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Curd Nerd News Edition #54
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On my last day of Summer, something I can't wait to see the back of, the weather Down Under is beginning to cool again, which is a great time to make more cheese!
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Imagine a kitchen with room temperatures of over 30°C/86°F most of the time. Not very conducive to cheese making as it's so difficult to control milk temperatures. Cheese making doesn't happen unless air conditioners are blasting cool air 24/7 into my kitchen. It's sad for me and a debt on my power bill!
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Thankfully, as we rapidly approach the Equinox, Autumn cools and the cheese-making fun begins. I have planned the next 4 months of cheese videos to ensure at least one per week, so let's get cracker lacking!
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Using Pasteurised and Homogenised Milk - Recovering from Shattered Curds
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Imagine my surprise as I begin to cut the curds and notice that the curds break into tiny pieces and not the curd cubes that I'm so used to. Gently stirring only makes it worse, and it turns into milk soup with floaty bits!
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This happens occasionally when using Pasteurised and Homogenised milk, especially if the pasteurisation process has been especially hot. Homogenisation never helps the cheese maker because the large fat globules are split into much smaller particles during the process. Adding Calcium chloride often helps reverse the calcium depletion caused by pasteurisation, but you can't reverse the homogenisation process.
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It gets worse because some milk processors do not disclose that they have ultra-pasteurised their milk product, which makes it almost impossible to make cheese from!
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So, if you end up with a shattered curd, what can you do to recover it?
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Well, curd nerds, watch my video and see how I turned milk soup with little chunks into a delicious cheese!
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Aldi Cheese Haul for Under AUD$45
My Dad sent me an Aldi gift card for Christmas during the pandemic, and I only rediscovered it a couple of weeks back. So, off to my local Aldi supermarket to peruse their cheese selection!
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I returned with 5 pieces of cheese to feed the family. Kim suggested that I record a taste test; the rest is cheese history! So, let me share with you what I found.
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Ask the Cheeseman Livestream
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The "Ask the Cheeseman" livestream has been in production since Feb 2016. This Sunday, the show is 9 years old! Time for a celebration.
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It's a weekly, Sunday morning 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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New cheese-making Products
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$19.50 inc GST
These Trivets are the same as Gavin uses in his cheese-making videos to allow water to circulate under his Stainless Steel Pots when using a precision cooker or Sous vide machine.
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Perfect for use with hot pans and baking trays when hot to protect your kitchen benches.
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Measurements: 18cm x 18cm x 2cm.
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$11.00
Vegetable Rennet Tablets - 10 pack
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Each tablet will coagulate 50 litres of milk. Tablets scored in quarters for ease of use.
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Contains microbial rennet produced by pure culture fermentation of Mucor Miehei and/or Mucor Pusillus, Sodium Chloride and cellulose micro-crystalline.
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$19.95 inc GST
Stainless Steel Cheese Knife Set with cartoon cheese handles.
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This Cheese Knife Set will add a fun touch to your next Cheese and wine evening.
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As we bring this edition of the Curd Nerd News to a close, let’s remember that even when things fall apart in the cheese-making process, there’s always room for creativity, recovery, and discovery.
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Every shattered curd tells a story, every batch teaches a lesson, and every recovered wheel has the potential to surprise us.
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So, whether you’re celebrating a triumph or learning from a mishap, keep curdling, experimenting, and savoring the journey—because the world of cheese-making is as infinite as your imagination. Until next time, keep those curds firm and those dreams cheesy! 🧀✨
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