# Farmhouse Cheese Culture MA-4000



## Hollybrook (Jul 17, 2009)

I orded MA-4000 from hoegger, catalog said it makes 23 gallons of cheese milk. Packet is so small, actual directions says to use 1/8 tsp for 2 gallon of milk I dont even think there is 1/8 tsp? directions are very bad could someone please help I wanna make some cheese from raw goat milk how do I make a culture set Ive alwasy used 1/4 cup of buttermilk or sour cream per gallon of milk.


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

The MA 4000 series they have is likely resized from a bigger batch, but they should have measured it out so there's enough. There should be about 1 tsp in there... not very much but enough to set a large batch.

What cheese are you trying to make? For raw milk, with some cheeses you only need a miniscule amount. Something like 1/8 tsp for 20 gal.

Unfortunately, 4000 is not reculturable if you want consistent cheese. The subsequent generations will have different ratios of bacteria than the original. You can, however propagate it once and make a bulk starter. Start by boiling a quart of milk, putting it into a canning jar, letting that sit to cool down to 100F, and then adding just a tiny pinch of culture. Let it sit for 10 mins, shake it up, and then put into a cooler filled with 95-100F water. You'll have coagulated milk in 4-6 hours, which you can use in place of buttermilk the way you usually use buttermilk. But you can't reculture that if you want consistent results. Cheese will still be edible, and probably very tasty if you do, just not identical.


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## Hollybrook (Jul 17, 2009)

23 gal. of milk I probably will make some chedder and soft cheeses. So Ok thier directions are way off as I suspected it say's 1/8 tsp to 2 - 1.5 gal of milk that would be almost all the culture pkg! So if i do as you say dump it in a qtr of sterile milk let coagulate for 4-6 hrs and pour off into 23 ice cubes I should be able to freeze it and use a cube for each batch right?

Thanks
dave


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

Did they really only give you something like 1/4 tsp in that whole package for $6 or $7 or whatever they charge? No powder stuck in a corner somewhere? If so, that's somewhat outrageous. 

But yes, you can make up a quart of starter and freeze it. Try to catch it at the exact moment it coagulates. Not to the second or anything, but once it sets, try to freeze it quickly and not let it sit around. When it coagulates, there's a lot of acid built up in the milk, and that acid can damage the bacteria or cause them to die off. If you freeze right away, it gives you the most possible viable bacteria in each cube.

Also, I'm not sure how many cubes to use. It's been a while since I've done that. Maybe 2-4 per gallon?

Cheddar is OK with MA 4000. Tomme is also really good. So is gouda... it's a really versatile culture.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Yes 2 per gallon. That is what I used to do.


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## Hollybrook (Jul 17, 2009)

Thanks a bunch !!!

Dave


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