I have been playing around with quick fresh cheese that is vinegar coagulated.One question I have is besides flavor has anyone noticed differences in vinegars(apple cider vs distilled white)?
Next question --Why do the curds come out differently?One cheese had big fluffy type curds and another had small grainy curds.(I thought I was doing the same thing each time)
Another question--has anyone read or tried culturing the milk with buttermilk or yogurt first for an hour or something then heating and coagulating with vinegar?Mostly to get some flavor.
And here is a tip.I have been using small natural uncoated baskets to drain and lightly press my vinegar coagulated cheeses with.I 1st hang the cheese to get a bunch of the whey out.Then turn the curds into a bowl,salt,and put in a basket lined with cheesecloth/butter muslin.I wrap the cloth over on top of the cheese,set on some chopsticks over a pan.For weight I have been using small weight from my husbands weight set.I wrap the weights in foil(to keep things clean,the cheese,not the weight)and place the weight on top of the cloth wrapped cheese.The rest of the whey drains out through the basket.I find tons of baskets for cheap at the thrift store.Mostly look for natural ones.I will scrub them out and sterilize them with boiling water.Small is also key.the 1st couple ones I bought were too big.I now have a straight sided one about 5-6"across the top.It is great.
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I have tried both cider vinegar and white vinegar and much prefer the white! The cider leaves a taste that doesn't dissipate much... Love the basket idea! I will have to try that! It would be interesting to try culturing the milk before making the cheese...hmm...