Are my cultures still good? cheesemaking

So about three years ago I got everything together to start making some cheese at home. I made a couple and unfortunately my fridge that I was using for a cheese cave died and ruined all my cheese.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get another fridge since then. I am finally in a position to get started up again. I just finished wiring my humidity controller and have my cheese cave ready to go.

My question is, or my culture is still viable or should I order new ones. The cultures I have, have been stored in the refrigerator the whole time. Here is what I have:

Unopened Thermophile Type B (Biena) Mycodore LYO 5D (Choozit) Lipase powder

Opened MA4000 Double-strength liquid vegetable rennet

Submitted September 18, 2017 at 03:07AM by SoupaDoupaGuy http://ift.tt/2xIyhwZ cheesemaking

Aging without a refrigerator? cheesemaking

I want to get into making some hard cheeses, but they need aged, with a few exceptions. My basement probably sits at a steady 65 or so, if I vacuum seal my cheese so I don't need to worry about humidity, do you think I could age it down there if I put it in a dark box or something? Are there any other suggestions or methods for this?

Submitted August 23, 2016 at 09:03AM by Domodude17 http://ift.tt/2byacib cheesemaking

Cheese cave conversion question cheesemaking

Hey all. I'm about to get a new refrigerator for a cheese cave. I've had horrible luck so far keeping them alive, and someone I got my homebrewing fermentation chamber mentioned that the regulators you put on them should have a cycle time limitation to keep it from cycling too quickly. Has anyone experienced this? I have an STC-1000 on my fermentation chamber but an old "basic" temperature regulator you get at a homebrew store for my cheese cave. What regulator do you use to keep a cheese cave going for the long haul?

Submitted June 13, 2016 at 08:30PM by laharre http://ift.tt/1rlJhZn cheesemaking

Ripening soft cheese cheesemaking

We are artisan cheese plant. We are trying to ripen brie, camembert properly. We have a refrigerator but its maximum temperature gives -1C and outside is 20C. Proper ripening temperature is ideally around 13C and humidity of 80 to 85. In order to reach the 13C what measures can we take, purchase a wine cooler? or purchase air conditioner or room cooler? We are confused in what exactly we need to buy. We have a cellar but it is for ageing hard cheeses. Please help us as summer is approaching and we need to get the ripening correct.

Submitted May 01, 2016 at 08:36PM by delbee http://ift.tt/1X22VGu cheesemaking

Rule of thumb for aging time of brie cheesemaking

Hi I've made brie for the first time. Right now my bries have been aging in the refrigerator for almost 2 weeks. I cut one brie in half to see, how long in the aging process, they had develop. They were about half aged, i.e. about halfway to center was brie-like with a center of un-aged cheese. However, it made me wonder whether there are a rule of thump for the minimum aging time of brie?

My bries are 4-4.5 cm high and based on my observation today, I was wondering whether, one could say that the brie should age 1 week pr cm. Any comments?

Submitted August 20, 2015 at 05:25PM by reussm http://ift.tt/1Po58pv cheesemaking

Post-aging mold question cheesemaking

I've noticed that mold growth on the wine or beer-washed cheeses I make explodes after they're finished aging; that is to say, the mold on the leftover wedges in the refrigerator goes crazy within a day or two after I've cracked a wheel and served what I'm going to serve of that straight-from-the-cave wheel. I don't have the same problems with other hard cheeses I've done- there's the usual mold spot here and there but nothing unusual on things like my cheddar, romano, gouda, etc etc. Normally I just flick off the spots with a sharp knife. But in the case of, say, the wine washed cheese, the pretty purple rind is fairly thin. With the amount of mold coverage on those I'd end up taking most of that rind off. Any tips? Aside from eating the whole wheel in one go, haha. I'm going to try dropping the next wino-wheel that's ready into strong brine for a day, then holding it at a much lower humidity for a day or two after that to see if I can make the surface a bit drier and saltier, thus a little more inhospitable to mold growth. But who knows...

Submitted July 23, 2015 at 08:18PM by ut_maker http://ift.tt/1KmxnXd cheesemaking

Pressing and drying farmhouse cheddar cheesemaking

Making farmhouse cheddar from a kit. The when I am pressing the cheese (for 12 hours) is this done at room temperature or in the refrigerator? Same question for when I am drying the cheese. Thanks

Submitted April 27, 2015 at 01:31AM by MeRooney http://ift.tt/1OVuBFA cheesemaking

Free "Cheese Cave" supplies to a good home! cheesemaking

Hi /r/cheesemaking,

A couple of months ago I got myself set up to build my cheese cave to these specifications: http://ift.tt/1CeDicM

I have all the parts, including a brand-new Frigidaire 3.3 cu. ft. compact refrigerator. What I don't have is the time I thought I had to build it and take my cheesemaking to the next level. :(

I hate to have the parts sitting here not being put to use so I'd like to offer it up to whoever wants it. I'm in Southern California and could organize a pick-up, or I'd be happy to ship it if you could cover costs.

PM me if you're interested!

Submitted March 02, 2015 at 02:09AM by madprudentilla http://ift.tt/1AsEu5k cheesemaking

Refrigerator aging cheesemaking

Hi everyone,

Has anyone had any luck aging a cheese in their refrigerator? (Not a modified cheese fridge but their regular food fridge.)

Is it possible to get a good result at such a low temperature?

Thanks for any replies.

Submitted January 25, 2015 at 11:30PM by musicaOmuerte http://ift.tt/18gfqbY cheesemaking

Newbie Question on Chèvre cheesemaking

I'm on my third batch of chèvre and I'm trying to be very very careful about controlling bacterial growth. This batch came out a little tart, so I think I may have cultured it for too long (recipe said 12-20 hours and I went for 20), and when I drained it (6-8 hours at room temperature) I'm assuming the bacteria continued to do their thing. I also think it came out a little too soft and could have used another 4 hours at least draining, but I didn't want to risk leaving it out at room temperature for too long. I'm curious to know if maybe draining in the refrigerator might not be an option-- I'm hoping it could extend the amount of time I could be draining by keeping the bad bacteria at bay longer.

I'm very new to all of this so please forgive me if I come across as completely clueless.

Submitted January 09, 2015 at 12:50AM by madprudentilla http://ift.tt/17mVGD1 cheesemaking