Troubleshooting Homemade Cheese - Cultures For Health (2024)

MILK DOES NOT COAGULATE

Your milk may be old or perhaps it is pasteurized beyond usefulness. Yourrennetmay also be unviable or old. Try changing milks and if the problem persists, buy new rennet.

MILK COAGULATES TOO FAST

The milk you are using may be too acidic. This can be caused by too muchcultureaddition or an overly long ripening period. You can fix this by using less starter next time or try shortening the ripening time.

Do you love cheese but have trouble making it at home? Download our Cheesemaking Guide and Recipe book today!

Troubleshooting Homemade Cheese - Cultures For Health (1)

CURDS THAT WON'T COME TOGETHER

If you were trying to make mozzarella and you ended up with a bunch of rice-like curds that won't stick to each other, this is an example of curds that didn't come together properly. This is often caused by improper temperatures; either you used UHT (Ultra High Temperature) pasteurized milk or your curds got too hot when you were preparing for the stretching stage, or they didn't get hot enough. The temperature of the curds before stretching should be 160° to 170°F. It's not fixable, but it is edible. Drain, salt, and use like ricotta or cottage cheese. It's delicious with fresh fruit or sprinkled on a salad!

CURDS DISINTEGRATE WHEN STIRRING

Here are the possible whys:
1) Yourrennetfor whatever reason may be too weak. If using vegetablerennet tablets, next time if the recipe says to use 1/4 tab, next time use 1/2 tab instead. If you are using animal rennet, increase it a bit as well. Any rennet not strong enough will cause the curds to look set, but then totally disintegrate when you stir them.

2) Do not use a whisk or similar tool to incorporate the rennet. The enzymes break down the proteins too fast, and you end up with mush even after the curd appears to be firm.

3) Gently use the up/down back and forth motion – not stirring when you mix in the rennet. If the rennet is not distributed properly, your curds later can disintegrate.

COAGULATION DOES NOT RESULT IN A CLEAN BREAK

Your milk may simply need more time to set. Give it a few more minutes. If it is still not right, you can add more rennet in half or a quarter of the amount that you used the first time. This problem may also be due to inactive rennet. Keeping your rennet tightly closed, very cold, and away from light when you are not using it will lengthen the rennet’s lifetime of viability.

CURDS ARE TOO SOFT

Giving the milk a bit more time to set might help. If it does not improve, this problem may come from ultra-pasteurization or ultra-hom*ogenization of the milk. You can try adding more rennet, depending on where you are in the cheesemaking process. You should add more rennet only to milk that has not yet been cut into curds. Adding more cultures may help, but again, only in the earlier stages.

BITTER CHEESE

This is normally caused by two things: Either the cheese was not drained enough, or the cheese was not salted enough. Add a little extra salt, stir, and try to get some more whey out. If you happen to have a cheese press, give it a shot here. Wrap your cheese (even if it's soft) in a cheesecloth and press at 10 pounds of pressure for 15 minutes. Then taste again.

Cheese can also become too bitter with age. If you made ricotta three weeks ago and it tastes bitter, it's probably better just to discard it.

RUBBERY CHEESE

There are two possible causes for rubbery cheese. First, this can happen when an excess amount of rennet is used. Use a bit less rennet next time. It can also happen if cheese is overworked or overcooked, and all the butterfat runs down the drain. If you've made cheddar and it's rubbery, you may have over-cheddared. Again, while it's not exactly fixable (because you can't add butterfat back into cheese) it is edible. Rubbery cheeses taste delicious when melted. Use it for pizza, grilled cheese, or on top of veggies.

BLAND CHEESE

For hard cheese varieties there are several causes. Cheese that is bland or tasteless may have not expelled enough whey during the cooking process, causing the flavor to be diluted. You can try cutting the curds into smaller pieces next time, or stirring them a bit more to help them release more whey. The curds may have been heated too rapidly, and this problem can be fixed by raising the temperature of the curds and whey byonly2°F every 5 minutes during cheesemaking. Or,it may just need to be aged longer. Wrap it back up and re-wax (if it's a waxed cheese) and try again in another two weeks.

If you are finding that your hard cheese is consistently bland, you may want to start adding a littlelipaseto your recipes. Lipase is an enzyme that works on fat and gives cheese a distinct tang. It will make your curds softer, so be careful and add a few extra drops of rennet if necessary.

If your mozzarella or ricotta is too bland, the cheese may need a little salt. Add a little extra and taste again.

CURDS ARE DIFFICULT TO PRESS

This is caused by excess stirring or cooking of curds during the curds-and-whey stages The curds have probably expelled too much moisture to be very pliable or pressable. Always follow directions closely and avoid overstressing the curds with excessive stirring or too-high temperatures.

CRACKS FORM IN PRESSED CHEESE

This may mean the pressure was too light during the pressing process, resulting in curds that have not molded together completely, and causing those undesirable cracks on and within the cheese. You can try increasing pressure and pressing time. If mold begins to form in these cracks, you can try spraying brine into the cracks with an atomizer to flush the mold out, but you must to ensure that you dry the cracks out thoroughly after this process, because excess moisture may encourage more mold growth. For this reason, you should not spray out any really deep cracks.

CHEESE SURFACE IS OILY DURING THE DRYING PERIOD

The temperature may be too high in the room in which you are air-drying your cheese, causing the fat in the cheese to rise to the surface. Move your cheese to a cooler location.

FINISHED CHEESE IS TOO HARD, DRY, OR CRUMBLY

This is only a problem in hard cheeses, and it's so minor that it isn't really even a problem; more an irritation. First, remember that when making cheese at home, you're making 2-pound cheeses, not 200-pound cheeses. So a homemade cheese is going to dry out and crumble a little more than one made in a factory. Some of the most delicious artisan cheeses are crumbly. But of course if you're trying to cut a slice of cheese for a sandwich, it's nice if that cheese stays together.

You may have used a bit too much rennet, or perhaps the curd-cooking time was too long or at too high a temperature. Write this down in your cheesemaking notebook, and decrease these things, one at a time, to help pinpoint and fix the problem in future batches of cheese.

Another possible remedy is to try adding a few more layers of wax during the aging process. Check your aging cheeses regularly, and if they start to feel like big hard bricks, add some coconut oil or wax to the outside of them. There is no rule that says that you can't wax parmesan, even if it's not traditional. Also, make sure that your aging cooler stays humid. Keeping a glass of water in the refrigerator can help. Some cheesemakers hose down the inside of their caves at least once a day to create moist, flavorful, and delicious cheddars.

Check also our recipe for our homemade coconut milk.

Troubleshooting Homemade Cheese - Cultures For Health (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you put too much rennet in cheese? ›

Too much rennet was used or too much butterfat, left your cheese during the process. Rubbery cheese can happen when an excess amount of rennet is used, too much rennet equals a rubber ball, too little, soup!

Why is my homemade cheese not melting? ›

Why won't my cheese melt? There are many reasons, but the biggest is the moisture content. The moisture content of the cheese has a great effect on the melting process. Cheese that contains higher amounts of fat will melt better than one that doesn't.

Why is my cheese not coagulating? ›

MILK DOES NOT COAGULATE

Your milk may be old or perhaps it is pasteurized beyond usefulness. Your rennet may also be unviable or old. Try changing milks and if the problem persists, buy new rennet.

What temperature and humidity for aging cheese? ›

The range of effective humidity should be no less than 75 percent RH and no greater than 95 percent RH. Cold storage refrigeration (38-40 degrees F) is kept around 65 percent humidity. The ideal cheese cave temperature used for aging is 50 degrees F.

What temperature kills rennet? ›

Rennet is an enzyme used to coagulate milk, in order to form a thick curd. Rennet begins working at temperatures between 85-105F, even at higher temperatures it will not be deactivated until it reaches 140F.

How much rennet for 1 gallon of milk? ›

The recipes in our kits typically call for 1/4 tablet for 1 gallon of milk. Ten tablets will set a minimum of 40 gallons of milk. Crush desired portion of tablet and dissolve in 1/4 cup of cool, non-chlorinated water. Add to milk when specified in recipe.

How do I know if my Rennet is still good? ›

Before adding it to your entire batch, you can test your rennet by diluting a ¼ teaspoon of rennet with 30ml of water and adding it to a cup of warmed milk. In about six minutes, the mixture should form a curd that can be cut by a knife.

What happens if you overheat milk when making cheese? ›

High heat treatment of milk causes denaturation of whey proteins and complex interactions among denatured whey proteins, casein micelles, minerals and fat globules. It is well established that interactions of whey proteins have both positive and negative implications in cheese manufacture.

Why is my homemade cheese dry and crumbly? ›

The primary issue that creates this unwanted texture involves having an overly acidic pH level. That means at least one of the steps during the cheesemaking process over-developed to reduce the amount of available protein.

Why does my cheese clump and not melt? ›

Thing is, once cheese is heated too far beyond its melting point, the proteins firm up and squeeze out moisture—the same way protein does in meat. When this occurs you're left with rubbery, clumpy bits of cheese protein that separate from the fat and moisture.

Why is my cheese stringy and not melting? ›

Acid-curd cheeses aren't suitable for melting. They contain an acid that dissolves the calcium glue that keeps casein proteins together. As the milk heats, the acid curds become closer to one another, and the water content decreases. Without the calcium glue, the cheese will continue to solidify and will not melt.

Why is my homemade cheese bitter? ›

Bitter cheese is normally caused by two things;

The cheese was not drained enough. Or the cheese was not salted enough.

Can I age cheese in my refrigerator? ›

Converting a regular or dorm sized refrigerator is a good way to age cheese at home. The temperature in a refrigerator can be easily controlled with a regulator like our refrigerator thermostat. Simply plug it in and set the temperature to 52-55F.

Can you age cheese at 70 degrees? ›

One of the most critical factors in aging cheese is the temperature of the aging space. Cave-aged cheeses are ripened at temperatures between 45 and 70 degrees, depending on the style and desired characteristics. Many of our favorite cheeses are aged somewhere between 50 or 55 degrees.

How do you age cheese without it molding? ›

Set the humidity levels between 75 and 95%, depending on the cheese. The moisture level is important when aging cheese—if the humidity is too high, the cheese will grow mold, while if it's too low, the cheese will dry out. Use a hygrometer to measure the humidity in the area where you're storing the cheese.

Is rennet in cheese harmful? ›

Calf rennet is now the only rennet we use here as it is best for the flavor profile we are seeking. We have used fermentation produced chymosin at Shelburne Farms in the past, and we believe the product is safe and reliable, and can be part of a healthy food system.

What happens if you use too much culture in cheese? ›

The culture helps create the acidic environment necessary for cheese curds to form, and for yogurt to set up properly. If you use too much culture, the milk will become too acidic and kill off the lacto-bacteria. And when the environment is too acidic, cheese curds won't form and yogurt won't set up as it should.

How does the addition of rennet affect the milk? ›

Casein is one of the main proteins in milk and the action of rennet enzyme causes this protein to fuse with other casein molecules thereby forming a network and causing milk coagulation.

Why is my homemade mozzarella not stretchy? ›

For Mozzarella to stretch well it needs two things: The right amount of heat to soften the curd. The right acidity (pH of approximately 5.2)

References

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