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Junket
Jun 24, 2015 19:42:46 GMT
Post by Otter on Jun 24, 2015 19:42:46 GMT
I have heard from several people to Never, ever use junket rennet to make cheese. I thought I'd dabble and had bought some rennet at the store, and mentioning it to a friend, the first thing he asked was "<gasp!> Is it junket?!? You can't use that!"
On another thread in here, I cyberheard the tones of shock and horror at the mention of it.
So ... umm ... why? Because the impression that I get from cheesemakers is that the universe implodes. When I look online, all I see is many admonitions to NOT use junket and no one mentions why.
The mad scientist in me is getting exceedingly curious...
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Junket
Jun 25, 2015 9:26:20 GMT
Post by Skandi on Jun 25, 2015 9:26:20 GMT
Interesting, I just had to run to the bookshelf. my books, just call for renet for both, no differentiation at all. And certainly in the UK in a supermarket they only sell one type (maybe two, one vege one and one "normal" one) chesemaking.co.ukSeems the UK makes no differentiation between the two at all.
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Post by Ken on Jun 25, 2015 14:24:08 GMT
I'm not a cheesemaker but I searched online for you From the FAQ here www.cheesemaking.com/learn/faq/rennet.htmlAs I highlighted in green above, there are many recipes online for making cheese with junket. I guess perhaps some people haven't had good luck using it and it's gotten a bad name for making cheese? Edit: also, it sounds like junket would have no problems making soft cheese that will be consumed relatively quickly, but aging cheese would be a problem.
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Junket
Jun 25, 2015 14:48:43 GMT
Post by Melissa on Jun 25, 2015 14:48:43 GMT
I have used lots of junket rennet to make cheese. It works fine, you just have to use enough of it and your wait times for setting up might be a little longer.
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Junket
Jun 25, 2015 22:07:34 GMT
Post by Otter on Jun 25, 2015 22:07:34 GMT
TY Ken!
Melissa, good to know. I am nowhere near ready to start aging cheeses, I just wanted to play with some easy, soft cheese recipes. Where I am, I'd have to order any other rennet on line, and I don't have enough milk, space or experience to make it worthwhile.
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Post by Melissa on Jun 30, 2015 13:27:01 GMT
I have aged cheese using junket rennet and they were pretty good. Junket rennet can make a hard cheese as well as the softer cheeses. I started using it because it was readily accessible and inexpensive. Even after I ordered regular rennet, I think I like the junket rennet just as much if not more.
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Junket
Aug 13, 2015 14:18:06 GMT
Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Aug 13, 2015 14:18:06 GMT
I've only used junket when making custard
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Junket
Aug 24, 2015 13:51:42 GMT
Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2015 13:51:42 GMT
Like Ricki Carrol's website, cheesemaking.com says, the chemical makeup of Junket is different than the rennet used for cheesemaking. Regular cheese rennet is 4-5 times stronger than Junket. One of the problems of using the more dilute Junket is that the curds form more slowly than with regular cheese rennet, and allows the cheese cultures to make the milk's acidity too high as the curd develops, and if it's not right, the cheese won't turn out right. The acidity is important in many ways, especially for certain soft, acid ripened cheeses that don't use rennet, and the hard cheeses.
You start by adding the cheese cultures, which are speciific bacterial cultures for various types of cheeses, that acidify the milk by turning the milk sugars into lactic acid, raising the pH. If the pH is too low or too high this will affect the final aged cheese for better or worse. Acidification affects the amount of calcium phosphate lost during the cheesemaking process, and that has a great affect on the curds and resulting aged cheese. I'll leave it at that, as there is a lot of science involved in cheesemaking that I can't address here. you cannot make a proper cheese without the starter cultures.
You'll have to mail order (online) the cheese cultures, so you might as well spend a few $ on the right rennet. cheesemaking.com sells small bottles that aren't expensive. You can't make cheese without the cultures. And buy a few good books on the subject, or get them on Kindle and read up on what the process is and why. Some are more technical than others, from a French one, The Fabrication of Farmstead Goat Cheese, and American Farmstead Cheese, and Frank Kosikowsi's Cheese and Fermented milk Foods, which is over 1,000 pages and extremely technical and is the ultimate cheese book set. (2 volumes) Frank K is the ultimate international expert on cheese and milk foods. Artisan Chhesemaking At Home is a more recent book with gorgeous photos. I have other cheesemaking books as well.
The stupid online Fankhauser's (sp?) cheesemaking site is ridiculous. He may be a biologist, but he has absolutely zero knowledge or understanding of cheesemaking science and processes and why it's important. If you're going to put in the time and ingredients for cheesemaking, don't waste it using ridiculous misinformation. Don't settle for cheese that's "okay" when you can have cheese that's "really good" with little additional effort, a few more dollars for proper ingredients, and correct art/science knowledge of how to do that! I've made spectacular cheeses - camemberts, St. Maure, 9 month aged parmesans, Swiss cheese, several kinds of cheddars, several versions of bleu cheeses, and more than I can remember of hand right now. It took me some effort, education and practice to get them right after aging, but it was well worth it. Making cheeses that people wolf down and can't get enough of, and exclaim how great they are is a wonderful reward.
I do have a cheesemaking website that has photos and explanations of proper technique and ingredients and materials needed, mostly focused on parmesan altho that information applies in general to all cheeses, especially the actual steps of a "make". A "make" is one batch of cheese. I also have MANY recipes on it that make high quality cheese. (www.dairymaiden.com) I haven't updated or added to it since 2007, as my life went through many changes up until now, and I wasn't able to continue working on it. After exactly 1 year of fighting with my vicious, nasty, sociopathic Ex to get just my own personal belongings back, I have my cheesemaking equipment here with me, but not my large frozen stash of cultures and other ingredients, and so I haven't been able to go back to that hobby. Which is a real shame, as I can get (legal) raw whole milk for about $5/gallon in some grocery stores about 45 minutes from me, and that is the ultimate milk to have access to, when I used to pay $6 for a half gallon of pasturized cream-line milk at my two prior residences. Of course, raw milk can only be safely used in cheeses aged 60 days or more.
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Junket
Aug 25, 2015 2:48:41 GMT
Post by jangirl on Aug 25, 2015 2:48:41 GMT
Interesting! I just saw this thread and am making soft goat cheese using junket as we speak. I would LOVE to get into aged cheeses, and will eventually. I know Melissa makes them, and I have so much milk I need to use it to best advantage. Will look at your site, iowalez, thanks for posting the information!
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Post by Melissa on Aug 25, 2015 16:34:20 GMT
I have bought cultures, but also use buttermilk and yogurt to culture cheese. I like using things that are low-cost and readily available. We all love the cheese I make, it is so much better than store-bought. It might be the exact, proper way, but it works for us!!!
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