# Spongy curd - what's wrong?



## eam (Jun 5, 2002)

I tried to make a batch of simple hard cheese. I was experimenting. I used as a starter some buttermilk leftover from making my own goat milk butter. The buttermilk was two days old and had been kept in the frig. I'd left it out on the counter for the day to hopefully 'culture'. I was using the Fankhauser basic cheese recipe. Innoculate the milk overnight with buttermilk. Heat to 86F, add rennet. Wait for clean break. It was at this stage that I got the spongy curd. 

Doing a google search on spongy curd, I suspect that maybe my buttermilk was up to snuff. I suspect some rogue bacteria entered flubbing up my cheese. But, I don't know enough about what's going on to say if that's really the case.

Any ideas? The pigs will enjoy the remains....

Thanks.
Elizabeth


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

A big problem with sponginess in your product comes from some bacteria that was introduced somewhere along the line...
Perhaps go back over your sanitation methods?
Buttermilk made from leftover butter making is not the right type of thing to use as a culture for cheese making. Fankhauser's method uses cultured buttermilk. This can be made from purchasing some at a store or by using a powdered culture packet. You can reculture your own by using a small amount in your fresh milk .


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