# Fresh Cheese & Milk Temp



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

For fresh goat cheese, I make a Fromage Blanc - a packet I get from cheesemaking.com. Instructions say to heat milk to 86, add packet, let sit 12 hours or so, drain, and done. I love this cheese. A couple of batches ago, I accidentally heated the milk too high, very high. To about 195 I think. So I let it cool down to about 90, added the packet, let it sit, etc. It was the most amazing cheese. Very creamy, very mild. So I tried to do that again (almost). Heated to about 160, let cool to 86. Again, I got a creamier, milder cheese.

Does anyone know why? Obviously the heating of the milk has something to do with it, but what? Pav, are you here?


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

You just pasteurized your milk.


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

How does this differ from previous makes?

2 thoughts:

- Heating past 165F tends to denature whey proteins, making them stick to casein, and actually increasing gel strength in lactic curd
- 86 vs 90 F... lower temp favors heterofermentive bacteria that form a thicker and more flavorful curd.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Oh, thanks. This makes sense. The curd was not as thick as it usually is. And I guess I like "less flavorful" curd. LOL!

Not being a real cheesemaker, I never thought much about temp except to just follow directions. Lesson learned here - temp really makes a difference.

Thanks, again.


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