# What do you do if you don't get a 'clean break'?



## eam (Jun 5, 2002)

As I've said before, my cheeses don't always come out the way they're supposed (or at least how I think they're supposed to). Sometimes I don't get the clean break I should have. I've mostly just taken the cheese and turned it into some kind of fresh-eating cheese instead of continuing with the hard cheese I was making.

What do you do? Or, what else can I do with a batch if I don't get a clean break?

Thanks.
Elizabeth


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I wait a little longer until I get something close to a clean break. Next time you might try adding just a tiny bit more rennet.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Are you using real rennet, not the tablets? Is your rennet fresh?

Sometimes it takes a bit more time, as mentioned above.


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## eam (Jun 5, 2002)

I'm not exactly sure what happened this time but I used a starter I've never tried before. I don't really understand all the chemistry of what's going on but I think maybe I should have left the starter longer before adding the rennet. 

I used the NE Cheesemaking recipe for goat's milk cheddar. The starter I used, though, was the farmhouse starter from Hoeger's. I've been wanting to try it so thought I'd give it a shot.

When I added the rennet and was stirring, within a minute or two it starting thickening. Silly me, I thought that was a good sign! But, when I left it to sit for an hour, the cheese had coagulated (was even quite hard / almost rubbery) but didn't give me a clean break. I had to somewhat force my finger through to get it to break at all. The whey was a nice green-ish color (that I thought was good!). 

The rennet is fresh (again NE Cheesemaking, yes, tablets but not junket tablets).

Comments welcome!
Elizabeth


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Hmmmmmm. I've not had that experience.

If it's that set up, it's tooooooo set, I think.

I've had culture problems trying to use buttermilk instead of purchased culture. I tossed out that batch.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

It sounds like you let it set too long before checking it. You need to start checking at 20 minutes and then every five or ten minutes until you get a clean break.


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## L&Jfarms (Jul 16, 2008)

I dont have acsess to fresh dairy. I want to make my own cheese though, so can anyone give me from start to finish cheese recipe. I will be using store bought milk. And can you tell me what i need to make cheese. Im new to the ART of cheese making.


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## eam (Jun 5, 2002)

Thanks - perhaps, then, I was too heavy on the rennet?

Try, try again.
Elizabeth


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

L&Jfarms said:


> I dont have acsess to fresh dairy. I want to make my own cheese though, so can anyone give me from start to finish cheese recipe. I will be using store bought milk. And can you tell me what i need to make cheese. Im new to the ART of cheese making.


http://jancikradionetwork.com/issa/issa/Jerry Issa - Easy Cheese Cookbook.pdf


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## grannieb (Dec 1, 2008)

Can anyone help me better understand just what a "clean break" is? I've made cream cheese several times and it turned out fine, although a little dry. I think that was from letting it drain too long. But now I'm trying the "real thing" and don't want to mess it up! 

I just can't quite picture what a "clean break" is. When I did the cream cheese, I stuck my finger in the pot and about an inch down in the liquid, I could feel the curd. My finger did leave a little hole in the top of the liquid. Is that a clean break?

Sure wish I could actually have someone here to show me! Any help or advise you can give would certainly be welcome.

Darlene


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

grannieb said:


> Can anyone help me better understand just what a "clean break" is? I've made cream cheese several times and it turned out fine, although a little dry. I think that was from letting it drain too long. But now I'm trying the "real thing" and don't want to mess it up!
> 
> I just can't quite picture what a "clean break" is. When I did the cream cheese, I stuck my finger in the pot and about an inch down in the liquid, I could feel the curd. My finger did leave a little hole in the top of the liquid. Is that a clean break?
> 
> ...



http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/29.html

scroll down this tutorial and you can find one picture showing a clean break


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## grannieb (Dec 1, 2008)

That's a good picture. Thank you! Mine didn't look like that, although there was plenty of curd below the surface. Did I let it sit too long? Maybe that's why my cream cheese was so dry. I assumed it was because I let it strain all night and that three or four hours would have been enough.


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