[Cheese] Watery curds

[Erica Cooksey]

On 3/28/06, Jack Schmidling <arf at mc.net> wrote:
>
>
> Did you forget to use or mention a starter?


I did use some mesophilic starter, I just didn't mention it :)

> 4- Should I have hung the curds before pressing? In the recipe I am using
> > (Ricki's), she says to put the curds in a cheesecloth-lined colander and
> > "let drain". She did not specify a length of time or a desired texture,
> so I
> > assumed that this step is just to get rid of excess whey. Did I
> interpret
> > this wrong?
>
> Your interpretation is correct but we don't know what you did about it.
>     What was the texture of the curds when you started pressing?  In
> general, if you drain them in a collandar, bag or just the kettle tipped
> over, till they stop dripping, you should have something you can pick up
> in your fingers and squeeze without any whey coming out or dripping on
> your fingers.  Think soft rubber as opposed to cottage cheese.


It was closer to soft rubber, it looked like very firm boiled egg whites. I
think that the addition of cooked hot peppers after draining may have
introduced excess moisture :-\


> > In her recipe, she only presses the cheese at 4lbs for 12 hours. There
> is NO
> > WAY that I would have a solid cheese in that time!
>
> Well, I would guess you did not have a curd as I described.
>
> The purpose of pressing is consolidate the curds and encourage them to
> knit into a single mass, not to expel whey that should have been
> expelled before pressing.


Well, I guess I'll air dry it when I get home and see how it works out!

Thanks!

--Erica
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