Cheese Makers

Add a Comment

Comment by Andrew Cumberland on May 2, 2016 at 23:27

I can't understand how on earth they got Listeria if they used pasturised milk.  That's the whole reason Australia had a ban on raw milk cheeses for so long.  

You already have all the knowledge you need to make Camembert Dave.  Your biggest issue will be about having somewhere with the right temps to age it. 

Comment by Dave Riley on May 2, 2016 at 12:38

I use whey from yogurt in some of the fermenting I'm experimenting with..but I see that it isn't necessary as most harvested veg will carry lactobacillus on their skin and leaves.

While not necessary...its use will speed up the fermenting process.Also useful as additions to  sourdough starters.

But then Asher's book describes 3 types of whey:

• sweet whey: from cheesemaking
• acid whey: from yogurt and hard cheese making 
• cooked whey: wherein the bacteria are mainly dead.

with the primary difference being in pH  and cultural demographics. He offers a great discussion on whey, whey cheese starters and whey cheeses..and the uses of whey as food and probiotic fertiliser.

I'll take you up on the Camembert, offer,thanks,  Andy ...when I get my skillset up . 

But then I was researching the Camembert I've been eating -- Jindi -- and a Listeria outbreak in their soft cheese products  killed 4 people (all vulnerables) in 2013.

And it takes 70 days for  “listeriosis” to manifest!

The potential contamination product list was large: Jindi, Jindi Reserve, Aida Valley, Blue Cow, Coles Finest, Dynasty, Emporium, Enterprize, G&K, Harris Farm, International, Kenilworth, Kingaroy, Old Telegraph Road, Raw Materials, Siena, Tomewin Farm, Tomme Farm, Top Paddock, Wattle Valley and Willow Grove.

In contrast -- methinks -- fermenting vegetables is absolutely benign! 

Comment by Jude Williams on May 2, 2016 at 8:59

Andrew, I don't pickle, I ferment and I only use dairy whey for dairy ferments. Using dairy whey in vegetable ferments is not recommended. I can make ricotta from dairy whey but just need more time - as do most people these days ;)

Comment by Andrew Cumberland on May 1, 2016 at 21:37

There are some great recipes for pickles that also use whey Jude. 

Comment by Jude Williams on May 1, 2016 at 15:29

Last week I tossed out 1L dairy whey as I had no use for at the time. Still have quite a bit now. When I kefir milk and then drain it for the kefir cheese, I end up with lots of left over whey from raw organic milk

Comment by Andrew Cumberland on April 29, 2016 at 18:35

I'm in 100% agreement with you.  The good news is that you really just want to focus on Camembert at the moment.  I can give you the tiny amount of the 3 cultures you need to do one cheese.  That will give you enough whey to be off and running and you'll know you have the right cultures in there.  What?  No Dave.  It's not overly generous of me - we are talking between 1/8 and 1/32 of a teaspoon of each.  An't remember the exact amounts right now, but it is miniscule. 

Comment by Dave Riley on April 29, 2016 at 15:27

Thats' what I'd think but the book says:

“Many cheesemakers suggest keeping a separate whey starter for each different style of cheese. I would argue, though, that keeping so many starters is unnecessary; the microbial community within a raw-milk whey starter is diverse enough to develop into any style of cheese!
I often reuse whey from a mozzarella to use as a starter for a cheddar, then use that leftover whey from that cheddar as a starter for a blue. And even if I reuse the starter from the blue cheese (with a residual collection of added Penicillium roqueforti fungal spores) for making a Camembert, so long as I handle the Camembert cheese in the correct manner by washing its rind, the cheese will show no signs of blue...A strong and diverse whey culture can be used and reused for almost any style of cheesemaking, so long as the whey isn’t cooked to a high temperature–above 110˚F (43˚C). A whey starter will contain a diversity of starter cultures–some mesophilic, some thermophilic– along with many ripening cultures. This diversity allows the starter to adapt to any style of cheesemaking.”

Excerpt From: David Asher. “The Art of Natural Cheesemaking.” p496

That doesn't make microbiological sense to me. But I do know I can make different veg ferments with the same whey starter -- but thats' using more inputs than just cows milk.But then I use yogurt whey to make lacto-fermented vegetables and spices.

That's the great excitement for me. And I even add yogurt whey to my fertilizer ferments.As I add pickling whey to my oats overnight...Looking at the science -- the chronology -- different microbes kick in at different times/ages and temperatures -- even with yogurt.

Again: this is all hypothesis. I've not made cheese. I am just very interested in the whey business. But I'd expect that the best course for camembert, to protect yourself,  would be to get some cheese specific inoculant first before beginning the routine of recycling whey.

Comment by Andrew Cumberland on April 29, 2016 at 0:29

It would need to be whey from a camembert cheese Dave.  Otherwise, the bacteria will be all wrong. 

Comment by Dave Riley on April 28, 2016 at 14:03

Of course I know nothing and am a dabbler.

Here's a Camembert sampler. Whether I'll proceed or even could be succesful is something I can address via my 'to-do' list in the time  a head.It may even take me years to skill up. Probably.  But my Camembert addiction is a financial burden...

Good book -- by the way this The Art of Natural Cheese Making -- offers a sort of cultures discourse I'm most interested in.Chapters on whey, sourdough,..and, most interestingly, whey starters. 

I feel so  wheyward. I think there should be temples built to celebrate whey.

Ingredients

1 gallon (4 L) good cows’ milk

1 ⁄ 4 cup (60 mL) kefir or active whey

Regular dose rennet (I use 1 ⁄ 4 tablet WalcoRen rennet for 1 gallon milk)

Salt

Equipment

1-gallon (4-L) stainless pot

Wooden spoon

Long-bladed knife

1 Brie-sized (7 inches [18 cm] across) cheese form or 3 Camembert-sized (4 inches [10 cm] across) forms

Draining rack setup

Cheese cave at 50°F (10°C) and 90 percent humidity

Comment by Jude Williams on April 27, 2016 at 21:56

Thanks Andrew Cumberland. Lots to learn. I always seem to be chopping, squeezing, massaging, bottling, smelling and eating fermented foods. That's why I'm so interested in cheese making - just another way to ferment and preserve yummy foods.
We're lucky here in Brisbane as we have great raw milk and cream

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• …
• 18
• Next ›
• Page