I made cheese, semi-fail

[bowhnter]

Knowing that some others also bought sodium citrate to make cheese after Adam’s (snadamo) thread I thought I would post this here.

There really aren’t (that I could find) any good cheese making sites (for simple, no cheese machine recipes). I see some recipes, mostly the same or using gelatin instead of SC.

I watched Chud’s YT vid and cut the recipe in half just like Adam.
50g Butter
150g Milk
10g Sodium Citrate
350g Cheese (medium cheddar)

Shred all your cheese first
Melt Butter
Mix in Sodium Citrate til dissolved
add milk, mix a bit
gradually add the shredded cheese and mix until smooth

Mine did not setup fully, even after 24 hours. No way I could slice it.
I spread it out and made a grilled cheese anyway. It was good, but just not solid so I could cut it.

I used 2% milk because that’s what I had. I seen Curt P suggest heavy cream.
Should I have used a little less milk since it was 2%? I reasoned no because some people use water.
If substituting SC for gelatin in recipes, is it the same measurement? Again I couldn't find an answer on that.

Aside from less milk, what might have gone wrong that it did not setup solid?

 

[snadamo]

Oh man I am sorry it didn't work out. The only difference I see is that our milk at home is whole milk rather than 2%. But as you've said, some people use water or beer. Since I've only done it once, I can't provide too much data.

 

[bowhnter]

Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good. It will get turned back into some good queso!

 

[food4thot]

No idea how to make cheese but would guess lack of butterfat in the 2%. Whole would probably be much better. Maybe better yet, raw milk because it's not homogenized.

 

[Itsdone]

Not sure i would follow someones recipe named "CHUD's" for making cheese. Ive made lots of cheese and cheese sauce following Modernist Cusine recipes. Never fails.

 

[bowhnter]

Well, Chud hasn't let me down yet.
But I did find that Modernist Cuisine did not use butter.
The rest seemed pretty close to the ratios.
I went back and looked at a few other recipes, some use butter but less, some do not use butter.

I'll try again this weekend.

 

[4ever3]

That stinks Mike, I’m betting it was the 2%.

I used half whole milk and half half & half and it turned out great.

Next time I think I’m going all half & half and a pinch of cayenne!

 

[bowhnter]

Did you also use the butter Jeremy?

 

[4ever3]

Yes sir

 

[bschoen]

I will opine that 2% milk is a commie plot to destroy the American Dairy industry. 2% milk is probably the cause of 90% of the worlds ill's and may be the reason so many want to ban cows, cow farts being a smoke screen.

 

[ModelMaker]

Just a thought, when I was looking into making hard cheeses, the most important act is to make sure everything is sterilized as you go.
Ed

 

[bowhnter]

I'm having my wife pick up some half and half today.

Thinking back, I wonder if I forgot to zero out the scale when I weighed the cheese after the milk and came up short on cheese.
Could be a complete driver error.

 

[Curt.P]

Knowing that some others also bought sodium citrate to make cheese after Adam’s (snadamo) thread I thought I would post this here.

There really aren’t (that I could find) any good cheese making sites (for simple, no cheese machine recipes). I see some recipes, mostly the same or using gelatin instead of SC.

I watched Chud’s YT vid and cut the recipe in half just like Adam.
50g Butter
150g Milk
10g Sodium Citrate
350g Cheese (medium cheddar)

Shred all your cheese first
Melt Butter
Mix in Sodium Citrate til dissolved
add milk, mix a bit
gradually add the shredded cheese and mix until smooth

Mine did not setup fully, even after 24 hours. No way I could slice it.
I spread it out and made a grilled cheese anyway. It was good, but just not solid so I could cut it.

I used 2% milk because that’s what I had. I seen Curt P suggest heavy cream.
Should I have used a little less milk since it was 2%? I reasoned no because some people use water.
If substituting SC for gelatin in recipes, is it the same measurement? Again I couldn't find an answer on that.

Aside from less milk, what might have gone wrong that it did not setup solid?

When you say it didn't set up fully, do you mean it was kind of like jello or still runny? If mine is on the softer side, I'll freeze it slightly so I can slice it and use patty paper in between slices.

I use Chud's recipe. If I don't have heavy cream, I'll use half-and-half. And I always use Tillamook block cheese and mix with a stick blender after melting. I've also tried clarified butter, but don't recall it making a difference.

 

[bowhnter]

When you say it didn't set up fully, do you mean it was kind of like jello or still runny? If mine is on the softer side, I'll freeze it slightly so I can slice it and use patty paper in between slices.

I use Chud's recipe. If I don't have heavy cream, I'll use half-and-half. And I always use Tillamook block cheese and mix with a stick blender after melting. I've also tried clarified butter, but don't recall it making a difference.

yes, that's it.

I'll try half and half this weekend. I am using Tillamook block cheddar.

I don't have a stick blender but it was real smooth before going into the container.

 

[Curt.P]

yes, that's it.

I'll try half and half this weekend. I am using Tillamook block cheddar.

I don't have a stick blender but it was real smooth before going into the container.

Try freezing it for 10-15 minutes before slicing with a knife. I've been meaning to get a wire style cheese cutter, but haven't yet. I think that would cut through this kind of cheese better.

 

[4ever3]

Try freezing it for 10-15 minutes before slicing with a knife. I've been meaning to get a wire style cheese cutter, but haven't yet. I think that would cut through this kind of cheese better.

I’m thinking the same thing, a cheese knife doesn’t like to slice it, or should I say it doesn’t even like to be sliced by a cheese knife.

 

[Smoke Dawg]

2%................. Get a rope! :razz:

 

[4ever3]

2%................. Get a rope! :razz:

Oohhhhh CHIT!

 

[rstewart]

I made some as well. However, I used heavy whipping cream and red wax sharp cheddar cheese from Costco. I also used my meat slicer for the slicing. Mine turned out great and I like it better than store bought. I used the recipient Adam posted also.

 

[frayedend]

I think the thread title should be "I made processed cheese food using real cheese". You didn't make cheese. But I'm kind of a karen on terminology. LOL