decide to put only 100 lbs of weight on top of the follower you are pressing at ( 100 / 28.26) 3.54 PSI.

So you can see why people use a Dutch style press because the mechanical advantage of the press allows using a smaller weight. I would research the site for more discussion as trying to put 300 - 500 pounds on top of your follower can be unsafe as some members have attested. There is also discussion on the site about different ways to mold your cheese without requiring high PSI.

Understanding Coagulation

What is Coagulation?

The simplest and most basic explination is once the Rennet is added to the milk its startes to digest the casein making it insuluble in water causeing it to coagulate.

Rennet?

An enzyme found in the fourth stomache chamber of either a kid or calf. The enzyme attacks the milk casein causing it to coagulate making the milk digestible. Not all rennet is found in animals, a vegitarien equivalent can be found in surtain thistles and plants. rennet not only coagulates milk, it also has affect on teh maturation during affinage.

Cheddar prep before ageing

After 2 days of drying, the cheddar is prepared for ageing. There are a number of techniques used from vac bags and wax to more traditional techniques of using lard and muslin which is what I decided to do. This allows a few molds to grow which can contribute to flavours.

Mode:

• Cut 4 circular pieces of cloth slightly larger that the diameter of the cheese and 2 rectangular strips of cloth to a length that will wrap around the cheese
  
• Heat the lard until it melts and take off the heat
• Dip 2 circular and 1 rectangular strip in the lard. Place one circular either side of the cheese and the rectangle around making sure there are no creases and each over lapping for a clean finish
• Once cooled, repeat with left over cloth
  

First wrapping of lard cloth

Final cheese after 2 coats of lard cloth. This is now ready for the cheese cave

plug timer

I've been thinking for a while about how I can get the fridge to run at a warmer temperature of 12c. I was going to invest in a small 12 bottle wine cooler which I was told can run at 12c but I read that they tend to dry out the cheese due to low humidity. Even when damp cloths are used it was difficult to get the humidity to the recommended 85%.

My old fridge always seems to stay around 85% humidly and runs at 8-9C so if I can increase that to 12c I'll be pretty close to my target. I decided to buy a plug timer that will just allow the fridge to switch on say, every 2 hours for 15 minutes or maybe every 3 hours for 20 minutes. It will take some time to work out the correct settings but it may just work. It's currently 9 - 12C outside so its pretty easy to control the temperature but it's during the summer when I'm going to have to keep an eye on it, the last thing I want is to make an inaccurate guess and spoil all the cheeses.

First cheddar #1

I attempted to make a cheddar last year but I wasn't too successful, I rushed the 'cheddaring' technique so this time I made sure I had a few hours to make it. I used a good recipe in my 'Making Artisan Cheese' book by Tim Smith.

Mode:

• Warm up 2 gallons of raw cow's milk to 30C
• Add 1/4 tsp MA400 starter and 1/16 lipase (mild) and leave for 40 minutes to ripen
• I then added 1/8 tsp calcium chloride and 1/2 tsp of liquid animal rennet, stirred for 1 minute and left to coagulate for 45 minutes.
• Cut the curds in 1/4" cubes and stir gently. Start to raise temperature up to 38C over 30 minutes. The curds shrink while expelling the whey. Once target temperature is hit, hold for 30 minutes and stir to prevent matting.
• Drain curds for 15 minutes through some cheesecloth and let it matt together. Cut into 1/2" strips, place in a pot and turn every 20 minutes for 2.5 hours. The 'chips' turn shiny and slightly rubbery, always drain any excess whey.
  
• After 2 hours of cheddaring, cut each chip into 1cm pieces and leave in whey at 38c for 30 minutes.
• Drain and add 2 tbs salt and toss around evenly.
  
• Place the pieces into a mould and press lightly for 30 minutes, turn and press with a medium weight for 2 hours, turn and press over night with a heavy weight.
• This can be turned again and pressed at 50lb for another 12 hours. I left the cheese pressing in a warm environment to help with the knit.
• After pressing leave at room temperature for 3-5 days until dried out. This can be waxed or placed in a vac bagged and left to mature for 3-24 months.
  

Curds after first cut and left to heal

Curds after 20 minutes of cooking at 38C

Curds after 30 minutes of cooking at 38C

Curds left hanging/draining for 15 minutes causing matting

Curds being cut into chips for cheddaring

Curds at the start of cheddaring

Curds after 2 hours of cheddaring

Curd 'chips' cut into 1cm squares and salted

Curds in press

Next morning the 50lb pressure had
caused the curd to ooze out of the bottom. This was due to not lining the mould with cheese cloth. As cheddar is quite an acidic cheese it tends to stick to the cloth. In order to prevent this, soak the cloth in the whey from the cheese thus equalising the PH.

Due to a high PH the cloth tends to stick to the curd

The cheddar cheese after 18 hours of pressing

CHEDDAR - WIKI

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese originally made in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Cheddar is the most popular cheese in the United Kingdom, accounting for 51% of the country's £1.9 billion annual cheese market. In 2008, the UK produced 258,000 tons of Cheddar cheese. It is the second most popular cheese in the USA (behind Mozzarella), with an average annual consumption of 10 lb (4.5 kg) per capita. In 2009, the USA produced 3,207,440,000 lb (1,454,870 t). Cheddar cheese is produced in many countries across the world, but only cheese produced in the English counties of Somerset, Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall may be given the EU Protected Designation of Origin name "West Country farmhouse Cheddar".

History
The cheese originates from the village of Cheddar in Somerset, South West England. Cheddar Gorge on the edge of the village contains a number of caves, which provided the ideal humidity and constant temperature for maturing the cheese. Cheddar cheese traditionally had to be made within 30 miles (48 km) of Wells Cathedral. Cheddar has been produced since at least the 12th century. A pipe roll of King Henry II from 1170 records the purchase of 10,420 lb (4,730 kg) at a farthing per pound (UK£2.30 per ton). Charles I (1600–1649) also bought cheese from the village. Romans may have brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France. Central to the modernisation and standardisation of Cheddar cheese was the nineteenth century Somerset dairyman Joseph Harding. For his technical developments, promotion of dairy hygiene and unremunerated propagation of modern cheese-making techniques he has been described as the father of Cheddar cheese. Harding introduced new equipment into the process of cheese making, including his "revolving breaker" for curd cutting, saving much manual effort. The "Joseph Harding method" was the first modern system for Cheddar production based upon scientific principles. Harding stated that Cheddar cheese is "not made in the field, nor in the byre, nor even in the cow, it is made in the dairy. He and his wife were behind the introduction of the cheese into Scotland and North America. Joseph Harding's son, Henry Harding, was responsible for introducing Cheddar cheese production to Australia. During the Second World War most milk in Britain was used for the making of one single kind of cheese nicknamed "Government Cheddar" as part of war economies and rationing. This nearly resulted in wiping out all other cheese production in the country. Before the First World War there were more than 3,500 cheese producers in Britain, while fewer than 100 remained after the Second World War

Process
A bowl of cheese curds,Main article: Manufacture of Cheddar cheese, Cheddaring refers to an additional step in the production of Cheddar-style cheese where, after heating, the curd is kneaded with salt, then is cut into cubes to drain the whey, then stacked and turned. Strong, extra-mature Cheddar, sometimes called vintage, needs to be matured for up to 15 months. The cheese is kept at a constant temperature often requiring special facilities. As with production of other hard cheese varieties in other regions worldwide, caves provide an ideal environment for maturing cheese; still, today, some Cheddar cheese is matured in the caves at Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge. Cheddar cheese maturing in the caves at Cheddar Gorge. The curds and whey are separated using rennet, an enzyme complex normally produced from the stomachs of new-born calves (in vegetarian or kosher cheeses, bacterial-, yeast- or mould-derived chymosin is used).

Character
Cheddar cheeses on display at the Mid Somerset Show,,The ideal quality of the original Somerset Cheddar was described by Joseph Harding in 1864 as "close and firm in texture, yet mellow in character or quality; it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth, the flavour full and fine, approaching to that of a hazelnut". Cheddar, made in the classical way, tends to have a sharp, pungent flavour, often slightly earthy. Its texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional Cheddar being slightly crumbly, it should also, if mature, contain large crystals of calcium lactate – often precipitated when matured for times longer than 6 months. Real Cheddar is never "soapy", in texture or mouth-feel, and tends to be more brittle than other types of cheeses. Cheddar is usually a deep to pale yellow (off-white) colour, but food colourings are sometimes used in industrial varieties of Cheddar style cheeses. One commonly used example is annatto, extracted from seeds of the tropical achiote tree. The largest producer of industrial Cheddar style cheese in the United States, Kraft, uses a combination of annatto and oleoresin paprika, an extract of the lipophilic (oily) portion of paprika. Coloured Cheddar style cheese has long been on sale, but even as early as 1860, the real reason for this was unclear: Joseph Harding stated "to the cheese consumers of London who prefer an adulterated food to that which is pure I have to announce an improvement in the annatto with which they compel the cheesemakers to colour the cheese". According to David Feldman, an author of trivia books, "The only reason why cheesemakers colour their product is because consumers seem to prefer it". Cheddar cheese was sometimes (and still can be found) packaged in black wax, but was more commonly packaged in larded cloth, which was impermeable to contaminants, but still allowed the cheese to "breathe", although this practice is now limited to artisan cheese makers.,,The Slow Food Movement has created a Cheddar Presidium, claiming that only three cheeses should be called "Cheddar". Their specifications, which go further than the West Country farmhouse Cheddar Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), require that Cheddar cheese be made in Somerset and with traditional methods, such as using raw milk, traditional animal rennet, and a cloth wrapping. Notable Cheddar cheeses include "Quickes", which in 2009 was awarded cheese of the year by the British Cheese Association, "Keen's", with a strong tang, "Montgomery's", with an apple after taste. An example of a cheese, made in the style of a traditional Cheddar in Lincolnshire is "Lincolnshire Poacher".

Salt

Salt General

Salt is probably one of the most important factors in cheese making. It can make or break a cheese as it has many functions such as moisture control, lactic acid/microbiological control, rind development, flavour and texture. Its usually added once the milk has coagulated and the majority of the why has been removed. It can have an instand effect when expelling teh reaiming whey from teh cheese to longer turn flavour enhancing and maturation.

• Brine soaked cheeses - Edam/Gouda
  
• Salt is mixed with curds - Cheddar/Stilton
• Sprinkled onto the surface of the cheese - Camembert, Limburger

Lactic Acid Control
Once the curds have been salted or brined starter culture slows down dramatically and acidification slows down. Whey also carry lactose out of the cheese, if lactose levels are high the cheese PH will continue to drop causing high levels of acid during maturation.

Moisture Control
When the fresh cheese is covered in salt, it dissolves and penetrates the cheese causing the remaining why to be extracted. The why is then drained away or simply evaporates from the cheese. Over time the salt dehydrates the cheese to the correct amount for that particular cheese.

Rind Formation
As cheese is dry salted it starts to dehydrate the surface of the cheese. The % of salt and overall humidity/temperature will determine the thickness of the rind. The salt concentration within the rind also controls the environment for microbiological activity which influences the overall cheese.

Texture
At the start of ageing water is held within the protein (casein) resulting in a drier and softer cheese

Surface Microbiological Control
Salt controls the amount of micro-organisms on the rind. The less salt consentration the more micro-organisms can penetrate the cheese and vis-versa. If too little salt is used there could be a danger of attracting some undesirable bacteria. The consentration target has to be followed in creating a specific cheese.

Flavour
Not only does salt add a more savoury taste to the cheese, it controles the micro-organisms that also influence the cheese overall flavour. Salt has to be measured carefully to work with each individual cheesee e.g. In highly salted cheeses such as Feta and Stilton the salt influences the action of Lipase enzymes that give an overall piquant flavour


Salt Type

Standard sodium chloride table salt is used. Its best to use coarse rather than fine. This to absorbs teh whey at a steady rate compared to fine salt which can absorb so quickly it can flush out teh fat resulting in an incorrect salt content.

There are many types of salts, cheese friendly household eating salt are most common. These are minerals composed primarily of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and essential to our well-being. Salt is produced from evaporating sea water and also mining ancient seabed deposits. These are manufactured in many ways including:

• Raw sea salt which is bitter due to magnesium
• Refined flourinated/iodized and anticaking salt. Iodine is used as a health benifait which unfortunately kills some of the good bacteria/culture in the cheese. Anicaking such assodium aluminosilicate, potassium ferrocyanide, or magnesium carbonate prevent the formation of lumps caused by moisture. Due to this its not recommended for dry salt but can be used in brine.
  
• Refined salt which is pure Sodium Chloride.
• Kosher/Malden/Rock salt is mainly used in cheesemaking as its does not contain Iodine
• Canning and Pickling is also non-iodized and can also be used in cheesemaking.

Cultures

Cultures are bacteria naturally found in milk and also added at the first stage of cheesemaking. Once added the culture start to feed off the milk sugar's (lactose) and starts to produce lactic acid. The more acidic the milk turns, the easier it coagulates for better curds that are prone to expel easier. They can also determine the overall flavour and texture during maturation. Milk will naturally acidify if left at room temperature as it contains bacteria, teh idea of culture is to speed things up a little. The 2 main cultures available are

• Mesophilic - withstand temperature maximum of 30 C/102 F (buttermilk)
  
• Thermophilic - withstand temperature maximum of 55 C/132 F (yogurt)

TYPES

Flora Danica-Mesophilic Starter
(LL) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
(LLC) Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
(LLD) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis
(LMC) Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris

For making goats milk cheese, Havarti, Baby Swiss, Gouda, Edam, Blue, Goats Milk Cheese, buttermilk/sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, Crème Fraiche, cultured butter and other fresh cheeses. Use 1/8 tsp. per 1 gallon(3.7liters), 1/4 tsp. per 2-5 gallons(7.5-18.9 liters) 1/2 tsp. per 5-10 gallons(18.9-38 liters). Allow 18-20 min. at 70f (21c) to acidify to a pH of 4.60-4.70. Can be used to make Camembert/Brie but you must use another Mesophilic starter culture also.Using Flora Danica will give the cheese a buttery flavor.


Mesophile Aroma Type B/aka Flora Danica
(LL) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
(LLC) Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
(LLD) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis
(LMC) Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris

For making goats milk cheese, Havarti, Baby Swiss, Gouda, Edam, Blue, Goats Milk Cheese, buttermilk/sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, Crème Fraiche, cultured butter and other fresh cheeses. Use 1/8 tsp. per 1 gallon(3.7liters), 1/4 tsp. per 2-5 gallons(7.5-18.9 liters) 1/2 tsp. per 5-10 gallons(18.9-38 liters). Allow 18-20 min. at 70f (21c) to acidify to a pH of 4.60-4.70. Can be used along with another Mesophilic culture to give Camembert/Brie a buttery flavor.


Proprionibacteria- (25 grams)
Must be used along with a Thermophilic culture.

Proprionibacteria freudenreichii subsp. shermanii
(freeze-dried direct set/DVI-Direct Vat Innoculation)

For the maturation and eye formation of Swiss type cheeses such as Emmental, Gruyere, Jarlsberg, Compte, Tilsit and Appenzeller. Contribute greatly to the taste and aroma of these types of cheeses. This packet will work with 265 gal.(1000 liters) of milk. Use 1/8 tsp. (.62g) for two gallons(7.5 liters) of milk.

Lipase

Lipase - general

Lipase is a naturall enzyme that performs many roles in the digestion in living organisms. Raw milk has many enzymes that are unfortunately damaged during pasturisation. Lipase befits cheese by helping with traditional piquant flavour when most of the enzymes have been removed during pasturization. Lipase also reduces ripening time. Lipase from Animals and plants are the same although plants produce very little compared to animals. Lipase is obtained by drying and grinding of pre-gastric glands at the base of the calves tongues. Lipase should be stored in a freezer away from natural light in an air tight container.

• Calf - Creates a mild piquant flavour but lightly spicy
• Kid - Creates a sharp piquant and slightly spicy flavour
• Lamb - Creates a strong Pecorino/Romano medium spicy flavour
• Fungal - For vegetarian cheese.

Lipase is added to the milk before starter culture, coagulation/acidification and renneting. Its advised to pre dissolve Lipase before adding to milk.

Lipase dosage can vary depending on:

• The strength and age of the Lipase
  
• the total Fat content of the milk, the curdling temperature, the pH of teh milk and the temperature of the cheese in the presses.
• Personal taste
  

As a rough dosage

• 1.25 ml per 8-12 litres milk.
• 1/4 teaspoon per 2 gallons

Air Drying

Air Drying General

The first stage or rind development is the process of evaporation. Once the cheese has been either pressed/brined or naturally pressed by its own weight, the cheese is left for a few days at room temperature to air dry. Its important to turn each day in order to keep everything balanced. In larger scale productions cold air is circulated around the room to help accelerate evaporation. During this time the young cheese will shrink slightly.

The most important thing to consider is the rate of drying which can be affected by the cheese size/moisture content and the overall temperature and humidity. Its also important to alow teh air to circulate around the cheese so never air dry a cheese on a solid plastic/china base, always use food grade matting top allow air to circulate. Any moisture will attract yeast and mold.

• Too slowly it will be moist and this will attract unwanted yeast and other airborn bacteria at this early stage.
  
• Too quickly and the outer rind will dehydrate and shrink faster than the centre of the cheese resulting in stress that could lead to splitting. The main culprit can be the fridge fan

You can also go wrong when using cheese mats as the mesh is so tight, it was sometimes hold moisture leading to yeast problems. Wire racks allow a good circulation while holding the cheese without causing too much indentation to the cheese.

Time/Temp/Humidity

Air drying time depends on what type of cheese is being made. On average a temperature of 70F/21C at around 75% humidity with very little air circulation is a good start. If temperaturs are too high its safer to air dry in a fridge but be aware of rapid drying resulting in cracks. Below 65% humidity can also cause cracking where over 80% can prolong air drying.

Turning Cheese

The reasons for turning cheese (either in the mold under its own weight or while pressing for harder cheeses) is to help distribute and remove the whey/protien/fat evenly. While they are being pressed the whey drains from the bottom resulting in a more dehydrated top. Great care must be taken on the first turn due to a weak formed cheese. Most cheeses are first turned after 20 mintes, then 30 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 2 days. When turning in brine its usually done half way through the total bring time. Cheese is very boyant in brine so the top exposed surface usually misses out.

Turning Cheeses During Air Drying/Aging

When cheeses are left to mature over long periods they will also need turning. The bottom of the cheese is usually contains more moisture than the top so this enables the cheese to dry evenly. Gravely causes the cheese to bow slightly so turning helps prevent a lop sided cheese.

Rind Development

Natural Rinds

• Natural Rind is hardened barrier between cheese and atmosphere.
  
• Natural Rinds are difficult to maintain as they contain food that attract airborn bacteria and microbes
  
• Inoculating your cheese with good microflora such as Geotrichum Candidum will dominate preventing attack of other bad microbes. Wine, Beer or Brandy can be rubbed into the cheese to promote a good yeast formation that helps develop of natural rind
  

Oiled Rinds

The goal of oiling is to cover several coatings to create a thick layer. This protects the cheese from unwanted surface microorganisms and control's the moisture content.

• Do not use on small cheeses
• Oil should be applied lightly over a number of days until a hard skin has developed. Once this has developed it can then be done every month
• Lightly pressed washed curd type cheeses such as Gouda and Edam should not be oiled because these types of cheeses have a high pH early in the aging process. Because of this there is lot of food on their surface which can cause yeast to grow.
• Salt can be added to help control surface mold
• oiling to seal the rind. Oiling too early with cheese still moist can result in yeast injections
• Dip cloth in the oil, dab it on the rind, then wipe the excess off
• Cheeses should be aged for 8 days to produce a natural rind before oiling

Dry Salting Rinds

Dry salting is normally performed after forming the cheese and before air drying . Its mainly used for Camembert & Brie (mold ripened cheeses) and also washed-rind type cheeses. It is sprinkled on the cheese surface where it turns into a brine which then soaks into the cheese. The amount of salt depends on the type of cheese being made so it is important to understand the following points:

• Humidity

Soft rind/dry salted type cheeses are aged in 95% ambient humidity after dry salting. This is to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture from the surface of the cheese which would result in a dehydrated dense and tough rind. Also their surface must enable growth of molds, yeasts, and bacteria.

Hard rinded cheeses are aged at 85% ambient humidity to encourage expelled whey to be evaporated resulting in a dehydrated surface which later becomes the rind development. Repeated dry salt applications result in a steadily increasing dehydrated layer.

• Cheese Size

The Size/Shape of a cheese dictates how much salt is needed for that particular cheese. Surface area can influence the cheese so its important to stick to surtain rules regarding size and shape. Consider should the number of dry salt applications to allow it to reach it’s salt target. The problems arise when making large wheels of cheese. Over time to rind becomes so hard that salt will no longer penetrate and be absorbed into the cheese resulting in sub-optimal salt content. To overcome this problem the larger wheels are soaked in brine before being dry salted.

• Salt Type
  

Standard sodium chloride table salt is used. Its best to use coarse rather than fine. This to absorbs teh whey at a steady rate compared to fine salt which can absorb so quickly it can flush out teh fat resulting in an incorrect salt content.

There are many types of salts, cheese friendly household eating salt are most common. These are minerals composed primarily of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and essential to our well-being. Salt is produced from evaporating sea water and also mining ancient seabed deposits. These are manufactured in many ways including:

• Raw sea salt which is bitter due to magnesium
• Refined flourinated/iodized and anticaking salt. Iodine is used as a health benifait which unfortunately kills some of the good bacteria/culture in the cheese. Anicaking such assodium aluminosilicate, potassium ferrocyanide, or magnesium carbonate prevent the formation of lumps caused by moisture. Due to this its not recommended for dry salt but can be used in brine.
  
• Refined salt which is pure Sodium Chloride.
• Kosher/Malden/Rock salt is mainly used in cheesemaking as its does not contain Iodine
• Canning and Pickling is also non-iodized and can also be used in cheesemaking.
  

Salt Application

Final salt content within the cheese is critical. Salt content can caracterise a cheese so follow teh recipe accurately on amount of salt being applied to teh overall weight of final cheese.

• Soft Rind Cheeses - sprinkle measured amount of dry salt all over the cheese. Try not not lose any salt as this will interfear with final salt % needed
  
• Hard Rind Cheeses - rub dry salt onto the rind.

Ash Rinds

Covering the cheese in ash is used to reduce the acidity and mellows the flavour. Its mainly used for goat cheese

Geotrichum Candidum

Geotrichum Candidum

The wide genotypic and phenotypic diversity of Geotrichum candidum strains does not facilitate its classification as yeast or a yeast-like fungus that is still a matter of debate. Whatever its classification, G. candidum possesses many different metabolic pathways that are of particular interest to the dairy industry. G. candidum is of importance in the maturation of cheese, and much is known about its direct contribution to cheese ripening and flavour formation. Its diverse metabolic potential means that G. candidum can play an important role in the ripening of many soft and semi-hard cheeses and make a positive contribution to the development of taste and aroma. It may also influence the growth of other microorganisms, both valuable and detrimental. The significance of the presence of G. candidum in cheese depends on the particular type of production and on the presence of biotypes featuring specific types of metabolism. However, in situ metabolic pathways involved in cheese ripening and their regulations are mainly unknown. The information available provides a good understanding of the potential of G. candidum strains that are used in cheese manufacture, and permits a better choice of strain depending on the characteristics required.

Encouraging/emulating beneficial indigenous molds

Encouraging/emulating beneficial indigenous molds

I came across this when researching the preparation of a Tomme style rind.
Directly taken from cheesefourum.org - Linuxboy
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5687.0.html

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You do this by seeding the environment you want with the flora you want, fighting against blooms and outbreaks of undesirables, and giving the flora favorable conditions.

The thing is, the favorable conditions are ~90% humidity, and 50-55F for most of the flora you want, and also for the flora you do not want. If those environmental variables stay the same, they all will compete for the same food, space, and other resources. So if that competition exists, and you keep seeding with good molds, and removing bad ones, eventually the cave will be at a sort of uneasy truce and equilibrium. Note, you need a sizeable space to do this, and you need good air movement and air exchange. You can't do this in a fridge, for example.

To draw a parallel to beer, in warm wort, you can get yeast, lactobacilli, acetobacter, and a whole bunch of other stuff to grow. You don't want those, most of the time, so you control it by sterilizing, boiling, CO2 gassing, etc.

Here's a quick rundown on the most common flora types and their preferred conditions:

- Geotrichums like 92-95% RH, high O2 levels, and 52F, and up to 5% salt, depends on variant
- Penicilliums, both roqueforti and candidum like very high O2, 95% RH, and 50-55F, salt tolerance usually at least 4%, can be as high as 10%. Likes dry rind to bloom.
- Debromyces and Kluyveromyces like standard yeast conditions, 55-60F, sugar, nitrogen source, etc.
- Misc Streptococcus like 2-3% salt, can be higher, pH >5.7
- B linens likes 98% RH, 52F, 3% salt min, 14-15% salt max, pH >5.8

When you are crafting a rind, it is about knowing the cascade of blooming/growth of the ecology, and the controls you have to encourage dominance of one species. Controls are temp, humidity, salt, oxygen. Very often on the forums you will read rind answers from me that start with "it depends". It's not straightforward, but there are proven ways to create specific types of rinds, which is generally what I ask about in order to answer.

Brine bath

Bathing Brine

Cheese is less dense than brine so its buoyant and will float to teh surface. This results in uneavan brineing as the top of the cheese will be air dried resulting in an unevan rind formation. Also try to prevent the cheese from touching teh sides of teh brine tank.

• Avoid by sprinkleing top with salt
• Turn cheese half way through soak
• Brining cheese withdraws the salt from the brine so to be safe, use 5 times the amount of cheese being brined
• Keep temperature constant around 50-60°F/10C-15C TO WARM - enable spoilage and pathogen type microorganisms TO COLD - kills many off the flavour producing organisms and less salt uptake giving a higher moisture content cheese which can make it difficult to develop a hard rind.
• Keep the cheese the same temperature as teh brine
• Brining is dependant on the cheese weight/volume, thickness, and density. For Hard cheses like Parmagiano will require longer than a semi-hard Havarti.

Making Brine

• All salt water brines should be at around 18 % - 23% salt. If the brine is to weak less moisture loss and easy contamination.
• Do not use Iodised salt as it contains iodine.
  
• LESS THAN 18% - Less moisture loss means a higher water contact cheese
• LESS THAN 18%The acidity development will be less retarded which results in higher acidity (lower pH) will favour the growth of spoilage organisms. Aged type cheeses get sticky and create discoloured rind patches, varying from straw to bright orange, red or brown. Also, the surface will be prone to show growths of the black or grey mucor molds (poille de chat).
• ABOVE 23% - Too much moisture will be lost too rapidly from the surface of the cheese resulting in very dehydrated surface layer which may reduce further uptake of salt into the body (depending on cheese type)

When there is a unballance using a fresh brine, exhibit cat ion exchange, the calcium and hydrogen ions in the cheese surface will transfer from the cheese into the brine until they both reach equilibrium. This transfer causes the casein to absorb water and swell resulting in a soft slimy surface layer that in aged cheeses leads to a weak rind.

Always acitidy or neatralise the PH to the same pH as the cheese.

• Using drained whey from teh same cheese
  
• Adding Citric Acid
  
• Adding Acetic Acid (vinegar)
• Add food grade CaCl2 to the brine

Brine Tank

• Be large enough not only for the brine and cheese but enough room for turning

• Salt resistant material, such as plastic or high quality stainless steel. Be aware of aluminium parts

Making saturated Brine

• Boil your water and pour into your tank.
• Add 1 part natural sea salt or kosher salt (non-iodized) to 4 parts boiled water and dissolve into water
  
• Allow brine to cool to 60°F/15.6°C or refridgerate if storing
  
• Add vinegar to reach pH 5 or to equal to the pH of cheese
• Add CaCl2 to reduce cat ion exchange

In brines, % salt is a measure of the weight of salt divided by the weight of brine, i.e. if you dissolve 1 kg of salt in 5 liters of water, the brine will weigh 6 kg and you will have 1/6 = 16.7% salt brine.

Storing saturated Brine

• covered to prevent anything unwanted falling in.
• Store at temperature of -60°F/15.6°C or lower.
• try to avoid smear of slime to develop on the sides of the bath as this is fat that contains bacterial growth

Cleaning Brine

Filtering used brine to remove fine curd particles

• Skim the surface of any bits of cheese after each use
  
• If cloudy, pour the brine through a cheesecloth lined strainer
  
• If in poor shape boil the brine to kill off any microorganisms such as Listeria.

Rebuilding Brine

Salt will decline over time as it is absorbed by the cheeses and thus should be replenished to the % salt required.

• For un-saturated brine, stir in additional salt to bring you back to target
  
• For saturated brine, boil and stir in additional salt until it no longer dissolves
• Note, after using newly made brine, pH and calcium level should normally not need to be adjusted, assuming brine is used reasonably frequently.

Milk

Homogenisation

• Homogenisation is a process that reduces the size of the fat globules within so the milk no longer rises to the top.
• Homogenised milk will not clot successfully with rennet
  
• Buy skimmed milk and double cream combining it to a ratio of 12 parts skimmed milk to 1 part double cream (gold top)

Homoginised milk should not be used for cheesemaking. If homoginised milk is the only option its advised to add single cream seperatly. The main roblem lies in the outer layer of the fat globuals being damaged, this causes the natural Lipase to escape into teh milk that can then be lost in teh whey. It also causes the fat to break apart which is then absorbed into the casien. This causes a weak curd that is not ideal for cheesmaking. When adding cream it is important to get the protein-to-fat ratio correct, this contributes to a firm cud aposed to a weak curd.

Calcium in milk

Calcium plays a big part in the coagulation phase of cheesemaking. If a milk has a high calcium content the casein particles are large which lead to better curd formation and better whey expulsion. Calcium chloride is added to help produce better curds and overall better cheese. The casein particle size can be influenced by a number of factors.

• Milk stored at cool temperatures has larger casein particals resulting in high levels of calcium
  
• Heating and cooling during pasturisation can reduce the size resulting in low calcium levels
• Late lactation milk has lower calcium levels
• Diseased animals produce low calcium milk
  

What is Calcium Chloride?

Calcium Chloride (CaCl₂) is a highly soluble salt compound of one calcium and two chloride atoms. Its used in sports drinks, as a preservative in canned vegetables and in cheese making primarily when using pasteurized milk.

Winter milk V Summer milk

Summer milk behaves different to winter milk. The milk in summer is a lot thinner and there's less fat. Because of low fat content it will coagulate faster but take a longer to set. Summer milk is not heated as much. Its also recommended to let the curds heal for a longer time as they are more fragile. A skin should have formed before the curds are stirred.

Affinage

General

During affinage the cheese goes through a complex chemical change resulting in various flavour and texture changes. The time determines the overall complexity of the cheese and its knowing when the cheese has hit its peak that is so important in cheeseamking. The cheese can either mature from the inside out like many blue cheeses that are inoculated early on within the curds. Other cheeses are surface treated such as Camembert and Brie, these develop a complex bloomy rind that filters the flavour into the cheese. Surface ripened cheeses are also smeared with a beer/brandy wash that helps develop a rind that flavours the cheese. These are washed often to prevent dehydration.

• Ageing at warmer temperatures speads up the process
  

Turning Cheese

The reasons for turning cheese (either in the mold under its own weight or while pressing for harder cheeses) is to help distribute and remove the whey/protien/fat evenly. While they are being pressed the whey drains from the bottom resulting in a more dehydrated top. Great care must be taken on the first turn due to a weak formed cheese. Most cheeses are first turned after 20 mintes, then 30 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 2 days. When turning in brine its usually done half way through the total bring time. Cheese is very boyant in brine so the top exposed surface usually misses out.

Turning Cheeses During Air Drying/Aging

When cheeses are left to mature over long periods they will also need turning. The bottom of the cheese is usually contains more moisture than the top so this enables the cheese to dry evenly. Gravely causes the cheese to bow slightly so turning helps prevent a lop sided cheese.

Affinage-Tomme Stye

• Tomme - 88-92% RH and 55F 12C
  
• Be sure to dry the rind out for a day or two at 60F and 70% RH. It cannot be wet when it goes into the cave or you may get undesirable mold growth.