My DW used some of my Swiss to make a cheese sauce, complains it didn’t melt very well!
Anyone know how to improve the ‘meltability’ of cheese?

I have just made a Wenslydale and the recipe called for 1.5 hours of ripening. All the other recipes I have used called for 10-30 minutes. What effect will this longer ripening have on the finished cheese?
Thanks!

Bump

As I didn’t get any takers for the questions raised I went elsewhere and thought I would share the results.
Quote:-
You ask some very good questions.

It is hard to say why your cheese did not melt unless I know the type you made.  If it was a “sweet curd” cheese (using rennet and no lactic bacteria) it will never melt. (Halloumi, Queso blanco, Paneer). It will soften, but not flow.  This type of cheese can be used like tofu.

The meltability for cheese is dependant on the pH of the curd, and to some degree the moisture. For the most part, cheeses with a low pH, (below 5.0) such as feta, or a mozzarella that has become to acidic in the make process,  will crumble or toughen, but not melt.  A cheese with a higher pH, will melt to a stringier consistency, like emmenthal or gruyere.  Cheeses with higher moisture and a mid-range pH (between 5 and 5.8) are the best melters.

The pH controls how the casein network of the cheese interacts with water.  The lower the pH, the harder and more brittle the cheese, the higher the pH, the moister and more flexible the cheese.

The final cheese is dependant on the work you do with the milk in the vat.  Basically a cheesemaker is managing acidification of the milk, by the addition of lactic bacteria, using different processes, and interrupting or changing the the direction of the pH at different times.

The Wensleydale is ripened in the vat longer and at a slightly lower temperature than the Cheddar. This will give the lactic bacteria a longer time to work, resulting in the milk being slightly more acidic at the beginning of the next step than the Cheddar. The cooking step further acidifies the curd, and drives out moisture.  Because the pH is lower, it will take less time to acidify than the cheddar will. (shorter cooking time) but cooking to a lower temperature will help retain moisture in the curd.
The initial drop in pH (longer ripening time) will drive the final result, giving you a drier more crumbly cheese than cheddar. The pH of the cheese when it is just out of the vat and into the press will be lower, and the resulting cheese will be different.

It is really all about the pH, and the journey getting there. End Quote.

So know you know!!

Heh, that quote kind of sounds like something I would write.

Swiss is not supposed to melt and stretch like a mozz. A fully finished swiss type will have pH in the high 5’s. That does not melt as well as a 5.2. The higher pH is because of the propionic bacteria. Meltability also has to do with the fat/solid ratio.

And yes, the longer ripening time will result in more acid production up front, which consumes the phosphate present, meaning the final cheese will be more crumbly and have less mineral content.