Got up and prepped 3 gallons of milk for a Swiss, first cheese attempt in over a year. All I had left was left over rennet, so was anticipating trouble. Well I got it. It did not even begin to set, so I went to the all natural food stove and bought some vegetable rennet off of the shelf. When I got back home and mixed it up to add, it was old too, came out in clumps, but I used it anyway. Stiffened up some but not a tight curd. All I got was rice size kernels of curd. I processed as usual as I was not going to throw it down the drain. Raised temp to 120 F as indicated and cooked like normal. Not real sure what I will end up with, but it separated nicely when rolled in the ball of my hands, and made an beautiful wheel when I pressed it. I will still process as a Swiss, but am sure it will be dry due to the time it had to acidify while waiting to set the curd.
Oh well. I ordered some dry calf rennet today. They say that it will not degrade as long as you keep it in the freezer. What types of rennet do you guys use?
I had ordered my priopionic shermani from Leener’s and they indicated that 1/8 tsp was good for 2 to 3 gallons of milk, yet Rikki’s book said to put in a full teaspoon of the stuff. How much do you use?
All for now. Doing another chived feta next weekend if the rennet shows up. I may even add some Kalamata olives.
