Thanks for the reply and sorry about the ommission…..
The Italian starter contains the following bacteria: Lactobacillus helveticus, lactis
As to what that is, I have no idea.
I’m really wanting to give this a try so I might just put some in a provolone sometime this week or wait until the weekend and do a parmesan or romano. The worst thing that can happen is I’ll screw up a couple of gallons of milk.
Today was a good cheese day.
I made a two gallon wheel of Colby (still on it’s first 12 hour press) and a 2 gallon batch of Mozzerella.
Both curds turned out perfectly even though both my rennet and my starter cultures are approaching the two year old mark. I was even able to do a true cut on my Mozza curd which is a first for me. Usually the curd just forms this funky glob in the middle of the pot.
Last year was not a good cheese year due to some health issues with my parents so this year is really looking up. In the winter months I like to do 2 to 4 gallons a week making mainly: provolone, gouda, colby, mozzerella cheddar and colbyjack. I also try a swiss cheese every year but am yet to have one that is successful. This year I plan on making one out of 5 gallons of milk to see if a larger wheel offers something successful.
The colbyjack I make is my favorite of them all but it’s a fairly time consuming and stressful cheese. Just the fact that you are making two differnt cheeses, with two highly different recipes at the same time will just about drive you nuts by the end of it.
I also plan on making a 5 gallon parmesan this year as well as a 4 gallon romano. I absolutely love both cheeses but have been buying them instead of making them.
So, if anyone has any advice on the Italian starter or any pointers on a swiss, please let me know.
Thanks for reading this.
Dave