Lessons From the Field

I really need a pH meter. I didn't want to admit that. Never being one for exact measurement in cooking, I wanted to think that I could just whip up some homemade cheese with instinct and a dash of love like an Italian grandmother making pasta sauce. I, in fact, cannot. On the other hand, it could just be that when left to my own devices at home, I suck at this.

In the last few weeks, I attempted to make a few more batches of homemade cheese. My next attempt was Asadero cheese, a Mexican-style semi-soft, melting cheese that is made and stretched in a manner very similar to mozzarella (and one of the only cheeses readily available here in bustling Del Rio, TX). Stretched Italian cheese = pasta filata cheeses. Asadero is sort of in the same family, but a cousin from a different country. Another nearly identical Mexican sister cheese is Queso Oaxaca, but whereas Oaxaca is stretched and rolled into a ball, Asadero usually stretched and pressed into a flat block.

Another lesson: If you get distracted
watching reruns of The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air, then your temperature will
get away from you. 

Instead of using citric acid like I did with my first stretched cheese, I wanted to get wild and try some actual starter cultures. I used a really crude recipe I found online. (Corollary lesson: I need to be more diligent about finding a book or other source for more tried-and-true homemade cheese recipes.). The milk needed to ripen for slightly longer with the starter versus the citric acid.  Otherwise, the steps were essentially the same as my mozzarella attempt.

The final product was not what I wanted. With the citric acid, the cheese eventually stretched and formed a shiny mozzarella ball. It wasn't gooey, but it was appropriately melty on our homemade pizza. The flavor was boring and there was a bit of grainyness in the bite, but it did the job. This Asadero was all off. I was both impatient and completely clueless. Ideally mozarella or cheeses with similar make processes need to reach a pH of approximately 5.2 to accomplish the desired elastic stretch in the hot water or whey. Any higher and the curd will be wet rubber; any lower and it will be too grainy and fall apart.

My first attempt was rubber. I stretched too soon. With many mozzarella recipes, the curd is left for as long as it needs to properly acidify, sometimes sitting out until the end of the day before being stretched. I waited maybe an hour.

My second attempt was a grainy mess. I was too patient. Actually, I was unconcious. I finished the curd at the end of the day and left it out overnight to acidify. Without a pH meter, I was driving blindly on a desolate two-lane highway back to Del Rio without headlights; I had no idea when I had reached the border, drove straight through Mexico and found my confused ass in Guatemala with a big mess on my hands.

Curd

When I taste tested the curd the next day, it tasted better than previous batches and had a creamier texture. It also had the same tart yogurt or sour milk flavor that was indicative of a pH drop. It was maybe a bit too sour, but I still had high hopes. The curd mass started to meld together when I doused it in hot water. Unlike the previous rubber batch, it started to soften. Yet, when I began to pull it apart to to start stretching, it simply crumbled. I likely waited too long and let the pH drop too low, but I suppose I will never know.

The second softer but grainy batch, had much more flavor than the first rubber batch. ... So...I guess, that's...something...? But neither batch would melt. I may have cornered the market on making un-meltable cheese.

Thinner, milder yogurt

My other production note from the last few weeks is related to yogurt. I had mentioned previously that incubating the yogurt at a lower temperature should create a thinner and sweeter product. I accidentally tested that assertion this week. I unintentionally let the temperature on my pot drop closer to 100 degrees, rather than the 110-120 degree benchmark I had been regularly using. I like a thicker tart, Greek-style yogurt so I had no desire to change my methods. The lower temperature resulted in a yogurt that was more like Yoplait yogurt than Greek yogurt. After I tried to drain it for a couple hours as I usually do, I realized this batch wasn't going to get any thicker. It was a nice change of pace. Instead of a hearty Mediterranean yogurt feast, I had a much milder yogurt that was better for snacking.

My last bit of news is that I've recently started working two days out of the week in Waco at Brazos Valley rather than just one. The commute seems much less ridiculous now that I'm not driving more hours than I'm working. Not only have a I really taken a liking to the job, but I also really like making a cheese that comes out like it's actually supposed to. Don't worry, I won't give up in the kitchen. I'll just have less free time to waste milk. But stay tuned for more details from my adventures in Waco soon.