Milk the conclusion

Ryan Spoon, Internationally known, a big thank you goes out to the six people in Russia, and the one person in Germany and of course r.o.c.k. in the USA.

I watch the news maybe 3-4 times a week, while watching I see events such as murders, thefts, bombs, corruption of politicians, Lindsy Lohan going to rehab....again.  I never watch the news and see "little boy receives bicycle for birthday, best day ever!  or web sensation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PzoxTgfRO0 (motivational speech after learning how to ride a bike)  So you get my point, when I think news I think bad.  Such as bacteria, when I hear that I think Meningitis, I think back 3 months ago when I ate a breakfast burrito and hours later my brother in law was taking pictures of me curled over a dirt bike puking.  But in reality I should think penicillin, most bacteria co-exists with humans without any harm,  many of the bacteria we have used and manipulated to our benefit.

Lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus are two beneficial bacteria that feed on lactose sugars and excrete lactic acid as a waste product which this is vital to making yogurt.  I can break yogurt down into four steps.

1.  Milk is heated to 185 degrees for 1/2 hours to kill harmful/competing microbes
2.  The temperature of milk is dropped to 113 degrees and the bacterias (culture) are added then dropped to 110 degrees
3.  The streptococcus works its magic until the acid slows it down, then the lactobacillus (the hardier of the two) takes over
4. The mixture is held at 110 degrees for four hours and there you have it.
For a play by play http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/print/how-to-make-your-own-yogurt.pdf
I have yet to try my sister-in-laws yogurt but have heard it is very good!

Next is Buttermilk, well go quick because I want to get to cheese!!!
While making butter, the remaining liquid is the beginnings of...survey says... buttermilk, but these days most people culture skim milk.  Buttermilk is exposed 8-10 hours longer to the bacteria than yogurt and at a lower temperature (40 degrees lower).  Since this "buttermilk" is not exposed to actual butter, how does it get the flavor you might ask, another bacteria is exposed to the mixture.  It is called streptococcus lactis, it converts citric acid to a molecule called diacetyl (which is a molecule in butter that gives its flavor).

Cheese, Cheeeeeeeeeeese,  Is there really anything better?  I have so many different favorites of cheese, my jack of all trades cheese is St. Andres, also my wife's favorite cheese,  my favorite washed rind cheese grayson and tallegio.  Pleasant ridge reserve, Hombolt fog, Mimmolette, coolea....I could spend all day at cheese stores, I wish I had a cowgirl creamery near me (http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/).  That place is amazing!!!,

Anyways, upward and onward!  Its amazing when you think about it, cheese is controlled spoilage...

A quick note about milk and the importance it has on cheese (besides the fact that it is the main component)  Goat and Sheep's milk have higher odorous molecules then cow which means a few things....it has a high concentration of short chain fatty acids and this is what gives goat and sheeps cheese its pungent flavor which I love.  Different species of cows have different flavors, different regions, whether or not they were treated with antibiotics has much to do with the ripening, the bacteria might not be able to fully do its job with the presence of antibiotics.  Most all cheese is made from pasteurized milk, and for a reason.  Unless you make the cheese almost immediately after you get the milk than it has a good chance of turning sour, milk is a very nutritious substance and is a good home for all sorts of bacteria (good and bad) and they are quick.  The commercial milk has to travel to a cheese plant somewhere to be made so the milk has to hold for long periods of time.

Bacterias....you have your bacterias (certain bacterias are added for certain types of cheese, it used to be certain bacterias were only found in certain regions) you have your rennet and your lactic acid and taadaa, you have curds and whey, all we want is the curd in this aspect but be careful what you do with the whey.  It has become more than just a bi-product (it use to be used to make ricotta).  These days whey could be a danger to the Eco-system if disposed of inproperly, it encourages more algae growth then normal in turn depletes oxygen from the deep water.  Moving on, .....where am I...Curds...All cheeses in the large scale of things are made the exact same way.  You have your curds, you want to dice them as small as possible as you release more of the whey the smaller you dice them.  You are going to subject the curds to tempered water, anywhere between 105 degrees to 130 degrees. ( small diced curds are best for hard cheeses, larger curds for soft cheeses)

The temperature is very important as I'm going to sidetrack quickly...you should be used to this by now.  I worked for a Chef, we will call him Chef English, he won the ******* award for the ****** company during ******** time period...that's a real award, plaque and all.  He is one of the most intelligent and talented chefs I have ever worked for.  We would make our own mozzarella for functions, I was really excited as I had previous experience in the matter where anyone else in the building had not.  Granted it still didn't mean I knew more about the subject just that I had done it.  He would always taste my motz and say however much he liked the flavor but it was too tough.  The fresh mozzarella that we got from the plastic jug tasted like water but had such a soft texture, amazing  if only I could have combined the two!  NOW I FINALLY HAVE AN ANSWER WHY!

Going back to the temperature of the water you used for the curds, the higher the temperature the tougher and rubbery the mozzarella will be, the lower temperature the softer it will be.  If you really think about it...THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!  You cook meat low and slow to retain the tenderness and juices, why shouldn't that hold true with cheese....  So you cook your curds, during this process it does many things, releases more of the whey, breaks down the casein's and allows them to re-connect which gives a nice and shiny look.  Your doing good if you get that, from there you take the "curd" cut it into pieces again and stack it on top of each other (out of the liquid), this is called cheddaring.  It is really preference to how long you cheddar your cheese, once "cheddered" you are going to mill the cheese, a form of grating it really.  You still with me, this is alot of information I'm subjecting you to.

This is where I try to cram a ton of information into a little space, Im not writing a book here...

Once it has been milled there are different routes you can take, some are salted with the milled cheese, molded and pressed.  Others place the milled cheese in molds, press then salt or place in a mold, press and place in a brine.    Salt is important, this slows the pace of our bacteria, in the case of feta even stops it.  This brings us to ripening, controlled spoilage.  There are really four main ways of ripening, from the inside, from the outside, evenly throughout, or through natural veins (bleu cheese).  Many soft cheeses are ripened from the outside, that is why they are so thin otherwise the outside will be completely liquid before the middle is ready.  Cheese is than treated according to the type of cheese you wish to make, washed rind, placing a wax mold, wrapping in cloth, the possibilities are many.  From here the cheese is then placed in a temperature and humidity controlled room for certain periods of time, 80% humidity for hard cheeses, 95% for soft cheeses and both are in an environment of 50 degrees.  This is more the rule than the exception but keep in mind there are many exceptions and many variations cheese is made.  That, in a nutshell is how cheese is made.  There is so much more information about cheese we could discuss but they are really details that are only intresting to those intrested.  This concludes our time with dairy, we now move on to Chicken, and the ultimate question "the chicken or the egg"

As always if you would like any clarifaction on anything here please let me know I would love to break it down.

I would also like to express my deepest empathy for my brother and his family as they just lost their dog and that is just an experience that I do not wish upon anyone.  We are here if you want to chat...