I am wondering why the forum suddenly slowed down !!!

How are you guys/Laddies ?

Here I am my friend.
I’m planning some “work” on the near Saturday. I have to prepare some stuff for my son’s 30th birthday.

How are the Camemberts doing?

Waiting till shopping day to get milk LOL.
Was also wondering on the slow spell.

Perhaps they’re like me, a bit sick of the constant one line entries.
“Me to” “I do that” adds nothing to the discussion.
I would suggest most have moved on to greener pastures.

I’ve noticed over the years that the volume of posts ebbs and flows. For me, I’ve stopped my cheesemaking for the summer, so don’t have much to contribute in the way of experiences. And, because of travel, vacations and other things, have not had much opportunity to reply to others’ posts.

Of course another reason for decreased traffic could be that people are having problems with the site. I hope this is not the problem and if it is (you’ll probably never read this….but) be sure to let me know at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Rick

We have been having very weird weather, still bet snow a bit and nights near 0, today high of 10c so cheese making is still on. Still have to bring my plants in in the evening for safety sakes.

Personally I make cheese all year round - even though the Summer temps around here are near 100 F.  It hasn’t been a problem yet.  I do keep much busier with all the yard and garden chores (put up 4 qts of strawberries last night), but one can always find the time to do what one really wants to do.  I did a hickory smoke Manchego 2 weeks ago and a Montasio this weekend.  Both turned out quite well.  I’m thinking it may be time for another Derby, Leicester or traditional Cheddar real soon.

Question for all:  how many of you have had trouble with a somewhat bitter after taste in your cheeses?  Has anyone figured out what causes it and how to correct it?  I’ve come up with a temporary solution; but I’m also changing my starter in hopes of eliminating it altogether.  I have been using C101 mesophilic from NECS; but have decided to go with the M11 instead.  Any thoughts?

My “seasonal” cheese making is less related to temperature than “all the other things I need/want/like” to do. There is fishing, hiking, gardening, going into “The City”...things that I don’t do in the winter

Bitterness. I’ve had it. Maybe it is related to the culture. I’ve always thought it was more related to my inattention to timing, ph, and poor aging. I’d be interested to better understand where ‘bitterness’ comes from.

Rick

I had bitterness when i first started, I thingk it was milk type, was using homo at the time.. I thingk their was something in the right up I posted a while ago about the top problems.

Green Cheese Maker - 20 May 2009 08:01 PM

Personally I make cheese all year round - even though the Summer temps around here are near 100 F.  It hasn’t been a problem yet.  I do keep much busier with all the yard and garden chores (put up 4 qts of strawberries last night), but one can always find the time to do what one really wants to do.  I did a hickory smoke Manchego 2 weeks ago and a Montasio this weekend.  Both turned out quite well.  I’m thinking it may be time for another Derby, Leicester or traditional Cheddar real soon.

Question for all:  how many of you have had trouble with a somewhat bitter after taste in your cheeses?  Has anyone figured out what causes it and how to correct it?  I’ve come up with a temporary solution; but I’m also changing my starter in hopes of eliminating it altogether.  I have been using C101 mesophilic from NECS; but have decided to go with the M11 instead.  Any thoughts?

Well i am glad that you all start to write something , i managed to wake you up

Regarding bitter taste:

1- something wrong with culture
2- high curing temp for long time (very fast ripping process) with high moisture content cheese type
3- too much rennet

the above three reasons i had when i first started to make cheese…

note that all cured cheeses will wheels (one month old) and it will disappear on three month old , if ur curing room is over 20 C the cheese will go better in this stage

Alex - 19 May 2009 03:02 PM

Here I am my friend.
I’m planning some “work” on the near Saturday. I have to prepare some stuff for my son’s 30th birthday.

How are the Camemberts doing?

I am doing fine,  planning to go to north Italy next week (alp area) for week trip, and i will try to visit some farms

My camemberts are still in foils, i check and unfold them each other day and flip them, some of them are now full of dense white coat. and some others still has some bold areas….

blue mold is there, and i decided not to remove, as it will be blue/brie style of cheese…

but i noticed that when white mold is there, its overrule the blue, white is dominant , so the job will be to grow white mold quickly before blue starts ... and then u will end up with beautiful white molds ....

i will try tomorrow with raw cow milk with 38C , per ur exact intersections and see…. 

i put some white skin in jar in fridge now with some sugar and salt , and i will add them to milk to see what will happen

Regarding bitter taste:

1- something wrong with culture
2- high curing temp for long time (very fast ripping process) with high moisture content cheese type
3- too much rennet

the above three reasons i had when i first started to make cheese…

Regarding the above 3 reasons:
1.  Might be possible, as I mentioned I have ordered a different culture and will see if it effects a positive change.
2.  Curing temp has not been a problem, and the humidity has been fluctuating a bit to the low side from time to time, but mostly 80 to 85%.
3.  I have already tried using less rennet.  75% works fairly well, 50% was a bit too little.  Same bitterness problem with either concentration.

Regarding Neil’s comment concerning the milk - I use fresh raw milk, usually less than 1 hour old; but no more than overnight in my refrigerator.

how old the cheese is?

Personally I make cheese all year round - even though the Summer temps around here are near 100 F. It hasn’t been a problem yet. I do keep much busier with all the yard and garden chores (put up 4 qts of strawberries last night), but one can always find the time to do what one really wants to do. I did a hickory smoke Manchego 2 weeks ago and a Montasio this weekend. Both turned out quite well. I’m thinking it may be time for another Derby, Leicester or traditional Cheddar real soon.

I too make cheese all year round regardless the outside temperatures rising some times to 28-32 deg C, in this case I turn on the AC in my apartment. Rich, will you please share with us your Manchego and Montasio recipes?

Question for all: how many of you have had trouble with a somewhat bitter after taste in your cheeses? Has anyone figured out what causes it and how to correct it? I’ve come up with a temporary solution; but I’m also changing my starter in hopes of eliminating it altogether. I have been using C101 mesophilic from NECS; but have decided to go with the M11 instead. Any thoughts?

I’ve never used commercially bought starters. All my cheeses are made using just buttermilk and yogurt starter cultures. I checked with the manufacturing dairy company about the bacteria used in their products, it is the same sold in the dried form packets. I only use Helveticus in addition to the mentioned above. I’m going to place an order for some Lipase and Geo 17.

I am doing fine, planning to go to north Italy next week (alp area) for week trip, and i will try to visit some farms

I wish you a nice and pleasant trip. Keep us updated with highlights of your journey.

i will try tomorrow with raw cow milk with 38C , per ur exact intersections and see….

I wish you luck. With my upcoming batch of Camembert I’m going to make some experimental changes regarding my recipe. Of course I will update with the results.

I too make cheese all year round regardless the outside temperatures rising some times to 28-32 deg C, in this case I turn on the AC in my apartment. Rich, will you please share with us your Manchego and Montasio recipes?

I use Ricki Carroll’s recipes for both.  I’ve added 1 1/2 Tbls liquid smoke to the Manchego just prior to adding rennet.  For both recipes I use half the starter recommended.