Do you have any suggestions?

If you use a mother culture its probably best to go by PH instead of time in the recipe. If you do that the dosage isn’t as important because the population on the bacteria will be reflected by the pH though the dosage may affect the outcome somewhat because the mix of bacteria may change depending on a number of factors, starter temperature, pH etc both before and after you start the cheese-making process not to mention the possible introduction of other species

Hi Joseph

Thanks for your feedback. We have taken your suggestion on board and from now on will post both Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures.

Hi Curdnerd, thanks for your quick response. I am using the same brand of Flora Danica you suggest in this recipe. I found in Mary Karlin’s book, last night, a basic guide that 2 Tablespoons (30ml) of Mother culture is roughly 1/4 teaspoon of direct set. I take your point on making ‘rules’ for such a varied thing as mother cultures tend to be. I will certainly experiment.
On the topic of Mother cultures, the cheese makers who have taught me my first steps were very pro mother cultures. They acknowledge this is the good old fashioned way but like the time saved not having to ripen the milk. They also believe when done correctly using mother cultures, the taste of the cheese is superior. (Opinion, of course) They grew up in Switzerland/Spain and have always done things this way. Personally I like my cultures to go the distance, direct set in the batches I buy would give me about 8 cheeses, using the mother culture route will give me over a 100 cheese.

Hi Rob

Because direct set cultures are such a condensed product, you will always need a lot less of them to produce the right flavours. Mother cultures will require much more to do the same. Unfortunately, because every mother culture can be so different, it’s hard for me to say how much you will need. With direct set you obviously get a bit more consistency with what is required, but even that can vary with other conditions. The best bet is to make a batch of cheese and carefully log what you have done and then increase or decrease accordingly. Sorry I can’t give you a definitive answer, but it really does depend on your culture.

Perhaps you can include the Fahrenheit conversion to the temperatures mentioned in your articles, to make it easier for those in countries using this scale , to follow.
Thank you,
Joseph

Hi Susanne

Soaking the cheese in the brine solution is what allows for the uptake of salt, into the cheese. Not extra salt is added.

Hi Lydia

Thanks for your question.

Without knowing a bit more about your ingredients and process, it’s difficult to know why you didn’t get a curd.

What kind of milk are you using? Did you follow the temperature and time guides closely? And are you confident of the viability and application of your Rennet?

Just a few things to think about, but also let me know your milk type as that may play a part if everything else was in order : )