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Cheese makers - how long will homemade curd last?

16 years ago

I have all the supplies to make homemade mozarella from Ricki Carroll's book. I was wondering if I can make the curd and then store it for a day or two and make the mozarella closer to the time I need it? I am crunched for time this week and trying to make everything work as easily as possible. Does anyone know if I can hold on to the curd for a couple days? Should I store it in the whey or how?

Thanks!!

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Comments (9)

lindac
16 years ago
I am not a cheese maker....but know a fair amount about making cheese by osmosis...
It's won't be fresh mozzerella if you make the curd today....it's a little like slicing and sugaring your strawberries the day before you are going to serve them....the fresh taste is gone.
My late DH would joke about a mozzerella factory being a long building with cows standing at one end waiting to be milked and the conveyor belt at the other turning out finished cheese.
Linda C
annie1992
16 years ago
Christine, I've never tried it, but because temperature is so crucial to the success of mozzarella, I'm not sure it would work well. My last batch came out tough because the whey wasn't quite hot enough when I put the cheese back in before the final step of stretching. The temperature difference was less than 5 degrees.

Of course, mozzarella making is relatively new to me, I took the class just a few months ago. If I were going to try to store the curd, I'd store it in the whey. When you're ready to use it, cut it, drain it, heat the whey back to temp and add the curd so it can be stretched.

Will this work? Beats me, but I think it would be worth a try sometime when the finished product isn't crucial...

Annie
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I have seen a recipe for ricotta that calls for adding cream back at the end, so I think it is legitimate to do so for cottage cheese also. I would recommend you read the section on cheesemaking in the book "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee. A new edition just came out so check your library. I don't know what needles are, but I do know that "vegetable rennet" can be extracted from cardoons (closely related to artichoke, a kind of thistle). McGee says "flowers of the wild cardoon thistles are collected and dried in the summer, and then soaked in warm water in the winter to make sheep and goat cheeses." And though I respect the principle of doing as much as you can with your own products, I suspect that you're not _that_ firmly wedded to the idea (ranch dressing mix?), and you might want to try a few batches with purchased rennet just so that you know what it looks like when it is working correctly! I'm having a lot of fun with the book "Home Cheese Making" by Ricki Carrol. Best of luck, Katey
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Fresh mozzarella on homemade arepas - now that's good stuff!!! I pasteurize raw (goat's) milk when I occasionally use it (the dairy is 2-1/2-miles from where I live), and I would pasteurize all raw milk before using it because there are more kinds of bacteria, and more deadly bacteria, than existed even 20-years ago. There was a day we drank gallons of raw cow's milk growing up and I used a lot of raw goat's milk for fermenting. Today I wouldn't do it, especially after taking a food safety class through Kansas State University from Dr. Karen Penner - Ph.D.Extension Specialist, Food Science. But that's going to be a choice you get to make because you'll get cheese either way. ;-) For mozzarella I use powdered milk - which is a food storage staple at our house. That food storage cutie, "Chef Tess Bakeress" (she has her own web site), gives a great tutorial at the link below. I occasionally make curds with water, vinegar and powdered milk. Season them to make "cheese (no burger)" patties (plain, beef- or chicken-flavored). I use the recipe in Rita Bingham's "Natural Meals in Minutes". Other recipes from the book include: Quick Soft Pressed Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Queso Blanco, Bag Cheese, Cottage Cheese and NO-Cook Cottage Cheese, Yellow Cheddar Cheese, Panir, Caraway Cheese, Jalapeno Cheese - and all the recipes are made with powdered milk. She uses non-instant powdered milk in the recipes. If all you have is instant powdered milk you simply run it through a blender to pulverize it to a fine powder, then you can measure it cup-for-cup for non-instant powdered milk. I think you'll be surprised how easy and fun it is! Have a great time. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make American Mozzarella Cheese Out of Powdered Milk
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Definitely good for a week. But since mine never lasts much longer than that, I just Googled it. This is from David Lebovitz's site, and he checked with the FDA, so that's two pretty good authorities: A reader recently wrote to ask, "How long does ice cream last in the freezer?" Oddly, I never gave it much thought since it doesn't seem to linger too long around here. So I looked around and found the answer at the FDA website: 2-4 months. The most common problem when ice creams and other frozen desserts spend too long in the freezer is the texture changes and if not covered properly (ideally with plastic wrap on the surface, then covered with a lid), they can get icy and pick up other flavors from the freezer. If they do get icy, most sorbets and sherbets can be melted down and re-churned, as can Philadelphia-style ice creams made without eggs. But I find custard-based ice creams don't re-freeze as successfully, so don't let those sit around too long. Putting plastic wrap on the surface to protect against the air inside the plastic container is smart. That's what I do with pesto, so why not ice cream?
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Most cheese making begine with the making of curds. Some are fresher than others....but it begins after the cheddaring process....and the curds are salted and drained.....and can be aged a little or not at all. Cheesemakers' families have always known how yummy thors little curds are with some salt...but somehow they starteds elling them....and now I suspect there are plantsw hich make nothing but cheese curds. Linda C
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suzyqtexas
16 years ago
I've made Ricki Carroll's mozzarella lots of times, it really only takes a total of 30 minutes. Temperature is crucial.
christine
Original Author
16 years ago
Ok - thanks, ladies!!! I appreciate all the input!!

Linda - yes, not quite so fresh, I guess...good point!

Anne - I did read your story. I just got a wine fridge so I can try other cheeses like cheddar! I am so excited but probably won't have the time until after the first of the year.

SuzyQ - that is good to know. I guess I assume being my first time it is going to take longer...
annie1992
16 years ago
A wine fridge? Now that would control both humidity and temperature, why didn't I think of that?

Thanks, I'm going to mention that to the boss, who was trying to figure out where we were going to buy a cave, LOL.

Annie
christine
Original Author
16 years ago
Right? My husband was fascinated with a cave, but the wine fridge seemed like an easier option! :)

We got it at a Sears outlet - I don't care what it looks like, you know? It just has to be functional. It even came with little trays to put water in to increase the humidity.

Good luck with your future cheesemaking endeavors!
annie1992
16 years ago
Thank you, Christine. My boss just gave me Ricky Carroll's book as a Christmas gift, so I'm definitely making cheese.

Annie
christine
Original Author
16 years ago
Sounds like we may have a lot to talk about soon!

My mozz was a bust. I got ricotta. I had grocery store milk - I guess some of them are heated higher than necessary. I will try another brand next time, but I am definitely disappointed!

Oh well, it was cheap milk. The people at work are getting bruschetta with homemade bread instead! I also made the pumpkin scones from here (SBUX ones) and can't wait to try one!!

You ladies rock my world! So many recipes, and so much inspiration!
annie1992
16 years ago
christine, my first batch of mozzarella was perfect. The second batch I didn't heat the whey enough and so I had to stretch it too much and it got tough.

Milk was one sale for $1.78 a gallon here, so I'll just keep trying until I get it right consistently, then I'll try the next recipe!

I did buy the cultures, including one for creme fraiche and one for feta, so that's in the future.

Annie

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