Intermediate Cheesemaking: Beyond chevre

[noobiechickenlady]

I put it in the brine too early and left it in the brine a bit too long. It was firm, but didn't have a rind and free says it needs to have a rind before you brine it. Whew, thats almost a tongue twister

It was all squishy & fell apart in the brine.

 

[Wildsky]

I put it in the brine too early and left it in the brine a bit too long. It was firm, but didn't have a rind and free says it needs to have a rind before you brine it. Whew, thats almost a tongue twister

It was all squishy & fell apart in the brine.

How can you tell if it has a rind? does it feel hard?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I think so. Mine was starting to get a little bit of a shell/rind/whatever you want to call it, it was hard on the very edges, but not all over.

Free? Anybody else made feta successfully?

 

[freemotion]

OFG does but she has more self control and works all day without checking the forum on every break like we do!!

I'm not sure if "rind" is really the right word, as it is not a rind like you would get on a cheddar. The cheese just feels dry and is no longer oozing any significant whey. I cut it up and put in in the brine and take it out for a taste test each week. I like it each week! So I finally take what is left out after four weeks and wrap it up. You can take it out earlier if you want it softer and less salty. I like a grating cheese so I do like it harder. I also like the saltiness....I tend to need more salt in my diet, not less, eating almost nothing that is manufactured food except for the occasional tortilla chip as nachos. So I like to "salt" things with the salty feta.

I made a feta recipe I found online and posted somewhere on this forum (is it on this thread??) and it is in the brine, almost done. I made another batch without the use of cultures, just souring the milk, and that is also in the same jar of brine. That batch needed more days of draining on a mat, getting turned and rubbed with salt every day. I think it was a full week or even 8 days. I could press on it and it would release whey and it felt kinda spongy. But each day it smelled better and better! Nothing like a week at room temp to really ripen cheese!

 

[Henrietta23]

Nope, I think you gave it its own thread:
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4767&p=1

 

[Wildsky]

OFG does but she has more self control and works all day without checking the forum on every break like we do!!

I'm not sure if "rind" is really the right word, as it is not a rind like you would get on a cheddar. The cheese just feels dry and is no longer oozing any significant whey. I cut it up and put in in the brine and take it out for a taste test each week. I like it each week! So I finally take what is left out after four weeks and wrap it up. You can take it out earlier if you want it softer and less salty. I like a grating cheese so I do like it harder. I also like the saltiness....I tend to need more salt in my diet, not less, eating almost nothing that is manufactured food except for the occasional tortilla chip as nachos. So I like to "salt" things with the salty feta.

I made a feta recipe I found online and posted somewhere on this forum (is it on this thread??) and it is in the brine, almost done. I made another batch without the use of cultures, just souring the milk, and that is also in the same jar of brine. That batch needed more days of draining on a mat, getting turned and rubbed with salt every day. I think it was a full week or even 8 days. I could press on it and it would release whey and it felt kinda spongy. But each day it smelled better and better! Nothing like a week at room temp to really ripen cheese!

That makes sense. I also go for salt, don't know if I need it but I certaily like it!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

OFG does but she has more self control and works all day without checking the forum on every break like we do!!

ha! self control?? i was passed out from the heat out there in the yard with a buncha goslings pecking on me!

not really but wow what a scorcher today....

the feta i made last year took a couple months to mature - and then it was amazing. at first it was too pungent.. and mind you.. in my book the stankier the cheese the better.. so i just forgot about it. then it was salty and flaky. i made another round, put it in a brine in the back of the fridge and i'll check it in a couple weeks. made terrific pizza

 

[Henrietta23]

 

[freemotion]

OFG does but she has more self control and works all day without checking the forum on every break like we do!!

ha! self control?? i was passed out from the heat out there in the yard with a buncha goslings pecking on me!

not really but wow what a scorcher today....

the feta i made last year took a couple months to mature - and then it was amazing. at first it was too pungent.. and mind you.. in my book the stankier the cheese the better.. so i just forgot about it. then it was salty and flaky. i made another round, put it in a brine in the back of the fridge and i'll check it in a couple weeks. made terrific pizza

"You can explain a lot of things but not a goose in your briefs."---Ancient OhioFarmGirl Proverb

 

[Henrietta23]

Glad I wasn't drinking or eating anything at the moment I read that one!