This is only a problem in hard cheeses, and it's so minor that it isn't really even a problem; more an irritation. If you happen to have a cheese press, give it a shot here. If it is still not right, you can add more rennet in half or a quarter of the amount that you used the first time. By using our site, you agree to our. Then taste again. Try changing milks and if the problem persists, buy new rennet. If the rennet is not distributed properly, your curds later can disintegrate. Our rule of thumb is to always grate more cheese than we think we'll need. Some cheesemakers hose down the inside of their caves at least once a day to create moist, flavorful, and delicious cheddars. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/60\/Rescue-Overcooked-Lasagna-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Rescue-Overcooked-Lasagna-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/60\/Rescue-Overcooked-Lasagna-Step-1.jpg\/aid403686-v4-728px-Rescue-Overcooked-Lasagna-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"

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\n<\/p><\/div>"}, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. You may have used a bit too much rennet, or perhaps the curd-cooking time was too long or at too high a temperature. You can fix this by using less starter next time or try shortening the ripening time. So a homemade cheese is going to dry out and crumble a little more than one made in a factory. But of course if you're trying to cut a slice of cheese for a sandwich, it's nice if that cheese stays together. If you're melting a drier, sharper cheese, you can grate or shred it, and let it sit in water for a while to hydrate. There are several common problems that come up when making cheese. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 37,821 times. Wrap it back up and re-wax (if it's a waxed cheese) and try again in another two weeks. For hard cheese varieties there are several causes. This article has been viewed 37,821 times. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. This is normally caused by two things: Either the cheese was not drained enough, or the cheese was not salted enough. The milk you are using may be too acidic. For this reason, you should not spray out any really deep cracks. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Another possible remedy is to try adding a few more layers of wax during the aging process. It will make your curds softer, so be careful and add a few extra drops of rennet if necessary. Cheese that is bland or tasteless may have not expelled enough whey during the cooking process, causing the flavor to be diluted. If you have let your cheese ferment for 12 hours and there is no firming up or change in the texture of your milk (normally soft cheeses), move the cheese to the oven and turn on the light. Your milk may be old or perhaps it is pasteurized beyond usefulness. Mac and cheese should either be creamy or stringy because of the cheese. If you were trying to make mozzarella and you ended up with a bunch of rice-like curds that won't stick to each other, this is an example of curds that didn't come together properly. Cheese should coat the noodles. This may mean the pressure was too light during the pressing process, resulting in curds that have not molded together completely, and causing those undesirable cracks on and within the cheese. Check every 3 hours, and when the cheese reaches the desired consistency, drain and salt. So don't worry if your first few attempts don't come out exactly as expected; drain, salt, and eat them anyway! This is most commonly caused by the temperature being too cool at the fermentation stage. Any rennet not strong enough will cause the curds to look set, but then totally disintegrate when you stir them. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Write this down in your cheesemaking notebook, and decrease these things, one at a time, to help pinpoint and fix the problem in future batches of cheese. Keeping your rennet tightly closed, very cold, and away from light when you are not using it will lengthen the rennet’s lifetime of viability. % of people told us that this article helped them. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. You can try adding more rennet, depending on where you are in the cheesemaking process. You should add more rennet only to milk that has not yet been cut into curds.