A question about chevre...

[bernardsmith]

Recipes for chevre (soft goat's milk cheese) call for only a drop or two of rennet and then allowing the cultured milk to stand about 24 hours before removing the curds from the whey. Does anyone know the reason for using so little rennet? What happens (other than encouraging the milk to coagulate quicker) if you simply add, say a quarter tablet of rennet while allowing the curds to sit in the whey for the same amount of time? Does the cheese become more "grainy" or less smooth? Thanks

 

[Yooper]

Chevre is a soft cheese, so needs very little rennet as you don't need a firm curd like you would for, say, cheddar.

 

[bernardsmith]

Thanks Yooper, I get that... but I am just wondering why it calls for so little rennet - I have a friend who has some goats and she gave me a gallon of milk yesterday and last night I made some chevre. I thought my liquid rennet was questionable (more than 12 months in the fridge) so i used a part of a rennet tablet and the milk coagulated after about 5 hours (and not the 24 referred to in one recipe or the 24-48 hours in another recipe I have) and this morning the curd block was sitting under about 2 inches or more of whey.. and so I was wondering if there is any downside to using more rennet than a drop or two. I allowed this to drain from about 7.00 AM this morning until noon when I weighed it and added salt and rolled logs and balls in herbs and it seems as soft and smooth as when I just add a drop of rennet... tastes wonderful.

 

[Yooper]

The only down side is that it can get too firm, "rubbery" instead of soft and spreadable. If you like your results, then I'd say you did it perfectly well!

 

[bernardsmith]

The only down side is that it can get too firm, "rubbery" instead of soft and spreadable. If you like your results, then I'd say you did it perfectly well!

So that is a huge downside... I think this batch is this side of "rubbery" but I also think that allowing too much whey to drain (draining for too long OR squeezing out the whey) can also add to poor texture.. but if "more rennet" means "thicker curd walls" then that is a real problem.. because, Yes, chevre should be very spreadable.... Thanks, Yooper.

 

[Yooper]

So that is a huge downside... I think this batch is this side of "rubbery" but I also think that allowing too much whey to drain (draining for too long OR squeezing out the whey) can also add to poor texture.. but if "more rennet" means "thicker curd walls" then that is a real problem.. because, Yes, chevre should be very spreadable.... Thanks, Yooper.

Allowing it to drain longer won't make it rubbery, but it would be drier. More rennet would be what makes it rubbery. I like my chevre really creamy, but I've made it drier as well and it is just as good (just not as spreadable).

 

[bernardsmith]

My last batch was drier but I allowed that to drain about 12 hours (or more), leaving too little moisture in the cheese. It was still delicious but was more crumbly than truly spreadable.

 

[shelly_belly]

If soft cheese is the end goal then little to no rennet is needed. I think most creameries will add a small amount of rennet to ensure they can meet their daily production schedule. Or they could be adding it to make the final product less acidic since rennet allows the curd to form at a higher ph level.

https://www.counterculturecheese.co...-lacticacid-coagulation-vs-rennet-coagulation

"Curd made from lactic acid bacteria is very loose and delicate. With a higher acidity, much of the calcium that would otherwise support a firm network runs off with its whey. One can’t do much with this type of curd, aside from gently scooping or pouring it into cheesecloths or molds, leaving the whey to drain slowly. Cheeses made in this way are soft, delicate, high-moisture, acidic products that are usually consumed young.

Rennet curd is firmer; it’s more robust. The maker can do more with it, can take more steps to ensure that the liquid whey is separated from solid curd. The strength of rennet curd allows us to chop it into little pieces (curds), stir the curds around, and do all kinds of other fancy additional steps. Those subsequent options result in endless variety in recipe potential. That’s why almost all cheesemakers use rennet—particularly in any firm cheese that needs to be aged. "

 

[bernardsmith]

Thanks for that background, shelly_belly. I was using the recipe that is offered by Debra Amrein-Boyes in her 200 Easy homemade Cheese Recipes. She suggests the use of a drop or two of rennet and that's the process I have always used. Perhaps next time I will try this without using any rennnet. That said, I won't risk the goat's milk cheese but the same recipe works with cows milk though obviously, the flavor is quite different.

 

[shelly_belly]

I'd like to try that made with cow's milk as I'm not too fond of goat's milk.

 

[bernardsmith]

I think the recipe is basically the same only when it's cow milk the cheese is called .... I am not sure. But you gently heat the milk to about 80 F (Boyes says "77F") add the culture (I use kefir from my kefir grains) then add (or not) 2 drops of rennet and allow the milk to sit overnight. After 12 hours remove the curds and drain for 6 hours. Weigh the cheese and mix salt at 1% of the weight (if 600 grams , add 6 g of salt). I roll the cheese in herbs...

I'd try this tonight but I promised my family I would make some squeaky curd cheese and that is what I am working on even as I type this...