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cheese, as a starter for more cheese?

 
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villager



Joined: 22 Dec 2007
Posts: 35
Location: Malawi, Central Africa
PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 08 4:37 pm    Post subject: cheese, as a starter for more cheese? Reply with quote
    

Does anyone know if it is possible to use a piece of store-bought cheese to make a starter for another batch of cheese?

To make cheese here, I have been lacking rennet and starter. However, rennet is no longer a problem, because following instructions in Fankhauser's website I have been able to extract it from a goat-kid's tummy. I was planning to use live yoghurt as a starter, but here in the boonies I am finding that it is not available.

We have just taken out from the freezer a packet of Kerry Gold's Cheddar Cheese. I wonder if any bugs in it are still alive , and if they would multiply themselves into a starter if I left them in a little warm milk overnight. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Ta

twoscoops



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1924
Location: Warwickshire
PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 08 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

All I can say is that if the cheese has been made with pasteurised milk, which I suspect it has, then there will be no bugs left, good or bad.

Erikht



Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 3358

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 08 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

No, it won't work, and I wouldn't use yogurt either. Buy a freeze dried starter culture on the Internet.

This was the first that popped up when googling "Home cheese making":

https://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi

Sarah D



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 08 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

No, it won't work. However, I use good quality yoghurt all the time as a starter.

Erikht



Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 3358

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 08 9:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Well, you could probably use any traditional soured milk product from Malawi as a starter. Using a grafted starter will help you get a more stable result in the early days of your cheese making career. What kind of press do you use?

villager



Joined: 22 Dec 2007
Posts: 35
Location: Malawi, Central Africa
PostPosted: Thu Aug 07, 08 3:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks for those replies.

My cheese press is basically what Fankhauser shows on his website. It consists of a 110 mm slotted pipe resting on a hardwood base, with a wooden follower inside being forced down with strips of rubber.

So far I have had to let the milk curdle naturally after pasteurisation, which takes 3 to 4 days, then I drain and press the resulting curd. Unfortunately, I never achieve the same result twice, that is why I am keen to use a starter of some sort.

Erikht



Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 3358

PostPosted: Thu Aug 07, 08 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

That sounds like a very long time.

Here is an easy press to make:


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