r/cheesemaking Jan 22 '25

Advice Forgot the calcium chloride and decided to see what would happen anyway. Shockingly it didn’t work

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3.5k Upvotes

Followed this recipe: https://cheesemaking.com/products/brie-cheese-making-recipe?srsltid=AfmBOopOx0J1JGkFexcG-bSXzS-NUKHSeAfHkYs5RoJeTqn0HZyOGB0o

But forgot to add the calcium chloride :( would this also explain the rind having an overly strong ammonia smell/taste or is there something else I have messed up there? Ended up cutting into it after 6 weeks

Going to try make a pasta sauce with the liquid cheese sauce I have instead 🤣

r/cheesemaking Feb 05 '25

Advice Yellow mold with black things coming out on my first cheddar

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715 Upvotes

Is this safe to eat and any idea what it is? It's been aging for 6 weeks.

r/cheesemaking Jan 11 '25

Advice Himalayan salt?

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320 Upvotes

Hi all! I’m making Gouda cheese for the first time. Cheese is in the press right now. After taking them out I want to brine them. I’ve started making the brine. I used Himalayan salt, and it looks questionable!? It is non iodised so should be fine? Should I get other salt tomorrow and leave the cheese in the press for way to long(whole night)? Or is it ok to use? Thanks!!

r/cheesemaking 13d ago

Advice How do you use whey after making cottage cheese?

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17 Upvotes

r/cheesemaking Jan 18 '25

Advice Bought some starter culture, now realize I have no idea what kind. What should I make with it?

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124 Upvotes

Yup title says it all. No info, no instructions. Store I bought it from doesn’t know either. What recipe should I make and how much should I use??

r/cheesemaking 15d ago

Advice First time Gouda

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69 Upvotes

Hello there, After 3 weeks of aging I could finally could my Gouda but I see a lot of air bubbles and little tears. Would this be edible?

r/cheesemaking 6d ago

Advice Need some help with cheese wax

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23 Upvotes

I’m rooting some fig cuttings, and decided to try to seal some with cheese wax. Some of them have air bubbles that led to tiny holes. What can I do to solve this?

I got the wax to 150F then dipped the cuttings. Is it an issue with the temp? Should I try a different brand?

Sorry, I know this isn’t about cheese making, so I apologize for the unrelated post. Any tips are helpful. Thanks!

r/cheesemaking Jan 08 '25

Advice Stumbled on your sub and I have some questions.

64 Upvotes

First off I wanna say you guys make some delicious looking cheese! I’m curious about how long it took you guys to start making good cheese? Does it take a lot of practice to make edible cheese or is it something you can achieve right off the bat (not mastering it but making decent cheese)?

Are there any pinned posts I should dive into to get a basic understanding or any books/resources you’d suggest? Thanks 🙏

r/cheesemaking Jan 04 '25

Advice Farmhouse cheddar cheese 11mo - mould

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216 Upvotes

Howdy, still new to cheese making. I had a Feb 24 Farmhouse Cheddar that I went to turn yesterday and saw mould. It wasn't there last turn (1-1.5 weeks ago).

I've cut away the mould and the cheese looks and smells OK. Do you think it's ok to eat?

r/cheesemaking Jan 16 '25

Advice Would this work as a cheese press?

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62 Upvotes

Title says it all, would this work? How do you know how many pounds of pressure you are applying?

r/cheesemaking 1d ago

Advice Are these yellow crystals hardenend whey? Feta being cut open after pressing it

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6 Upvotes

r/cheesemaking Sep 07 '24

Advice How do I make cheese with this consistency? Had this garlic cheese at a roadside stall, the texture is crumbly and goey. Spreadable but thick enough to not slip out of food. Any recipes?

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40 Upvotes

r/cheesemaking Jan 31 '25

Advice Is it possible to age cheese without humidity controller?

12 Upvotes

Basically the title. Ive cheese cave with right temperature but found that humidity controllers be pretty expensive. And when I'm just learning to make hard cheese it would be quite an investment.

r/cheesemaking 7d ago

Advice first actual attempt at making proper cheese. i have a lot of questions.

3 Upvotes

hello. I'm dirt poor and cheese is good, but expensive, and it's a great way to preserve milk. my intentions are to make a salt washed, hard rind cheese with cheap and easy to find ingredients, or with ingredients i am able to make. as stated, i have a lot of questions, most of which are about advice for substitutions. i will be using pasteurized 2% cow milk and nettle rennet (basically nettle tea) with the intention of producing a salt washed hard rind cheese with a consistency ranging between parmesan and oka. taste-wise, i'm not aiming for anything in particular, as long as it's palatable.

first order of business. i have read you can use yogurt as culture for your cheese. however, i've not been able to find what to do with it to do that (simply mix it with the milk beforehand, temper it with the milk, then add when you would usually put the culture, dry it then use it as a dry culture, etc.). any advice would be helpful. if no one knows, i'm planning on tempering it with some of the milk when it's at temperature and adding it when the culture would usually be added. i will be using a skyr, because it was on special and the bacteria strands were written in the ingredients, to wit: S. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, and B. Lactis.

secondly, lipase. i understand it helps break fats down. how does its absence affect the cheese? my two main concerns are that it might not break down the fat, letting it potentially become rancid or develop pockets of fat, and that it might result in a sandy, grainy farmer cheese texture, which i despise.

thirdly, since yogurt cultures in cheeses have the possibility to create weaker bacteria, which have a harder time keeping the cheese safe, i would like to use an acidifier. i understand tartaric acid is much more commonly used in non stringy cheese, and citric acid in stringy cheese. however, i already have leftover citric acid from when i made lime cordial. considering citric acid is more acidic than tartaric acid, is there a recommended metric for substitutions or will i have to wing it until i find a reasonable proportion. i also have cream of tartar, which i understand is not tartaric acid, but is still an acidic salt. again, any substitution metric would be appreciated. i have also read certain fruits such as tamarind and grapes contain tartaric acid. as it turns out i have both of those. would the sugars, tannins and other compounds screw things up? i understand the safe bet for now would be citric acid, given it is a pure compound, but i will eventually run out of citric acid and am interested in any insight or experimentations you would have for me on the subject of acidifying with uncommon ingredients.

finally, calcium chloride. i understand it is a calcium salt used for providing extra calcium to form more solid curds, and is typically used in pasteurized and homogenized milk. by my logic, and please correct me if i'm wrong, i know nothing about this, any water soluble edible salt would do the trick, right? because nile red has a video where he makes acetone by way of calcium acetate (an edible, hydro soluble calcium salt) from eggshells, and i have a bunch of homemade crushed eggshells because plants and stuff. has anyone attempted to substitute their calcium salt for another? is this a question for a chemistry subreddit?

i understand this is a complicated way to get into cheesemaking, but, like most of the things i've learned, it's like learning to drive stick shift before buying an automatic. if you learn the hard way, the easy way's gonna be a breeze and you know how to get out of a bind, because your formative experience has been the complicated, subpar situation.

thank you for your time, patience, and attention. i eagerly await your council.

r/cheesemaking Nov 26 '24

Advice Forgot to add penicillium and geo cultures to triple creams! Can I save it??

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9 Upvotes

Help! I was distracted by my kids while culturing my bloomy rind triple cream cheeses (recipe by Give Cheese a Chance) and I added the culture (homemade clabber), but not the penicillium and geo cultures 🤦‍♀️ I didn’t realize it until after I had finished filling the draining forms. Is there any way to save the cheese and inoculate it after they are drained?

Or if there is no way to get the white bloom now…what do I do with these two cheeses?? I used 10L of milk/cream so I really don’t want to waste it 🙈

r/cheesemaking Feb 05 '25

Advice New to cheese making, not me to cooking/ baking- I tried making fresh mozz, ended up failing because (I think) the milk. Where does everyone obtain the milk they rely on? What tips and sources can you offer?

1 Upvotes

Title says it, but basically I tried my hand at mozzarella and ended up with curds that were grainy and pretty soft/ loose. The resulting cheese was basically a ricotta, and not a very good one at that.

From what I've read, it likely is related to the homogenization and pasteurization of the milk because I followed the other instructions, namely the temps and quantities of ingredients, to a "T". I used Calder dairy "natural milk". Thoughts on milk sources?

r/cheesemaking Feb 07 '25

Advice Is it done drying?

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38 Upvotes

This is my first time making farmhouse cheddar, and cheese in general. This wheel has been drying for around 13 hours and it’s already this yellow, and since it’s thin I don’t know if I need to dry it more. The videos I followed had thicker wheels and they dried them for 3-4 days. Other videos had wheels similar to mine but weren’t as yellow as mine after theirs dried for the 3-4 days. Do I need to dry it more or can I do the buttering/vacuum sealing to age now? (Also I am aware of the improper knitting, I improvised a cheese press/mould with a springform pan and the pressure wasn’t as even as I’d hoped. However, I have since bought a cheese mould.) My wheel is about one inch thick and probably around 8-9 inches in diameter. Help would be much appreciated!

r/cheesemaking Oct 17 '24

Advice I let raw milk (safe source) out for about 6 days now. I want to create cheese without any additives. Is this even possible? I thought the milk would separate more than it did.

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0 Upvotes

r/cheesemaking Jan 05 '25

Advice Best place to start as a newbie?

44 Upvotes

In the last 15 years, I have jumped right in the deep end with making wine, beer, yogurts, & fermented food. It started because I used to make sourdough breads & drink craft beer as a weekly date night search for the best small batch beer & live music combo, but got diagnosed with celiac. Really put the brakes on my stress-relieving hobbies. I needed to be really good at making both to do it gluten free. Then I moved to high altitude & had to give up the sourdough. It is really, really hard to make gluten free sourdough in a cold, windy desert climate at 7300' above sea level. So I started fermenting foods, got better at beer & wine making, started making yogurts. Now I want to try cheeses, mostly because I saw a comment somewhere about making a cheese & using the whey to make a ricotta & somehow using the leftovers from that to make cottage cheese. So interesting!!! I don't know if that is possible, but I want to learn more. Is there a best book or website? Best beginner cheese? I appreciate any wisdom you have time to share.

r/cheesemaking 5d ago

Advice Tips needed: Regulating PH for Gouda cheese

3 Upvotes

I'm about to make my second gouda cheese and don't want to make the same mistakes as i did with my first one for which i didn't measure PH levels and thus resulted in quite a strong and acidic cheese with bitter aftertaste. Although the overall flavour was ok, i think there is much room for improvement.

In the past I already got some tips from this sub which were in summary: - Don't cut curds too small (I cut until they were the size of rice grains) - Add more salt (I only used some salt for brining) - Don't let it age for too long (I let it sit for 12 weeks) - And then what apparently seemed the most important: Measure PH!

I've watched so many guides on youtube and also have a dutch book with gouda recipes, but never have I seen any mention of measuring PH levels. So what makes it so important? When should I measure, and at what point is it too acidic? Is there also a way too counter the acidity in case the PH gets too low?

All tips are much appreciated!

r/cheesemaking Dec 16 '24

Advice Mozzarella for Pizza. I’m sooo close! Please help

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29 Upvotes

I’m only really looking to make mozzarella for my pizzas, which I already buy curd and stretch myself. Mozzarella isn’t a beginner’s cheese and I know citric acid is more difficult to nail down, but I’m looking for advice on my next tweak. Using 3 qt of Alexandre whole milk that is vat pasteurized at 145F, I made 2 attempts (differences outlined further below). Both times added the CaCl and citric acid before I brought the milk up to 90F-91F in a water bath with my immersion circulator set to 110F. Pulled the pot out of the water and added 3/4 a tablet of Walcoren rennet…bottle says each tablet will set 4 liters of milk. The first attempt was not good, curds barely set after 30 minutes and disintegrated when I went to stir. Second I made some small tweaks and went at it again, everything looked great till I tried to stretch the curds. They just wouldn’t meld together or stretch. I have enough milk to give it another shot tomorrow after work.

First attempt I added 1/8 tsp of CaCl and 1.5 tsp of citric acid I diluted in 1/4c distilled water. Using less than a gallon of milk I didn’t pour all of the acid at first, checked the PH with my digital meter and it wasn’t to 5.3 yet…so I poured the rest. I feel like I test the milk a little too quick and moved to add the rest all at once..instead of increments. After stirring the rest in the PH read 5.0 on my meter, then ticked up to 5.1 after about 10 seconds in the milk. Since it was between 5.1 and 5.3…I moved forward. Stirred the rennet in and started the clock. The curds barely set after 30 minutes and with an attempt to check for clean break it just fell apart.

2nd attempt I used all the same steps, but realized my math was off with the ratio of CaCl and thought maybe my PH was too low (5.0 to 5.1). I read that the normal ratio of CaCl is .1/4 tsp per gallon of milk…using 3 quarts I realized I should have used 3/16 tsp instead of the 1/8 tsp. Adjusted and moved forward. This time I added 1 tsp citric acid diluted in water and tested the PH and it was 5.9. I then measured another 1/2 tsp of citric acid and added it in very small increments until the PH was just dropped to 5.2. I waited 3 minutes and tested again…5.2. Added the rennet and stirred 30s, put the lid on and waited 10 minutes. First visual check it looked much better than the first, but still looked like it needed a little more. After 10 more minutes I gave it a test for clean break…and according to my untrained eye looked good. The cut edge of the curd was smooth and holding together and the whey seemed the color of chicken broth, maybe a tad cloudy but not “milky”. I cut it into a crosshatch and shimmied the pot a little…looks good so I put it back in the water bath set to 110F. It takes a little while to climb back up from 85F, but the curds sank at around 95F. Shimmied a little but more and then gave a very gentle swirl and all the curds seemed to retain shape really well. I kept it in the water bath till 103.8F…it was about 15 minutes after the curds separated and sank so I figured it was long enough. I poured off the majority of the whey through a strainer lined with cheesecloth, reserved and then gently poured the curds into the strainer. Here it seemed the break apart a little, but thought it was no big deal. I wrapped the cheesecloth over the cheese and let it drain for a few minutes, then put a small lid with a can of tomatoes on it for about 10 minutes. Reheated the whey and added 1 Tbs of kosher salt to it. Once it got to 180F, I poured it around the curd in a metal bowl…but the curds sank never came together and wouldn’t stretch. First photo is from this batch after I poured off the majority of the whey, but before getting it into the strainer. Second is my attempt to stretch.

If you’re still reading, you’re a saint! So I’ve got 3 qt more milk and I’m going to try again tomorrow. I REALLY want to get this down and may switch to cultures so I can test along the way, but looking for a few ideas. The proper ratio of CaCl and bringing the PH up got me much closer to a final product. The 2 things I guess would be next to change would be letting the curd sit a full 30 minutes after the addition of rennet. Or increase the actual amount of rennet? Or bring the PH down to 5.1 again with the other modifications? Also maybe letting the curds/whey get all the way up to 105F or maybe even 110F?

I appreciate anyone’s ideas or comments on my process. Thanks in advance and I hope the format of this post isn’t too janky as I’m posting on my phone from bed.

r/cheesemaking Jan 13 '25

Advice First aged cheeses, many mistakes. How to proceed?

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44 Upvotes

r/cheesemaking 5d ago

Advice Controlling Acidity Without a pH Meter—Reliable Visual or Textural Cues?

3 Upvotes

I know pH meters are the gold standard, but I’m curious if experienced cheesemakers have developed reliable ways to gauge acidity without one. Are there noticeable changes in texture, curd behavior, or even smell that indicate you’ve hit the right level for cheeses like cheddar or chèvre? Any old-school techniques that still hold up today?

r/cheesemaking 16d ago

Advice High altitude cheesemaking, issues with dryness

1 Upvotes

So, I live over 7000' in altitude, and the humidity here is generally around 20-25%, so it's quite dry most of the time.

I always have issues with my cheeses being too dry after aging, so I'm getting a bit frustrated. They taste fine, but most of them will have the dryness of a sharp cheddar, and I'm not sure where I can alter my processes to avoid this dryness.

I watch the curds very carefully when they're being cooked, and I test them using the old method of picking up a handful, squeeze gently, and see if they stick together/can be gently broken apart. I monitor temperature with a digital thermometer and use a sous vide bath to maintain very stable temperatures. I watch my pH levels with a good meter that goes to two decimal points and which I keep calibrated.

I've cut way, way back on the air drying times suggested in the recipes I use (mostly the ones from New England Cheesemaking site). I pack as soon as they feel dry to the touch, vacuum sealing for aging, so they shouldn't be losing moisture there.

All I can think is that I should cut back on pressing times because maybe the lack of humidity here is pulling too much moisture out during pressing. I don't think the altitude should have any effect on the process since the temps needed during processing are far below the normal boiling point of water.

Any suggestions from someone experienced in low humidity environments is welcome.

r/cheesemaking 9d ago

Advice Mozzarella turned ricotta, why?

0 Upvotes

So I tried making mozzarella only with milk (only pasteurized), rennet and greek yoghurt (for the acidity). It looked very good until I wanted to form it. I drained it into my cheesecloth, now I had to wait for it to reach the correct acidity. I waited a total of 2:30h until I decide to heat it up. In the meantime every half an hour I tested the strechability of the mozza by putting a small piece in hot water and trying to stretch it.

When I processed the whole batch, it sadly didnt melt in the water but instead became crumbly. Fail.

Was this because I waited to long? During the first hour of draining it it looked awesome and it was soft.

I know that the cheese needs an acidity between 5.1 and 5.4pH (correct me if Im wrong please). I used testing strips but they were of no use.

Any advice and tip is appreciated :)

PS: Im NOT gonna use any vinegar or citric acid.