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Mesophilic
Starter Culture
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Cheese cultures are necessary
to inoculate the milk with friendly bacteria. These bacteria serve
two functions. First, they cause the milk to become more acidic aiding
its coagulation. Second, the bacteria help develop the flavor of
the cheese.
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Cheese cultures are divided into two basic
types mesophilic and thermophilic. These terms describes at the temperature
the culture thrives at. Mesophilic (from the Greek words meso - meaning
intermediate and philic - which means loving) cultures thrive around room
temperatures. Thermophilic (from the Greek words thermo - meaning
heat and philic - which means loving)cultures require a higher temperature.
Professional quality cultures can be bought from a cheesemaking supply
company. They are usually available in a freeze dried form. A home-spun
method is to use cultured buttermilk as a mesophilic starter or fresh yogurt
as a thermophilic starter.
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This simplest of cultures can generally be
used for all recipes requiring a Mesophilic Starter. The taste of the final
product will vary slightly from that of a true cheese culture.
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Start with 2 cups of FRESH store bought Cultured Buttermilk.
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Let the 2 Cups of buttermilk reach room temp. (70 F/ 21 C).
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Then allow the buttermilk to ripen for about 6-8 hrs. (Store bought buttermilk
does not have a high enough concentration of bacteria to serve as a starter
culture without ripening.)
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The resulting buttermilk will be much thicker and sour then what you started
with. It should have the consistency of fresh yogurt, if it doesn't
let it sit a few more hours.
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Pour this culture into a full sized CLEAN ice cube tray and put into your
FREEZER. As with all steps of cheesemaking, cleanliness is next to godliness.
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Once frozen, remove the cubes and put into a CLEAN sealed container or
plastic freezer bags. It is a good idea to label the container to
distinguish it from your thermophilic culture.
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The resulting ice cubes are each 1 oz of mesophilic starter.
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Add these cubes (thawed) to your recipes as required. The cubes will keep
for about one month.
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To make more starter simply thaw one cube and add into 2 cups of
fresh milk. Mix thoroughly with a fork or a whisk. Allow the milk/culture
to stand at room temperature (70 F/ 21 C) for 16-24 hours or until the
consistency of fresh yogurt. Then follow from step 5.
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Since January 01, 1999
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