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Curd Nerd News Edition #53
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Just a quick announcement before the newsletter content. I've changed my video publishing policy so that cheese-making tutorials and recipe videos will only be released once I know that the recipe and process are sound and repeatable for the viewer. This means a much longer process for filming, editing and creating each cheese-making video.
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To fill the gaps in between the video releases, I will make more "how to" videos, like the Brine video featured in today's newsletter.
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More about brine for cheese-making is below...
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Cheese Making Brine
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Salt is an essential ingredient in cheese. Rarely can it be omitted or reduced in recipes.
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It expels whey, slows the conversion of lactose to lactic acid and preserves the cheese. It also adds flavour and helps form a rind. The oft-quoted “Cheese is milk’s leap towards immortality” would not be so, if it was not for salt. Brine is an essential ingredient in many cheese recipes for making cheese.
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There are two main ways to brine a cheese. One way is to make an 18% saturation of brine using boiled water, used for hard Italian and some alpine cheese, and the other approach is a 10% brine made with fresh whey, used for Feta and other pickled cheeses.
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So how do you go about making the 18% brine for cheese? Well, it is pretty simple.
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Here are the ingredients for the 18% Brine for Cheese Making
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- 2 Litres (2 qt) water
- 450 gm (1 lb) non-iodised Salt
- 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar to make a pH of 4.5-5.0
- 1 teaspoon Calcium Chloride solution
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Boil the water to sanitize it and allow it to cool to room temperature. Add the salt and other ingredients. When all the salt is added, stir until it dissolves.
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This is perfect for cheesemaking. Adding vinegar and calcium chloride prevents the cheese from leaching calcium back into the brine, which would otherwise make it slimy. I then reuse the brine as a washing solution on other hard cheeses to help inhibit mould growth. Just make sure that you cool to room temperature before adding finished cheese.
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It is best if both brine and cheese are at the same temperature during the brining process. 13°C (55°F) is the best temperature to brine your cheeses as it reduces the pace of acid development. I place the brine container in the cheese fridge for the duration of brining.
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How long do you leave it in the brine? Most recipes will give a rough estimation, but it depends on the density of the cheese. A hard cheese like Parmesan needs at least 24 hours, however, a 1.2 kg Gouda only needs 12 hours. Ricki Carol’s cheesemaking.com site recommends the following:
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“Cheeses of different densities and shapes will require varying times in the brine. A general rule is 1 hour per lb (450 gm). per each 1 inch (2.5cm) thickness of cheese. A very dense low moisture cheese such as Parma will need more time than a moist open texture cheese.”
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If you like you can store the brine for future use in the cheese fridge and you can reuse it over and over again until it gets too cloudy.
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Just before you brine another cheese, add two tablespoons of salt to replace the salt absorbed by the last cheese.
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As for the 10% Brine made with Whey, I would only recommend using this for cheeses like Feta and pickled cheeses such as Domiati.
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Here are the ingredients for the 10% Brine for Cheese Making
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- 1 Litres (1 qt) of fresh whey at a pH of 5.0-4.5
- 96 - 110 gm (3.4 - 3.9 oz) non-iodised Salt
Add the salt to the brine and whisk until dissolved. Place your cheese into the brine and store it at 4°C (55°F) until the cheese is consumed. The cheese will last in the brine for many months. These types of cheese are meant to be salty. This type of brine should not be reused.
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I hope this answers the well-asked question of how to make brine for cheese making.
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Ask the Cheeseman Livestream
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The "Ask the Cheeseman" livestream has been in production since Feb 2016. It's an accomplishment that I'm quite proud of.
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It's a weekly live show that is a safe place to ask home cheese-making questions and get practical answers from yours truly and the chat is very active with input from the passionate Curd Nerd community. Besides that, we always have a lot of fun and laughs.
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If you want to catch me live on the show, click the button below to be sent to the live watch page for this show and click on the Notify Me button to be informed when the livestream begins.
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Cheese-making Kits
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$225.00 Original price was: $225.00.$210.95Current price is: $210.95. inc GST
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The ultimate kit for cheese lovers and curd nerds! The Artisan Cheese Kit has everything you need to create 19 delicious fresh and aged hard cheeses at home. Just add milk! No artificial flavours and preservative free.
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$174.50 inc GST
New to Cheesemaking? Why not start off with Quick Mozzarella and Ricotta, then work up to Semi-hard and Hard cheeses? So many cheeses to choose from, all made using store-bought milk! The Basic Hard Cheese Kit makes nine delicious, homemade kinds of cheese: Farmhouse Cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack, Feta, Cottage Cheese, Colby, Cotswold, Leicester, and Ricotta and Quick Mozzarella.
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It can be used to make many of Gavin’s video recipes as well like; Caerphilly, Sage Derby, Leiden, Edam, Havarti, and Traditional Cheddar.
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$135.95 inc GST
The Basic Hard Cheese Kit makes nine delicious, homemade cheeses:
Farmhouse Cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack, Feta, Cottage Cheese, Colby, Cotswold, Leicester, and Ricotta.
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It can be used to make many of Gavin's video recipes as well like; Caerphilly, Sage Derby, Leiden, Edam, Havarti, and Traditional Cheddar.
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Thanks for reading this week's Curd Nerd News!
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As we wrap up our journey through the world of brine in cheese making, I hope you feel inspired to experiment with this age-old technique in your kitchen.
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Keep brining and refining your cheese-making skills, and don't forget to share your results and experiences with our Curd Nerd community via the weekly livestream. Until next time, happy cheesemaking! 🧀
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