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Hi Guys

So is it the calcium or the chloride that helps in the forming of the curds?

Cheers
Adam

Morning all,

Thanks Jen, it arrived safe and sound this morning, I'll try it out later on if I get the chance.

Any one have any thoughts as to why the CaCl2 helps? My guess is that although milk is already rich in calcium it's almost all bound up with the proteins and it's the addition of a small amount of free calcium that is helping us out.

Dave

Guys

Well found this url. Page 26 paragraph 5. It's all about the calcium bonds,
I should know about this stuff being a scientist, but I don't.

Cheers
Adam


http://www.afns.ualberta.ca/Courses/Nuf ... apter2.pdf

OK, I confess to only skim reading it

I didn't think it would be the chloride because milk already has up to 8.6g per gallon free chloride in it (mainly from salt) so adding 0.5g more is unlikely to do much.

So, from that tome I see most of the calcium in milk is in the form of calcium hydroxyphosphate. A drop in pH caused by acidifying bacteria converts some of this calcium into free calcium which forms stong bonds within the milk "particles" causing them to aggregate and expand until the milk coagulates.

Adding additional free calcium in the form of calcium chloride presumably accelerates this process.

Additionally the action of Rennet is extremely sensitive to free calcium concentration, with increased free calcium accelerating the second phase of Rennet action, coagulation and syneresis (curd formation to us!)

Dave

I'd probably have more luck reading Sanskrit, but it does look interesting, and I 'sort of' get the drift.

Glad the package arrived safely Dave.

Jen

Thanks again Jen, was that one of your Lidl freezer bags you wrapped it up in ? because it's much heavier grade than the Sainsburys ones I got which are a bit pathetic in my vacuum packer. The postman had a good attempt at shoe horning it through the letter box before he realised it wouldn't go through, So you can congratulate yourself on your choice of packaging.

Now I need to decide whether to make two cheeses, one with and one without added calcium, or just make a biggun with calcium. I think I might go for the latter but take a small sample out for testing purposes before adding the calcium.
Dave

Yes they are Lidl's bags, the best I've come across for using with the vac packer, about �1.70 for 75.

Hope the cheese goes well, keep us posted on the results.

Jen

OK the store bought calcium enriched milk experiment is on the back burner as I couldn't get any in Sainsbury's, so I'm glad I have some calcium I can add!

3 gallons whole milk, 1 litre jersey/guernsey gold top and one carton cultured butter milk coming up to temperature. Do I add calcium with or before the Rennet?.

Dave

Dave,

I add the culture first, stir it in, then the calcium chloride, stir it in, then the rennet, stir and leave.

Jen

Thanks Jen!!

Oh I forgot to mention that I bought some Jersey/Guernsey milk brie. Took all the rinds off and blended them with some of the milk. Then I was left with a golden naked piece of soft creamy brie, so I ate it

I got impatient at 80 deg F and stirred in 2 teaspoons calcium chloride and one of Vegeren (expiry june 2007). An hour later and it looks like a blancmange, I could bounce on it

Dave

Itsa kinda magic!

Seriously, it certainly forms the curds, and makes them easier to handle. So far I haven't noticed any effect on flavour, and I've done about 50/50 with and without calcium chloride.

See what you think, the brie sounds good.

Jen

Damn, should have started earlier, cut curds off to drain and me to bed.

Dave

LOL, just remember your having fun
Got more milk today for batches the next two days LOL


By the way, I thingk it would be wise to hold back on some of the rind to place on the cheese after u had it in the mould, to also help propogate.

Next lot of cheese I make I'll try your method BlueCheese and keep back some of the rind.

Dave, how's it looking this morning?

Jen