Cachota cheese recipe

This is one of the most popular Italian cheeses.

It can be consumed relatively quickly - after just a few days.

Of course, after 1-2 weeks it will become even tastier.

As a breakfast cheese, it can be easily modified to be made for both frying and melting.

This cheese is made using the cheese culture itself, which is also intended for Mozzarella cheese, and at the beginning the process is completely similar to Mozzarella, only stewing is not used here.

Required:

10 liters of milk
Micromilk T: 0.3gr (0.1 dose), or Lactoferm M cheese culture: 1gr
Lipase: 0.6gr (optional)
Calcium chloride ( CaCl2): 2.5-3ml
Rennet: 1.5ml (strength 710 - 739 IMCU/ml)
Annato (E160b): 8 drops (optional)
Salt solution 18-20% (for salting)

Recipe

(The video has subtitles in several languages)

Preparing (1h 40min)

Before starting, we should disinfect all surfaces and dishes that may come in contact with milk.
Determine whether milk is suitable for making cheese. It has to go through bactericidal phase * (cold milk from the previous day usually works). If you have a PH meter, the PH level of milk should not be outside the PH 6.55-6.85 range.
Pasteurize milk: heat it to 65C and keep it at this temperature for 30 minutes. You can heat up to 70C and hold for 15 minutes.
Quickly cool the milk, for example in a cold bath to 34C (it could take 15 minutes).

Processing (2h)

Add cheese culture Lactoferm M 1gr and lipase 0.6 gr. Lipase is only responsible for organoleptic, you can without it, but it speeds up the ripening process of the cheese.
Wait 5 minutes and stir cheese culture and lipase in the milk.
Wait another 55 minutes.
Add calcium chloride 2.5-3ml, annato - 8 drops and renin 1-1.5ml, and stir into milk within 30 seconds. Calcium chloride and renin must be diluted with 50ml of clean water before adding to the milk.**
After adding a renin, start the timer to determine the flocculation point. Generally, the flocculation point for the most cheeses is 3. That means that if the milk has thickened (forms a curd) within 12 minutes, you can move on to the next stage only after 36 minutes (12x3 = 36 minutes).
Cutting of the thickened mass takes place 30-45 minutes after renin has been added. Cut the curd into approximately 1.5cm cubes vertically (wait 5 minutes), then horizontally (wait 5 minutes).
Slowly heat the milk to 42C and stir continuously for 30 minutes. In the first 10 minutes, the curd must be stirred very gently.
Leave it for 10 minutes so that the curd settle at the bottom, then drain all the whey from the top.

Pressing and salting (7h 45min + 10h)

Put the curd in a mold for 3 hours and turn it upside down every 30 minutes (you can first put the cheese in a strainer for 20 min and then put it aside form and then put into the mold). Usually, Kachota uses forms that don't have need a press. This cheese can press itself with its own weight.***
The salting time is 10 hours for 1.2 kg of cheese in 18-20% salt solution ****
Salt solution is usually made from whey and used several times by adjusting the salt concentration in it accordingly.
After salting, dry the cheese with paper towels and put it in the refrigerator (preferably 12C) for ripening.
Cheese can be consumed already on the third day, but the best time for consuming is after a week, so that the salt cures more evenly.

We look forward to your feedback!

* Freshly milked milk has bactericidal properties for a few hours, during the so-called bactericidal phase, when bacteria suppress reproduction. Cooling the milk prolongs the bactericidal phase. If the milk is obtained in strict compliance with sanitary regulations and rapidly cooled to +40 °C, the duration of the bactericidal phase is 24 hours and more. At the same temperature bactericidal phase period, impure milk has at least two to three times shorter temperature. The duration of the unrefrigerated milk phase is, on average, 2 hours.
(Source: http://www.ezerzeme.lv/lv/zinas/noderigi/5222/par-piena-kvalitati)

** The time of milk coagulation (thickening) depends on the quantity of calcium chloride and rennet. It can be adjusted for best coagulation time, which should ideally be 12 minutes. For instance, if the first time your milk has thickened after 20 minutes, then increase the next dose of enzyme.

*** During pressing, the cheese releases whey and also increases the level of acidity, which is an important regulatory process in bacteria. If you slightly increase this pressing time, then it will be easier to melt the cheese. Such cheese is perfect for hot buns or in pizza making. If the pressing time is too long, it will lose its elasticity and become fragile.

**** The salt solution can be prepared as follows: 1 liter of whey, 180 grams of salt (do not use iodized salt), 5–10 drops of calcium chloride, and 1 teaspoon vinegar It is recommended to purchase a hydrometer to determine the salt concentration in the solution, because after each salting, it returns the salt to the cheese.