The best part?

You will save hundreds of dollars by producing your own Penicillium Roqueforti.

And if that’s not enough…

It allows you to have blue cheese cultures on hand for when you make your next blue cheese at home.

Are you a blue cheese fan? Do you love yourself some funky blue mold?

I have to say that blues aren’t my favourite cheese, but I can certainly enjoy the right one when I’m in the mood. I’ve had a couple of blue cheeses that were absolutely delicious, and there are certain times when I crave that extra something in my cheese.

If you’re a blue cheese fan and a home cheese maker, I’m guessing you’re either already trying your hand at making your own blue cheese? Or at least it’s in your future plans.

A lot of Curd Nerd’s are absolutely passionate about their blue cheeses, and are busy perfecting their own versions. Some have great success, others are finding it a bit more challenging. Getting that blue mold to grow as it should is usually the biggest test.

Isn’t it typical that when we don’t want the molds they happily grow, but when we do want them, they often seem to be elusive?

A Great Home Cheese Making Cost Saving Tip

The great thing is that like most cheese types, you can easily buy the cultures you need to make blue cheese. But in another cost saving tip, and so as to provide you with a new cheese making challenge, I want to share a resource with you that tells you how you can cultivate your own free source of blue molds (Penicillium Roqueforti).

While noseying around the internet at what other cheese makers are writing about I found this article about how to make your own Penicillium roqueforti – blue cheese mold.

Now I haven’t tried it myself yet. As I said, blues aren’t my favourite cheeses, therefore I don’t make them often. When I do it’s normally as a gift for my father in law who LOVES a good stinky cheese.

But I’m all for ways to get back to the traditional ways of making cheese, and this ‘recipe’ involves growing your own blue mold spores, similar to how it would have been done traditionally, rather than using a mass produced culture.

How To Make Penicillium Roqueforti Spores

• It involves leaving a piece of sour dough bread with a pea sized piece of ripened blue cheese.
• Leave the cheese and bread in an airtight container for two weeks.
• Monitor the spread of the mold on the bread and flip it every couple of days.
• Wipe off excess moisture from the container, to avoid the bread going soggy.
• Once the growth of those special Penicillium Roqueforti spores, has consumed the bread in blueish-green mold the bread is ready to be dried.
• Leave the container opened for a few days allowing the bread to dry. Ensuring to flip the bread so it fully dries.
• Once fully dried, store in an air tight jar. The jar does not need to be refrigerated and the penicillium roqueforti spores will last for years.

Recipe: David Asher

How To Use Bread Mold Penicillium Roquerforti To Make Blue Cheese

Use a pea sized piece of penicillium bread mold to every 3.7L or gallon of milk. Mix the bread with a quarter cup of water to release the spores. Then pore the water into the milk through a strainer, then simply begin your blue cheese recipe.

Even though I haven’t tested whether this works or not I wanted to share it with you so that you can try it, and perhaps come up with your own world famous blue.

Your family and friends might wonder why you have a stash of moldy bread you seem to be nurturing, but you’ll know the potential that lies within : )

The other thing I love about this method of making your own cultures is that it takes something you can easily get your hands on and with little effort and very little money, soon providing all the Penicilium Roqueforti you want or need.

I love the whole concept of taking one thing and making something just as good or even better as a by product.

And who doesn’t want to save money on cultures? They can be pretty expensive if you’re making cheese regularly.

If you don’t want to make your own Penicillium Roqueforti, you can get it below or in our Curd Nerd Shop.

Do you have any questions or comments about cultivating your own blue mold? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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By doing this you will save a lot of money from buying thermophilic and mesophilic cultures so often.

Allowing you to make more homemade cheese for less costs.

That’s not all…

We will cover what are cheese cultures, mesophilic cultures and thermophilic cultures. Outlining which cultures should be used for certain cheeses.

The bottom line is I have been doing this for years and it has saved me a pretty penny.

It has allowed me to make more delicious cheeses then I would have been able to, if I had to buy starter cultures all the time.

Now, there’s a whole lot that goes into making the perfect wheel of cheese, of which cheese cultures take center spot.

Until recently, a crucial part of getting a great, tasty cheese meant having all the right ingredients and conditions necessary to nurture your own cultures, or to have had an established one shared with you to use.

Conversely, you had to have had an established set of cultures provided for you to use. These were and still remain to be known as mother cultures.

What Is Cheese Culture?

So, what is cheese culture? A Cheese culture comprises one or several species of lactic bacteria.

These lactose fermenting bacteria when added to milk, digest the lactose sugars to produce lactic acid which is what causes the formation of curds.

Without cheese cultures, you’d be making sour, coagulated milk cheeses that certainly do not come close to anything like the cheeses most of us enjoy.

The Cost Of Modern Day Home Cheese Making

Technology has turned around the traditional methods of making cheese. Now, you can buy bulk, readily prepared starter cultures to use as you like.

Even if you don’t have a local cheese-making supply store, you can jump online and with the click of a few buttons have cheese cultures swinging their way to you within a couple of days.

This has however done little to solve one home cheese making problem, the high costs of cheese cultures. One of the most expensive parts of making cheese at home is buying the starter cultures.

Even though you only use a small amount for each time you make cheese, the packets don’t last that long when you make cheese regularly.

In such instances, the costs really start to add up. This brings many DIY cheese makers to a point where they ask themselves whether they should create their own cheese cultures and make cheese making more economical.

Commercial Starters VS Homemade Cheese Cultures

A percentage of DIY Cheesemakers stand by the clear benefits of purchasing commercial starter cultures as opposed to making one’s own.

Commercial cheese cultures tend to be truer to type, and are produced so as to be free of any unwanted contaminants. You can rely on commercial cheese cultures to do what they are supposed to, as long as they aren’t expired or compromised in any way.

There are, however, numerous benefits of creating your own cheese cultures. By far, the best reason you should consider making your own cultures, as mentioned, is the reduced costs.

You can save a whole lot of money by taking one small amount of purchased starter culture and using it to make your own mother culture.

Afterwards, continue to re-culture from that first batch, without spending an extra cent. A lot of cheese can be made from each batch of lactic bacteria cultures if stored properly.

The cost savings will soon become apparent when you no longer have to keep stocking up on DVI cultures (Direct Vat Inoculation).

Another benefit to making your own cheese culture is that you’ll have easy access to as much starter culture as you may need, without worrying about your order getting delivered on time.

You’ll also enjoy keeping things more natural from start to finish in the cheese making process.

What Is Mesophilic Culture?

A mesophilic culture is a type of cheese culture that is best suited to work in moderate temperature. That means milk that is neither too hot nor too cold, anything up to 90°F.

How To Make Mesophilic Culture

Before you commence the process, it is vital that you maintain high standards of cleanliness, especially when preparing the mother cultures, similar to when you’re making your cheese.

A mother culture is the base bacterial culture from which you will draw samples to use in your future cheese-making projects.

• Sterilise a preserving jar and lid by boiling them in water for about 5 minutes or cleaning them then putting them in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
• Cool the jar then fill it with fresh, unpasteurized, skimmed milk, leaving ½ inch of headspace.
• Close the lid tightly.
• Place the jar in a deep pot with the water level ½ inch above the lid of the jar.
• Bring the water in the pot to the boil then leave it on a slow boil for 30 minutes.
• Remove the jar from the water and let it cool to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Add the appropriate amount of freeze-dried mesophilic starter culture (depending on manufacturer’s instructions) to the milk while still at 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Close the lid tightly again and gently swish the jar to mix the culture into the milk.
• Place the jar somewhere that will keep the milk at 75 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-24 hours.
• After approximately 18 hours you should see a solid white gel forming. If not, leave it for longer, or place the jar somewhere warmer to encourage the coagulation.
• When the culture is ready, it should look like a thick yogurt. It will pull away from the sides of the jar cleanly and have a glossy surface.

Types Of Mesophilic Cultures And Their Uses

Fresh Cheese Culture:

An aromatic mesophilic culture used in making soft cheeses such as Neufchatel, Chevre, and Cottage Cheese. This culture can also be used to make flavorful aged types of cheese such as Baby Swiss and Blue Cheese.

Flora Danica Mesophilic Starter Culture:

Used to give cheeses a buttery flavor. The bacterial culture is primarily used to produce cheese such as Edam, Gouda, Leerdam, Samsoe, and other types of soft cheeses such as Camembert, and Blue Cheese.

Mesophilic Direct-Set Culture:

A versatile cheese culture that can be used to produce semi-soft and fresh cheeses at home. You can use this culture to makes cheeses such as Monterey Jack, Colby, Cheddar, Chèvre, Feta, and more.

Mesophilic Aromatic Type B:

A versatile cheese culture used to produce buttery, flavorful cheeses. This type of culture is mostly used to make soft cheeses such as Cream Cheese, Goat Cheese, and Cottage Cheese. You can also make sour cream and cultured butter among other speciality cheeses such as Camembert and Havarti.

MM Series Starter Culture:

Used to make buttery, open-textured cheeses such as Brie, Havarti, Camembert, Gouda, Edam, Feta, Blue Cheese, and Chevre.

RA22 Cheese Culture:

A fast acidifying bacterial culture used to make traditional cheddar and similar cheeses.

MA 4000 Series Culture:

This culture contains bacteria that resembles the bacteria balance in raw milk. This culture creates an open texture ideal for many types of cheese that include Brin D’ Amour, Caerphilly, and Roquefort cheese.

What Is A Thermophilic Culture?

A thermophilic culture involves bacteria that can withstand high heat and is used to make cheeses that can be heated up to 130 degrees.

How To Make A Thermophilic Culture

Making a thermophilic culture is as easy as making a mesophilic culture. To make a thermophilic culture, simply follow the same directions as above. However, in place of the mesophilic culture, add a thermophilic culture to the milk instead.

Allow the milk to cool and afterward incubate it at 110 degrees Fahrenheit, for 6 to 8 hours as opposed to the longer period for a Mesophilic culture.

Otherwise, the two processes are similar and, with the right care and conditions, should result in a batch of your very own homemade thermophilic culture ready for use.

Types Of Thermophilic Cultures And Their Uses

Thermophilic Direct-Set Starter Culture:

This type of thermophilic culture is used in the making of hard cheeses such as Romano, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Provolone, Emmental and Swiss cheese.

Propionic Shermanii Bacteria:

Primarily used for the eye formation in Emmental and the aroma, and flavor production in Swiss-type cheeses such as Gruyere.

Thermo B Culture:

Used to make Italian-Style Mozzarella, Romano, Parmesan, Provolone, other popular Italian cheeses.

Thermo C Culture:

This is also used to make Italian cheeses. The bacterial culture is suitable for making farmstead type cheeses, such as Gruyere, Emmentaler, Swiss, and Vacchino Romano cheese.

It is worth noting that thermophilic cultures are sometimes used together with mesophilic cultures.

Storing Your Cheese Cultures

Once you’re done making your mother culture, leave it in a jar and place it in the fridge.

The cultures should be used within a week.

However, if you intend to store the culture in the freezer for later use.

You can freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop out the cubes to store in freezer bags for a period of up to 6 months.

Remember to label your mother culture depending on what type it is, and the date you made it.

When you are ready to make your next wheel of cheese, simply use one ice cube for every 2 gallons or 10 litres of milk.

You can also use these ice cubes to start a new culture, using the same directions explained above.

This time, use an ice cube of your mother culture instead of the DVI cultures to inoculate the milk.

What Happens When Good Cheese Cultures Go Bad?

If for any reason your cheese culture goes bad, don’t use it to make cheese.

If it doesn’t coagulate, despite following all the steps, the correct temperature and time period, or has bubbles in it, then throw it out and start over again.

A bad starter culture will translate to bad cheese and a total lost time and effort.

Making your own starter cultures is a wonderful way to advance your home cheese making and to make this artisan craft even more economical. 

So, give it a go, and make your own Thermophilic and Mesophilic cultures and let us know how it turns out for you.

As always, feedback, advice or questions are welcomed. Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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If you’re a cheese shop owner and are looking for ways to set up your business for success, here are our top resource to help you do that: 

-Secure your safety through worker’s comp insurance from Cerity

-Perfect your Cheese Making Techniques

-Don’t forget to check out some New Cheese Recipes

If you have enjoyed this post then you will love these cheese articles:

Using Existing Cheese As Cultures For New Cheese

How To Add Cheese Starter Cultures

So I thought I would help you out with telling you what I learnt back in those early days.

What Is Lipase?

Lipase, generally, are quite complex and clever wee things but basically Lipase can be described as:

“A lipase is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation or cleavage (hydrolysis) of fats (lipids).”

The Wiki definition goes on to explain that Lipase are essential in the digestion, transport and processing of dietary lipids such as oils, fats and triglycerides and are present in most, if not all, living organisms.

In the context of cheese making, Lipase are one of the many enzymes that are present in raw milk. The enzymes attach themselves to the fat globes of the liquid and break them down, which then causes the fatty acids to be released.

The release of those fatty acids in turn creates the aroma, texture and sharp taste common (and desired) in most Italian cheeses, as well as some Feta and Blue Cheeses. Lipase enzyme overall enhances the flavor of those cheese.

Unfortunately, during the handling and processing of commercial milk, particularly if it is pasteurised, the lipase enzymes are usually destroyed. This makes achieving that sharp taste more difficult so Lipase can be added back into the milk, to reintroduce those enzymes and their usual function.

Even with raw milk you may still require an addition of Lipase as the enzymes can be affected and reduced by the health and diet of the animal they are taken from.

Like Rennet, Lipase for cheese making is normally taken from kids, lambs or calves. It is definitely not a vegetarian product. Some Lipase products have been created with plant extract but due to the very minimal amount of Lipase present in plants it is considered an inefficient source of the enzymes.

Lipase should be used following the instructions of the supplier and please don’t work with the theory that adding more lipase will add more flavour. It won’t. It is the work the Lipase does that increases the flavour so as long as you use it correctly, the amount suggested should give you the flavour you want.

Most suppliers will have more than one variety of Lipase powder, with some giving a more mild taste, and others creating a much sharper taste.

Below is the mild lipase powder that I use.

I would recommend trying the milder version first and moving to the sharper Lipase if you still don’t have the flavour you desire, and expect.

Below is the sharp lipase powder that I use.

Your Lipase powder should be diluted in water and then added to the milk before adding the Rennet, this is after the starter cultures have been through their ripening period.

Storage of the lipase powder (normal form) should be in the freezer to maximise its life and effectiveness.

Initially when I started out making cheese I decided I didn’t need to worry too much about adding extra ingredients until I understood the basics of the cheese making process, but after finally deciding to see what the fuss was about with my Feta.

I encourage you not to underestimate the difference in the results you get with the additional of Lipase. It really does bring your Feta, and Italian cheeses, to a whole other taste level.

Do you have any questions or comments about What is Lipase powder or how to use it? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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If you do a quick Google search on raw milk vs pasteurized milk you can get lost in the plethora of information and sometimes heated debate about this subject very easily.

But what’s the fuss all about milk and how does it affect Cheese Making?

Milk Definition – Which Milk Is Which

Raw Milk

This is milk straight from the source be it cow, goat, sheep or even buffalo. It is full of natural bacteria and organisms.

Pasteurized Milk

This is milk which has been heat treated to up to 172 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds or more in order to destroy any undesirable bacteria present.

Ultra Pasteurized (UP) Milk

Most of the milk in the grocery stores, unfortunately, is ultra-pasteurized which means it is heated up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 1 second. All natural organisms in the milk, including those that are beneficial, are killed with this treatment.

Ultra High Temperature (UHT) Sterilization Milk

 Milk treated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit which again, renders it totally free of all bacteria, good or bad.

Is Pasteurized Milk The Best Milk For Cheese Making?

Pasteurization involves heating the milk to a high temperature and then rapidly cooling it. The purpose of pasteurization is to kill unwanted bacteria including Listeria, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella.

As well as give the milk a longer shelf life, which is of course more economically sound for suppliers. Some suspect this is now the primary reason for suppliers pasteurizing their product.

Rather than any real need for the control of bacteria (assuming most commercial milk comes from quality, regulated farms with tested, healthy animals), but this post isn’t here to add to that debate.

The pasteurization process means that beneficial, natural bacteria are also completely removed from the milk and therefore are also devoid in the resulting cheese.

In addition, with heat treating the natural enzymes and proteins in the milk are killed or damaged and because the whey proteins have been altered as part of the process the curd you get tends to be slightly weaker, requiring the addition of products such as Calcium Chloride (CACL2) as a remedy.

Finally, pasteurization definitely changes the flavor of the milk and therefore also the flavor of the cheese. Pasteurized milk has a slightly cooked taste which imparts its flavor into the final cheese.

Raw milk cheese has a much more fresh and complex flavor and a good raw milk cheese is normally a more superior milk cheese than a good cheese made with pasteurized milk.

Raw Milk Is The Best Milk For Cheese Making

One thing is certain, and that is that it is not recommended to use Ultra Pasteurized Milk or UHT Milk at all. Neither will give you good results when making cheese and it is worth making the effort to source even a good quality (preferably Organic) pasteurized milk rather than use these products for cheese making.

What can sway the decision for cheese makers, about whether to use raw milk or not, is if you are considering selling your cheeses.

Depending on which country you live in, raw milk products may or may not be legally sold while some regions will allow raw milk cheese to be sold, but only after it has been aged for a certain minimum duration.

If you do decide to use Raw milk for cheese making, ensure that you know that the animals the milk comes from are healthy and ethically farmed and that the milk has been sourced and stored in exceptionally clean conditions.

For how to source your milk you might want to read our earlier post We’re Going To Need Some Milk

What About Homogenization?

Homogenization breaks down the butterfat in milk to allow it to integrate in with the rest of the milk rather than sitting on the top. It does cause minor damage to the milk but not nearly as much as pasteurization.

If you still want to play it on the safe side, you can pasteurize your raw milk at home.

This process can still reduce the amount of good bacteria but the structure of the milk isn’t damaged as severely with home pasteurization due to a lower heating temperature than used by commercial milk manufacturers.

To pasteurize your raw milk at home heat it to 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes then cool down to cheese making temperature if using straight away or cool rapidly and then refrigerate if using later.

I’m interested in your thoughts on raw milk cheese versus cheese made with other milk products. Let’s not get too heated (mind the pun) here but your comments are always appreciated. 

Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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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.

When Should You Use Calcium Chloride In Cheese Making?

If you use store bought, homogenized and pasteurized milk for cheese making you will more than likely need to add Calcium Chloride.

It is required to re-balance the calcium content of milk as the manufacturing processes of pasteurization, heating and rapidly cooling the milk, and homogenization decreases the amount of calcium in the milk and can affect the clotting properties.

This will be noticeable by a slower coagulation of the milk after adding the Rennet, a softer, less stable curd and in some cases where the calcium levels are extremely low, no coagulation at all.

Adding Calcium Chloride to your milk brings the calcium content back into balance and will result in a firmer curd, that you will find much easier to cut and work with.

But it’s not just store bought milk that can benefit from Calcium Chloride. If you are using Goat’s Milk for cheese making, particularly when making hard cheeses.

You may need to add Calcium Chloride to get a firm curd as Goat’s milk goes through a natural homogenization process in the animal’s body and without CaCI2 it may produce a curd that is too weak to cut properly.

And Calcium chloride is often also used with raw cows milk as well, as different feeding conditions; for example winter feeding, and the health of the animals can affect the calcium levels of the milk.

Ultimately, whether you do or don’t need Calcium Chloride for fresh, raw milk will depend purely on the quality of milk.

I personally don’t or haven’t needed to add CaCI2 to the raw milk I use but if you find you are getting a weak curd from your milk supply, and you know your Rennet is still viable, you can try adding Calcium Chloride to remedy the problem.

Some friends have used the brand below and have had no issues. It is globally shipped from Amazon. Check the price.

Adding Calcium Chloride To Cheese

It is important to add exactly the right amount of Calcium Chloride so that the curd firms up enough but is not compromised by too much CaCI2 to the point of being unusable.

The recommended measure is ¼ teaspoon per gallon of milk. Calcium Chloride is normally added to the milk before you start with your cheese making.

Some cheese makers even prefer to add the CaCI2 to the milk in the stockpot the night before a make so that it has plenty of time to do it’s work re-balancing, before starting the cheese making process.

To add Calcium Chloride, simply dilute your CaCI2 in ¼ cup cool, distilled water, the same way you would with your Rennet, so it can then be stirred in evenly through the milk.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, and in previous posts, Calcium Chloride can also be used in your brine solutions to balance the calcium levels between brine and cheese, which can prevent your cheese ‘melting’ or going slimy when it is being preserved.

This is a reasonably common issue and the addition of CaCI2 to the mix is usually a reliable solution as it establishes an even balance and stops the calcium from being leeched from the cheese into the brine, causing the cheese to soften and melt.

Food Grade Calcium Chloride is available in our shop, at your local home-brew store or at the chemist.

Do you have any questions or comments about using Calcium Chloride in your Home Cheese Making? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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Let me fill you in.

The cheese making ingredient Annatto is the ingredient used to dye your cheese bright yellow, orange or bright red.

Annatto is a natural ingredient, created from the pulp of the Achiote tree seed and is used as a natural food additive for cheese, as well as other foods. It is widely used in Latin American and Caribbean foods.

So why do you want to add colour to your cheese?

You might not and you certainly don’t have to.

It is believed that back in the day, cheeses with a higher yellow tone were considered a better cheese as it signalled that the cows that produced the milk for the cheese were fed on grass high in beta-carotene which produced more butterfat.

Therefore, in a bid to convince the buyers that a lower grade cheese was actually one of these more superior cheeses and thus demand a higher price, Annatto was added to improve the colour.

Depending on how much Annatto you add to your cheese, you can take it from a light yellow, through orange and right up to a bright red.

Annatto doesn’t noticeably effect the flavour of the cheese for most people though die hard cheese lovers will often pick up on a slight change in flavour. It also isn’t really a problem to use except for stained fingers if you get it on you.

The question then comes down to whether you are happy to leave your cheese a whiter colour, which is it’s natural colour, or do you want to colour it up?

I personally don’t use Annatto at all. I don’t feel the need to have my cheese display a higher yellow tone and no one I have given my cheese to has commented that it looks too pale or milky, or tastes any worse (which it won’t obviously but some people are still a little naive to this fact) because of it’s lighter colour.

I was really surprised on my first visit to the states to see how orange a standard piece of Cheddar was and to be honest, my feelings about it were quite the opposite of those in the 1800s. It just looked nasty, cheap and plasticy to me but then it probably was, even without the colour.

On the flipside, I have had American friends who have been confused by the colour of our New Zealand cheeses and couldn’t be convinced that it was Cheddar cheese they were eating.

So it really is a personal choice and won’t make any real difference to your make or the end results.

If you fancy playing with the aesthetics of your cheese, add the Annatto as the recipe suggests but if you are happy with nature determining your cheese colour as it was intended, leave it out.

I would be interested to know how many home cheese makers DO use Annatto. Check out our recommended Annatto Here.

Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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The best part?

Why it is a must for home cheese making and it’s purpose during the making and aging of cheese.

That’s not all…

Why is it different to kosher salt and normal table salt.

On reading recipes for cheese making, you have probably noticed that salt is used quite a bit, both during the make and in the aging process. Now it’s time to find out what it actually is.

What is the Difference between Kosher Salt and Cheese Salt?

Kosher salt and cheese salt are actually the same thing, both non-iodized salts.

You might also have noticed that it is referred to as cheese salt, canning salt or kosher salt.

You might be familiar with the last two mentioned. But what is cheese salt?

What Is Cheese Salt?

Basically cheese salt is normally a flakey non-iodized salt. The salt is non-iodized because it has not had the chemical element iodine added.

The non-iodized part is the critical factor when it comes to cheese making. Salt in cheese not only helps to improve the flavour, but it also helps to preserve it.

Why Can’t Cheese Salt Be Iodized?

Iodized salt though won’t help at all, as the iodine in the salt inhibits the cultures and bacteria’s you WANT in your cheese.

Rocks Vs Flakes

Rocks vs flakes vs grains, when it comes to cheese salt, is all about how quickly (or slowly) the salt is taken in and helps with the process of extracting whey, forming a rind and inhibiting the bad bacteria. Ideally if you can get flakes that is the preference but otherwise get the grains.

I would advise against buying rocks unless you are going to take them home and bash them up (for the cheese of course, not your stress relief) so they are more easily assimilated.

So, that’s all there really is, it’s just flakey non-iodized salt. Easy!

Below is the flaked cheese salt that I used. I have found that it works well.

Do you have any questions or comments about home cheese making? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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