I received an interesting comment on my Greening of Gavin blog today about my Parmesan recipe.
Marianne asks;
Hi Gavin,
Did you realize the youtube video is different to your recipe. I have tried it both ways and the video is the best using light milk, I am though having a problem with the rennet after 45 min it’s still not set, any suggestions?
Well, interesting observation and question. I watched the youtube video with the recipe in hand, and noticed that yes the milk quantities were different in the video, however the resulting milk fat content is the same. When making Parmesan style cheese, you are looking for a fat content of around 2 to 2.5%.
I have experienced this problem of no curd set before with poor quality milk. Sometimes milk is
ultra heat treated which affects the structure of the caesin which even with the addition of calcium chloride will still not set. Find a really good source of non-homogenised milk and the 2.5ml of rennet should work better.
Additionally, I have just changed the recipe in each version of the ebook to reflect 1/2 teaspoon so the US measurement dosage is slightly higher. Those people who were using 2.5 ml will be fine. This is to allow for dubious quality some commercially produced milk. I am sorry if this has caused angst during anyones cheese making session. Just remember though, try and source the best quality milk possible that has not been heat treated other than normal pasteurization.
If anyone with an older PDF version would like a newer version, please send me an email with proof of purchase and I will gladly send a coupon code so you can download a replacement free of charge via my shopping cart. If you purchased via Smashwords, you will be able to download the updated version right now without additional cost.
Sincerely,
Gavin
Hello Gavin, I just made parmesan per your most recent recipe (9/18/17). I used a sharp lipase which may be the only difference from your formulation and I brined it in a 18% solution for the required time. Also, good and fresh 2% local farm milk (pasteurized & homogenized) was used. Today was the 3rd day of air drying and there appears to be a slight bulge or swell (less than a half cm per side) in the wheel. It smells normal (quite nice) and the color looks okay, but after reading some blog comments I am concerned about bacteria. My normal sanitizing methods were followed so I put it in a maturation box and in the cave it went this morning. Since this will be the longest ageing cheese I have made so far, the anticipation is already killing me. So in your infinite wisdom, what should I look for, should I wax, should I vacuum pack, should I let it go longer or shorter in the maturation box? I will be turning it daily for the first week as per your video. Do you think the sharp lipase may have caused a difference and made it swell slightly? Sorry for all of these questions but being a new cheese parent can be very perplexing :).