Hi Liz,
It looks great.
We've had 36-40 degree days, which very nicely ruined the ripening camembert so haven't had a chance to make Anna's yet... can't wait!
:D
Vicki
Grass-Fed Cheese - Available from where?
Liz, I am very happy that the cheese turned out well! It looks yummy..
I have had problems with my own semi-soft cheeses lately.. Everyone made since late august have turned out soft and creamy, not sliceable at all. But they have a very unpasteurized and full bodied taste. And they don´t get the ammoniak taste/smell if left to mature for more than 2 months that bries and camemberts tend to develop after a while. What can be wrong? I have tried to cut finer, stir more and to keep it warm during forming, nothing helps. Maybe the milk is to fat? I have also tried to use skimmed milk, but thoose are not ready yet.
I am happy if you share the recipe. Credits should be to Ingrid Dam who wrote the book from where I learned to make it, not to me. And please mention our Scandinavian way to slice cheese with a cheese slicer, since this cheese suits this habit so well.
I have had problems with my own semi-soft cheeses lately.. Everyone made since late august have turned out soft and creamy, not sliceable at all. But they have a very unpasteurized and full bodied taste. And they don´t get the ammoniak taste/smell if left to mature for more than 2 months that bries and camemberts tend to develop after a while. What can be wrong? I have tried to cut finer, stir more and to keep it warm during forming, nothing helps. Maybe the milk is to fat? I have also tried to use skimmed milk, but thoose are not ready yet.
I am happy if you share the recipe. Credits should be to Ingrid Dam who wrote the book from where I learned to make it, not to me. And please mention our Scandinavian way to slice cheese with a cheese slicer, since this cheese suits this habit so well.
Anna Bergstrom
Sweden
Sweden
The F Word will be showing the cheesemaking next week, using the Dexter milk and I did supply them with your recipe Anna, although I am not sure whether they used it or not. Tonight's episode is the Nidderdale Show.
I am looking forward to trying it myself in the New Year, when I have several cows due to calve Sounds just yummy, whether it can be sliced or not!
I am looking forward to trying it myself in the New Year, when I have several cows due to calve Sounds just yummy, whether it can be sliced or not!
Wow. I am so angry I cannot se this F word thing from here.
I am curious if anyone who has made cheese from dexter milk also have tried milk from other breeds. My feeling is that the dexter milk is outstanding for cheesemaking, but I have not been able to compare. Will buy some holstein milk when my cow dries up maybe. Don´t look forward to that very much, to be honest.
We have a few old Scandinavian breeds that are known for giving milk perfect for cheesemaking. It would be interesting to compare that to dexter. Will try to get some milk from a fjall cow, or even better a Norweigan fjordfe and make some experiments.
I am curious if anyone who has made cheese from dexter milk also have tried milk from other breeds. My feeling is that the dexter milk is outstanding for cheesemaking, but I have not been able to compare. Will buy some holstein milk when my cow dries up maybe. Don´t look forward to that very much, to be honest.
We have a few old Scandinavian breeds that are known for giving milk perfect for cheesemaking. It would be interesting to compare that to dexter. Will try to get some milk from a fjall cow, or even better a Norweigan fjordfe and make some experiments.
Anna Bergstrom
Sweden
Sweden
Hi Anna, usually when the cheese is getting runny like that it is because the proteolysis is happening too quickly. Using Thermophilic culture is what would normally help stabilize it. Yoghurt is thermo. Late lactation milk is also subject to excessive proteolysis. I changed the 'ingredients' to reflect the freeze dried cultures that I use and the cheese came out very nicely semi soft.
Of course I am going to show it with my 'Bessheim' cheese slicer! What, you don't like 'Ostanna'? :laugh:
Of course I am going to show it with my 'Bessheim' cheese slicer! What, you don't like 'Ostanna'? :laugh:
Hm, I use both mesophilic and and a little thermofilic. Will increase the thermofilic a little the next time. Now we are in some kind of late lactation, but we where not in August and the strange thing is that other cheeses don´t do this.Liz D wrote:Hi Anna, usually when the cheese is getting runny like that it is because the proteolysis is happening too quickly. Using Thermophilic culture is what would normally help stabilize it. Yoghurt is thermo. Late lactation milk is also subject to excessive proteolysis. I changed the 'ingredients' to reflect the freeze dried cultures that I use and the cheese came out very nicely semi soft.
Of course I am going to show it with my 'Bessheim' cheese slicer! What, you don't like 'Ostanna'? :laugh:
Do you measure pH during the process? I don´t, but maybe it is time to start.
'Ostanna' sounds like a nickname for a person who only cares about cheese. So if it sounds good in Canadadian ears, why not..
Anna Bergstrom
Sweden
Sweden
I measure ph only if there is 'something' different about the milk and I want to check the milk/udder health. Ph in cheesemaking is a little tricky for me because I don't standardize (can't) my milk so it is going to be different from time to time. Here Holstein is the 'standard' for cheese making recipes, the ph's anyway.
The freeze dried cultures are really based on the rapid acidification of the milk. Are you using freeze dried and if so directly in the milk or making a mother culture? A mother culture can have different rates of acidity too. I was having the same problem with Brie and I found that the addition of some thermo culture, a little less of the penicilium culture and wraping the cheese in cheese paper as soon as the mold sets was a help.
I milk a Jersey too and Dexter milk is more forgiving than Jersey in that the fat globules are smaller and so it's easier to work in the cheesepot. I will find it interesting to see how it goes with the older breeds too!
The freeze dried cultures are really based on the rapid acidification of the milk. Are you using freeze dried and if so directly in the milk or making a mother culture? A mother culture can have different rates of acidity too. I was having the same problem with Brie and I found that the addition of some thermo culture, a little less of the penicilium culture and wraping the cheese in cheese paper as soon as the mold sets was a help.
I milk a Jersey too and Dexter milk is more forgiving than Jersey in that the fat globules are smaller and so it's easier to work in the cheesepot. I will find it interesting to see how it goes with the older breeds too!
Hi Liz and Anna,
As you are both cheesemakers, I thought you may be able to help me with this.
I'm going to have a go at handmilking (just not going to happen if I don't start somewhere) and probably won't be very good so I'm hoping to strip out one quarter, once per day to start with.
Okay my question is , how will it go if I freeze milk and then defrost it to make cheese, will it go okay, or are there pitfalls to watch with?
Thank you
:D
Vicki
As you are both cheesemakers, I thought you may be able to help me with this.
I'm going to have a go at handmilking (just not going to happen if I don't start somewhere) and probably won't be very good so I'm hoping to strip out one quarter, once per day to start with.
Okay my question is , how will it go if I freeze milk and then defrost it to make cheese, will it go okay, or are there pitfalls to watch with?
Thank you
:D
Vicki
Make a start now, but not on the cow. Use a rubber teat on the end of a bottle of water, and don’t sit under your cow until you can empty the bottle of water in reasonable time with either hand. Far better for both of you to get some slight proficiency without upsetting her and she won’t have to lose patience while you sit for hours trying to get a few teaspoonfuls. Squeeze at top of teat between forefinger and thumb and add the other fingers one by one. When you have got the lot out of the cow you can strip between thumb and forefinger drawing them down the teat, but don’t try and milk her in this fashion, If you are leaving the calf with the cow, removing overnight when it starts to take too much, you can let it have one teat to encourage let down, but you must be quick to follow up or you will lose the let down, over which the cow has no conscious control. Let down may be encouraged by anything, which gives her pleasure eg. highly palatable tit-bits, or concentrates. A quiet routine is essential; avoid getting upset because Dexters are good at catching your mood.
Beryl (Woodmagic)
Beryl (Woodmagic)
Hi Vickie, the problem with freezing milk is that it becomes 'destabilized' and the membrane around the fat globule is often ruptured. When this happens, the fat floats free in the milk and allows lipase to enter before you are ready. Fat is the conductor for lipase an enzyme that causes the flavour in cheese as it ages but if it is introduced in the fat before the process of cheesemaking will cause rancidity and off flavours. Therefore freezing milk for cheesemaking is generally not the best practice especially for aged cheese. Having said that some people have frozen goat's milk and had success with chevre or fresh cheese and Dexter milk does have a very small fat globule, not quite as small as goat's but small non the less so it may work for some fresh cheese. Personally I have never made cheese from frozen milk but perhaps some have and can give the practical knowledge. Hope this helps. Liz
Hi Beryl,
What a good idea, I'll get out the calf teat and a bottle later today and give it a go. I thought I'd get the dairy up the road to give me a bit of a lesson as well.
The cow that has just calved has a good amount of milk and last calving it was just pouring out of her when she was eating, so it would seem this was her 'let down' key.
Hi Liz,
Thank you, I knew you'd know the answer. And it makes sense. Phil drinks about a litre a day so he can drink it if we only get a little and for cheese it's up to the dairy until we're more organised.
Thank you both for all your knowledge.
:D
Vicki
What a good idea, I'll get out the calf teat and a bottle later today and give it a go. I thought I'd get the dairy up the road to give me a bit of a lesson as well.
The cow that has just calved has a good amount of milk and last calving it was just pouring out of her when she was eating, so it would seem this was her 'let down' key.Hi Liz,
Thank you, I knew you'd know the answer. And it makes sense. Phil drinks about a litre a day so he can drink it if we only get a little and for cheese it's up to the dairy until we're more organised.
Thank you both for all your knowledge.
:D
Vicki
Hi Anna,
Thank you, I seem to have found an excuse every time a cow calves and now think, how can I sell a cow as a house cow if she's never been milked. ???
All my plans went to mush yesterday, seems the story of my life, but today after drenching and fly tagging the cattle and drenching and toenail clipping the alpacas I'm getting out the teat and bottle and then will go up to the dairy tomorrow for a lesson as well. :D
Vicki
Thank you, I seem to have found an excuse every time a cow calves and now think, how can I sell a cow as a house cow if she's never been milked. ???
All my plans went to mush yesterday, seems the story of my life, but today after drenching and fly tagging the cattle and drenching and toenail clipping the alpacas I'm getting out the teat and bottle and then will go up to the dairy tomorrow for a lesson as well. :D
Vicki
Hi everybody,
How are your cheeses doing?
My cow is dry so the cheese making level is low. But we are eating from the cheese store.
This is a farmers cheese, stored for 3 moths. It has gotten some wild molds, that I have been wiping off regulary.
Some of my pressed cheeses from the autumn have had no mold growth at all (they shouln´t, they are made without) and I find that they have a much less developed taste. This moldy one is very good.
How are your cheeses doing?
My cow is dry so the cheese making level is low. But we are eating from the cheese store.
This is a farmers cheese, stored for 3 moths. It has gotten some wild molds, that I have been wiping off regulary.
Some of my pressed cheeses from the autumn have had no mold growth at all (they shouln´t, they are made without) and I find that they have a much less developed taste. This moldy one is very good.
Anna Bergstrom
Sweden
Sweden
Hi Anna,
I still haven't had a chance to make your cheese, our weather alternates from very hot high 30s (celsius) to hot and very rainy... not great for cheese with mould.
Into the mix of all this we are property searching, and have we walked boundries... mostly in rain.
Your cheese looks lovely and is so inspiring, I look forward to cooler weather and to try making it.
:D
Vicki
I still haven't had a chance to make your cheese, our weather alternates from very hot high 30s (celsius) to hot and very rainy... not great for cheese with mould.
Into the mix of all this we are property searching, and have we walked boundries... mostly in rain.
Your cheese looks lovely and is so inspiring, I look forward to cooler weather and to try making it.
:D
Vicki