What Is Flocculation? A Method For A Better Curd

Flocculation Method And What Is Flocculation?

As we all know, one of the most important steps in cheese making is getting a good curd set up.

Without a good set up, most cheeses won’t ever become what they should be, and some won’t become anything much at all. Apart from pig or chook feed, or compost waste that is.

Using the suggested coagulation times in a cheese recipe is reasonably reliable for getting a set, but not overly precise in terms of getting the best set to achieve the ideal cheese profile.

Sure, you might end up with a Gouda after all your hard work, but does it have the texture and moisture that you know it should have? Do you have a cheese that could give the all those store bought wedges a run for their money.

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QA6 – Why Didn’t My Curd Knit Together?

Why Didn't My Curd Knit Together

If you’ve ever pressed a cheese and ended up with curd that has failed to knit together, you’ll know how disappointing this dilemma is. I certainly do!

The point of pressing your cheese is to not only expel the whey but it is also how the small curds are knitted together to form the smooth shape, texture and density of the cheese.

When the curds don’t knit properly you will get a range of results from creases, cracks and crevices throughout the cheese, or a complete catastrophe of curd that doesn’t form any kind of shape or mass and just falls apart.

So what causes a lack of knit with cheese curds? Read more

What Is Calcium Chloride (CaCI2) | When To Use In Cheese

What Is Calcium Chloride (CaCI2) | When To Use In Cheese

Here at Curd-Nerd I’ve mentioned Calcium Chloride(caci2) a few times, mostly in relation to brine solutions, and you may have also seen it listed as an ingredient in the cheese recipe books you have.

What Is Calcium Chloride (CACI2)?

Calcium Chloride (CaCI2) is a salt solution, which is used in cheese making to restore the calcium balance of milk.

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Cooking Cheese Curds Known As Scalding The Curds

Cooking Cheese Curds - Scalding Cheese Curds

This post is Part 5 of the continued basic home cheese making instructions. See the Curd Nerd Beginner page or the Basic Instructions category for previous parts.

With your curds all nicely cut and having had a 5 minute rest, for many recipes, the next step is to scald the curds.

Otherwise known as cooking the curds. Read more

QA1 – Why Did My Curd Stick To The Cheese Cloth?

cheese curd, cheese curd sticking, press stick, press stick cheese

So you’ve spent hours carefully making your cheese and now is the time to unwrap it and unveil it in all it’s glory.

 

But you find when you start to peel the cheese cloth away, the curd has stuck to it and no matter how cautiously you try to pull it away, the curd sticks and breaks away from the cheese mass. The cloths a mess, the cheese now has chunks out of it and you wonder what went wrong?

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Cutting The Curd – Curd Cutting Tool And How To Use

Cutting The Curd - What Curd Cutting Tool - Cheese Curd Cutter Or Curd Knife

 

This post is Part 4 of the continued basic home cheese making instructions. See the Curd Nerd Beginner Page or the Basic Instructions category for previous parts.

You’ve waited patiently, letting the Rennet do it’s thing and now you have a lovely firm, set curd.

Most recipes will instruct you to cut the curd at this point. Read more