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kimlohr67@aol.com
6 Posts
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 Posted - Sep 22 2015 : 4:17:55 PM
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I am pretty new to the chatroom. I don't have a cow yet, but will as soon as the house, barn, fences, etc are built. As a primer to my farmgirl future I have been reading ALOT as well as making cheese and other dairy products. However, here in Michigan it is very hard to find raw milk, so I must compromise and use store-bought, pasturized, homogenized milk.
When I make yogurt I have trouble with it not being as firm as I would like, so I started adding a few (5) drops of liquid animal rennet to some distilled water and stirring it in immediately before I pour it into the jars. It has worked great. I love MaryJane's book 'Milk Cow Kitchen' and am thrilled with the idea of using buttermilk and cultured yogurt instead of purchased cultures for my cheese. My question is this - will this amount of rennet affect my using this yogurt in the cheese recipes from Milk Cow Kitchen?
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Sep 22 2015 : 5:37:48 PM
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| i don't have an answer to your question, and a good one it is, but i wanted to say hi from texas! have a cow on the way so hopefully in 3 months i can answer all of these type of questions ;> |
_(199x300)_(66x100).jpg?v 93697001) Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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Ashley
167 Posts
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Posted - Sep 23 2015 : 07:57:41 AM
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| That is a really good question. I've never used yogurt with rennet added to make cheese, so I can't give you a definitive answer. But, my best guess is that it should be fine in the cheese recipes in Milk Cow Kitchen. By the time it gets added to the milk, it would be so diluted that it shouldn't have an impact. How many cups of milk do you typically use to make a batch of yogurt? Are you using animal rennet or vegetable rennet? Since you are using store bought pasteurized milk, I'm also wondering if maybe adding a couple drops of calcium chloride to your milk when you make yogurt might help thicken it up instead of rennet? |
Ashley (MaryJane's DIL)
MaryJanesFarm Food Guru |
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kimlohr67@aol.com
6 Posts
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Posted - Sep 23 2015 : 08:54:35 AM
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Thanks for the replys. I use 1 gallon of milk when making yogurt and I am using animal rennet. I guess I will experiment and make a small 1 gallon batch of a cheese I am familiar with and see how it turns out using my current yogurt (rennet added) and I'll also make a batch of yogurt using calcium chloride as you suggested. What's the worst that can happen? The dog seems to relish what I consider a cheese making flop, so I guess it's a matter of opinion  . I will let you know how they turn out. |
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Ashley
167 Posts
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Posted - Sep 23 2015 : 09:40:41 AM
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| I was thinking 5 drops of rennet would be diluted enough in a 6-cup batch of yogurt, so a gallon batch is even better. If you're using vegetable rennet, the coagulation is much stronger than animal rennet, but I don't think either should impact curd formation when you make a batch of cheese. Let me know how it turns out! While your dog is hoping for a cheese making flop, I'll be rooting for you. Maybe he (or she?) can lap up some of the whey. :) |
Ashley (MaryJane's DIL)
MaryJanesFarm Food Guru |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - Sep 23 2015 : 1:19:44 PM
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To make my yogurt thicker, I strain it for a few hours or overnight. It makes it more like Greek yogurt. I also started with a yogurt culture from culturesforhealth.com but now just use a 1/2 cup from the previous batch to make a new batch. Ashley had recommended the Bulgarian yogurt culture from culturesforhealth and it has been delicious!
My chickens love any of my flops! My dog doesn't get any as she already gets a treat of goat milk each time I milk. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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kimlohr67@aol.com
6 Posts
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Posted - Sep 25 2015 : 7:53:47 PM
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| UPDATE: Remember what I said about experimenting with a small batch...well forget that. I had a bit of buttermilk that needed using up, and I wanted to test the yogurt, so I made a 4 gallon batch of Manchego. Basically everything from clean break to pressing the curds went the same as it does when using the powdered cultures. The rennet in my yogurt didn't seem to have any effect at all. I will have to wait a while for the taste test, but I sampled the curds and they were delicious. |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Sep 25 2015 : 8:19:18 PM
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| That's great news! |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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![[flourish]](/images/flourish-txt_mobius.png)
Using yogurt to replace themophilic cultures
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