Owly055
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- Feb 28, 2014
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In pursuit of that distinctive flavor of Swiss cheese I like so much, I'm currently in the early stages of a culturing project. The object is to produce the distinctive flavor profile of Swiss cheese, in one of my soft spreadable cheeses. I've developed a liking for these, and have been experimenting to try to get exactly what I want.
Procedure: (1 qt experimental)
1: Put 1Q of whole milk in a canning jar and drop it in the sous vide, heating to 170 for a few minutes to sterilize it..........
2: Allow to cool down to 85F & pitch Flora Danica........... Allow to culture for 5 hours
3: Raise the Sous Vide temp to 160 and hold it there for 10 min & allow to slow cool. Killing the Flora Danica
4: Pitch Propionic Shermani (1/32 tsp)
************** I'm at this point ****************
5: Allow Propionic Shermani to propagate for 2-4 weeks at "room temp" (canning jar has a plastic lid, and should vent)
6: Add calcium chloride and rennet, and proceed to make cheese "normally"
** Propionic Shermani requires lactic acid to do it's thing, hence the "pre-ferment". I wanted to stop the souring cold, so I killed the Flora Danica with heat. This resulted in separation of a curd mass and whey in the jar. I shook the works up, breaking up the mass before pitching the Propionic Shermani.
*** I'm not making Swiss cheese, but a soft spreadable cream cheese, so I don't care about the holes &c, in fact being a soft spreadable cream cheese sort of product, I really don't want a gassified sponge, which is one reason for doing all of the culturing and aging prior to making cheese.
**** I may pour off whey during the process at some point, and, I may also decide to stir with a sterile spoon (boiled), but my inclination is to just leave it alone to reduce the chance of contamination. I don't know what the PH is, and how susceptible it is to contamination from external organisms.
H.W.
Procedure: (1 qt experimental)
1: Put 1Q of whole milk in a canning jar and drop it in the sous vide, heating to 170 for a few minutes to sterilize it..........
2: Allow to cool down to 85F & pitch Flora Danica........... Allow to culture for 5 hours
3: Raise the Sous Vide temp to 160 and hold it there for 10 min & allow to slow cool. Killing the Flora Danica
4: Pitch Propionic Shermani (1/32 tsp)
************** I'm at this point ****************
5: Allow Propionic Shermani to propagate for 2-4 weeks at "room temp" (canning jar has a plastic lid, and should vent)
6: Add calcium chloride and rennet, and proceed to make cheese "normally"
** Propionic Shermani requires lactic acid to do it's thing, hence the "pre-ferment". I wanted to stop the souring cold, so I killed the Flora Danica with heat. This resulted in separation of a curd mass and whey in the jar. I shook the works up, breaking up the mass before pitching the Propionic Shermani.
*** I'm not making Swiss cheese, but a soft spreadable cream cheese, so I don't care about the holes &c, in fact being a soft spreadable cream cheese sort of product, I really don't want a gassified sponge, which is one reason for doing all of the culturing and aging prior to making cheese.
**** I may pour off whey during the process at some point, and, I may also decide to stir with a sterile spoon (boiled), but my inclination is to just leave it alone to reduce the chance of contamination. I don't know what the PH is, and how susceptible it is to contamination from external organisms.
H.W.
