I’m making a Manchego this morning, and a bit of a problem has developed.  I’ve waited an hour and 25 min. for a clean break; and finally got a very poor quality break.  I opted to go ahead and cut the curd at this point rather than wait even longer.  I suspect the starter is getting too old to be as viable as it needs to be.  The rennet is fairly fresh, and has performed well.  My last cheese gave me the same result, albeit not quite such a long process as this one.  Does it sound to you guys like I’ve identified the problem correctly?

I’m supposed to let the cut curd set for 5 min before whisking to rice size.  I’m leaving it a bit longer at this stage as well to allow it more time to firm up, and I’ll probably let it cook a bit longer as well.

What did the PH say? if it didnt go to target then the culture may be off, I always keep mine in the freezer and they last for years. Maybe turn it into a Brie if you have the culture.

I didn’t have the pH values for Manchego, so I was pretty much in new territory as far as that goes.  The culture has been in the freezer and I’m guessing it to be about a year old.  At the end of the cook, I was at 6.03 pH, so I’m guessing it to be about right; but like I said, I don’t know what the proper pH value is for this type cheese.  I did some surfing but couldn’t come up with anything.  Another problem is that I have not been able to get to the dairy and had to use that store bought stuff.

After the cook it looked good.  I’m about to go to the final press and its forming into a nice wheel.  I added some dehydrated onion leaves for flavor and it looks rather attractive.  I’ll get a pic when it comes out of the press.

SO if could be the Ultra pas milk?
Did u add the CaCl?

Nope, not UHT.  Just regular pasteurized, homogenized milk.  And yes, I used CaCl.  Here’s a pic of the wheel fresh out of the press.  I’m happy with it at this point; but, as they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”  So final judgement will have to wait a while.  Fortunately, with Manchego one only need wait a very short while.

It’s the milk or rennet. The culture helps a little because rennet sets faster with lower acidity, but if the milk is off or the rennet is old, it won’t set. You said the rennet is a fresh batch, so maybe you got a bad batch of milk?

That looks great ! glad it worked out.

Another possible explanation is that your thermometer is not accurate.  If it’s reading 4-5 degrees too high it might take a longer time to get a clean break.