@@Cheese52 Hi Lisa. Thank you for your reply to my earlier question. I would love to purchase your book, however, when I tried the link it says it isnt available in my area. I live out of country. Do you have a Kindle version available? I would definitely love to own it.
@@justiceforall5004 Unfortunately no. The kindle format is problematic because the book contains so many charts and infographics. We were unable to format the book for consistent quality on all devices. In which country do you live? Another KDP marketplace may carry it. Lisa
I am an intermediate level cheesemaker and I found this recipe and instruction the best I found after quite a bit of searching and viewing videos. Great job! Now I'm going to see what other useful videos you have.
Hi Mike! Thanks, and welcome to the channel! I am glad you found the video helpful. Many cheesemakers have told me this now is their go-to vid for Havarti. It really is a great process, and pretty easy to follow. Have fun exploring, and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
Thank you! The day gets busy and sometimes I just don't have the time to change back into regular clothes before I video the next step! There are days I feel like Princess Amadalla 😉
2nd havarti with fenugreek yum. I know it will be good without it but can u imagine this cheese having a sweet maple taste??? yes ma'am! IMHO Lisa's recipes are foolproof if you follow her directions. She is concise and accurate in her recipes. I will ask for her book for Christmas!
I made this a couple of weeks ago, and today was the day to place it in a vacuum-sealed package. Well, you know how you cheated a little saying that half was for your brother? LOL I pretended I was going to do that, but my brother and I share a home. So yes you have to taste it! OH MY WORD!! Did I make that? YES I DID!!! Lisa this cheese is soooooooooo good without the dill. I have never seen it with dill before and Havarti is one of our favorites. It's only a 2 lb cheese cause I have not gotten a bigger pot yet or a larger cheese mold. But I am going to be making lots of 2 pounders! Any of your cheese recipes I have made have always come out great!
Hi Lori! Thank you so much for reporting your success. I am glad you find value in the recipes on the channel. I hope you and your brother enjoy your Havarti together! Thank you for your confidence in my work! Lisa
Good morning!!! You are just reading my mind. Havarti is one of my favorites. I have never made it by myself as I didn't find any reasonably doable recipe. Now I can try it. You are a fountain of knowledge, inspiration and patience. Thank you very much for another great recipe. You are really changing the shape and quality of cheesemaking online. Huge respect and best wishes to you and your growing channel. Should I have any questions, I know where to find you and YumYum:-)
Hello, my kitchen friends! I am so glad you love Havarti! I do too, its such a mild and melty cheese. I blushed a little at that compliment, my goodness. thank you. YumYum and I are honored. High paw from YumYum!
Hello from the USA! I fell in love with Havarti many years ago at a specialty import cheese shop at the Kensington Market in Toronto, ON. It was then that I learned that the Danes really know their cheese. This is one of my top all time favorites, for sure. I'm so glad you stopped by!
Hi Marianne, Thank you! The curds absorb so.e of the water, making the texture smooth and flexible. During this time, yhe pH drops to about 5.2, which also contributes to the texture. Lisa
Hello. Love this video, the cheese looks delicious. I am wondering about how in several of the videos you talk about the humidity. I see what looks like a high low thermometer item that you use. What do you do if the humidity falls outside of the range that you are targeting?
The item you see is a hygrometer, which measures the humidity. Mine broke a while back so I've been estimating the humidity. If it dips below the desired range, add more wet sponges, or even a dish of a salt slurry. Close the vent in the pie lid, and close the container completely. If it goes over the desired humidity, open the vent more, take out the sponges, crack the lid. Checking the humidity , and responding to the changes on a daily basis definitely helps to keep the humidity in the desired range. Hope that helps! So glad you enjoyed the video. Happy cheesemaking! Lisa
I think you'll love this one. I don't plan to ever sell my cheese. I just want to give it to family and friends💛 I assume you are in line for this one?😉
Awesome channel! If I were to use cumin instead of dill, could I use the power form and how much would you recommend? Will be doing a same 3 gal batch too. Thank you!
Hello and thank you! Cumin is very powerful, so I suggest a light touch the first time. Try 1/2 tsp per gallon first, see how the distribution looks in the curds, and add more if you think you need it. Welcome to the channel! Lisa
Thank you! The hot water washed curd process slows down the acidification, and the addition of the salt accomplishes 2 things- it helps to shrink the curds by pulling out whey and it flavors the cheese. I've seen some Havarti recipes that only add salt to the cooking curds. I salted this cheese in 2 steps (cooking curds and brine), and I wondered if it would be too salty- but it's not! The salt levels are perfect (at least they are for me!😉) Thanks for watching!
Love your videos. What temp do you want your cheese cave to be when your havarti is in the ripening box for 1 week? I didn't hear where it was mentioned. Would it be the standard 54 degrees? Also, do I want the same temp. when it's aging 2-3 months? Thank-you so much for your awesome videos!
Yes, you can put caraway in Havarti. Caraway has a pretty strong flavor, So I would start with a small amount first, say 1 tsp per gallon. Use this recipe, but instead of adding dill, mix Caraway seeds in with the curds just before the pressing stages. Heat treat the seeds first, either by toasting them in the oven at 250 °F for 10-15 min, or by adding them to a small amount of boiling water, and allowing the water and seeds to cool. If you use the latter method, you can pour the water and the seeds right on to the curds and mix them in. I love caraway. I think this will be my next make! Thanks for the question, and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
Congrats on another beautiful cheese, Lisa! I've made Havarti twice but never came across a recipe with the two meso cultures. Any suggestions re the ratio for a 2-gallon (up to 10L) batch? :)
Thank you Honey! Mhmm, I researched several recipes before I put this vid together. I ran across a couple of them that used more that one meso, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd drop the mesophilic to 1/8, but I think I would keep the aromatic at 1/8. Its the culture that will create those pretty little eyes. I'd try that before I would drop it to 1/16th. I'd also drop the cal chloride and the rennet to 1/2 tsp each. I thought of you when I put this vid together. If early taste testing is any indication, I don't think this cheese is going to be bitter at all. Here's hoping!!
@@Cheese52 Yay! Tbh, I only looked at a couple of recipes and both used only the aromatic. It would be interesting to see the difference in flavor. Havarti is my favorite aged cheese so I really look forward to making this. Thanks, Lisa!
@@honeybunny958 Time will tell but I am hopeful about this one!Let me know how your Havarti cook goes!Do you plan to sell it in your market or will you keep it for yourself?😉
@@Cheese52 I would rather keep it to myself hahaha but we'll see. I'll be sure to tag you when this is ready. I also made Gouda from your recipe but I haven't posted it yet.
Hi Gail, Great question. There are 2 types of cheese cloth I use: 10 weave for dressing the cheese at pressing, and 90 weave ( tighter mesh) for hanging cheeses. All cheesecloth can be rinsed, washed on the sanitized setting and sterilized in boiling water before reuse. However, I have found that the 10 weave does not stand up too well to repeated washings, so I use new cheese cloth each time. The 90 weave cleans up very well, and I have used mine for over a year now. Hope that helps! I'm so glad you enjoy the channel. Thanks for being here. Lisa
Hi Diana, Sure! It's a 3lb multi purpose mold. This is the one you see in the vid: cheesemaking.com/pages/search-results-page?q=brie+mold&aff=35 The ideal temp range for most cheeses to age is 50-55F. Regular refrigeration temps won't produce the flavor/texture you are after. Here are some options if you're not ready for that big purchase: 1. Search thrift stores. I found my second cave for $25, and it works great. 2. Buy a styrofoam cooler and ice packs. Stick your thermometer through the styrofoam so you can monitor the temp. Change the ice packs daily. 3. Some cellars run about 50-60F. It is not an ideal situation, as the temperature fluctuates and critters may be tempted to feast (mice), even through the vac pack seal. 4. Check the temp of your crisper drawer in your fridge. Sometimes it can vary from the regular fridge. It won't be as warm as 50F, but it might be a couple of degrees warmer than your regular fridge area. Not an ideal situation, but better than regular fridge temp. Hope that helps and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
Cheese52 (and YumYum, of course). New to cheese making here... My initial mesophilic culture purchase (and still the only mesophilic culture in my cupboard) is Flora Danica. Is it okay to simply use Flora Danica for the 1/8 tsp as well as the 1/4 tsp of mesophilic culture for this Havarti cheese? I mean, what the heck is the difference b/w mesophilic cultures?! Are they very much dissimilar?
@Najeeb706 Hi Brian, It is not necessary to use Flora Danica. However, it will provide a lacey texture and buttery flavor/aroma. Culture type plays a major role in in flavor and texture development. Lisa
Hi Ed! Yes, you can wax this cheese. You may want to let it age 4-5 days in a ripening box first, to allow the eye development produced by the flora danica culture, That way it shouldn't split the wax. If any mold develops during the ripening process, just wipe it off with a white vinegar/salt solution before it's waxed. Hope that helps! Lisa
If using raw farm milk do l need any of the cultures? Can this recipe be halved? Just think if l mess up, that is a lot of milk to waste. Hope l can pull it off cause l love Havarti. Thanks.
Hi Sharon, Yes, you still need to add some culture if you if you are using raw milk. I suggest omitting the calcium chloride (you won't need it) and reducing the cultures and rennet by 1/3. Yes this recipe can be halved. Lisa
Hello, I had some cheddar aging at 50 degrees and put the havarti in the same cheese fridge at that same temp. Is that okay and should I leave the Havarti in longer than the 4 weeks? Thanks!
Sure! You can age it at the same temperature as the Cheddar. It may age a little slower than at the reommended 54 degrees, so you could wait a little longer if you like. To be honest, this Havarti develops some pretty nice flavors very early in the aging process. I don't think you can go wrong by opening it at the 4 weeks at 50F. I just finished makinf one myself, and I tasted it before I put it in the cave. It was fantastic before it had even started aging. Good luck and enjoy! Lisa
Hello! When I added the hot water to wash the curds, my curds clumped together and formed large masses. I still moved forward and tried to break them up, but the curds ended up being irregular sizes and and not all uniformly small in size and shape. Do you think this will affect the final product? Thanks again!
This can happen when the hot water is added too quickly. Also, stirring during the hot water addition step can help avoid curds forming a large mass. If this happens, do your best to break up the curds, and keep going. You have nothing to lose at this point. Some of the curds may have formed a case, leaving whey trapped, making the curds harder to shrink. It may not produce an result you were looking for, but it will still be cheese. It should be fine. Fingers crossed for you ! Lisa
How do you store your cultures? I have those foil packs that are rated for 500litres+ of milk but what is the shelf life of these cultures when frozen?
I just pulled my 1st havarti out of the cheese cave after 1 week. Is it normal for it to smell a bit "off" and be a little greasy on top? Theres no mold or signs of spoilage. It just smells a bit pungent. Also, i used raw milk for my recipe and omitted the calcium chloride
Hmmm. Let's tackle each question one at a time. ➡️1. Smell is a bit "off" after one week in the cave. I'm assuming you mean unpleasant when you characterize the smell as off and pungent? There are a variety of reasons your cheese could smell "off." A. Expected smells: ✅️ Mild cheesy smell. If it is mildly "off," it could be the result of the cultures in the cheese doing their thing. A Havarti made with the cultures recommended in this recipe will smell slightly of 'ripening cheese' after a week. This is normal. ✅️ Ammonia smell: This can occur when the cheese has been in a vacuum seal or in a ripening box without exposure to the air for a period of time. If so, removing it from the ripening container and letting it breathe in the open air for a few hours should release the ammonia smell and allow oxygen exchange. ✅️ A tangy smell may be present if there were more good bacteria present during the make. This can happen if raw milk is used with pasteurized milk recipes, like this one. Your raw milk may have a good amount of culture already in it. It's impossible to know how much. Variables include animal type and breed, feed, season, and the land on which the animals graze. More bacteria can cause the cheese to over acidify, which can cause a tangy smell, among other defects. It's not necessarily bad, but it may cause some quality issues, like an over tangy taste or a crumbly texture. B. Unexpected smells: ❌️ Your cheese should not smell musty, rancid, putrid, or sour, and it should not smell like a barnyard. Possible causes include: ⚠️Improper sanitization protocols. Unwanted bacteria can be introduced during the milking procedure or during the cheesemaking process itself. Cheesemaking is different from other home cooking activities, in that it requires a much stricter level of attention to sanitization. My recommendation would be to review your procedures from milk handling to the aging stage. I cover procedures and sanitization methods extensively in my book, Confident Cheesemaking. ⚠️Incorrect temperature control. If the temperature exceeded the recommended amounts for the recommended times during the cheesemaking process, unwanted bacteria may have had an opportunity to grow. The ripening stage in this recipe can be performed at cave temperatures (50-55F or 10-13C). Higher temperatures at this stage can encourage unwanted bacteria growth if it is present. ⚠️ Old culture. Long expired culture may not produce the acidity needed to compete with unwanted bacteria. If you feel good about your sanitization protocols and your temperature regulation, and if you used cultures within two years of the expiration date, and it smells tangy, my money is on excess culture present in the raw milk. You can compensate for this in future cheesemaking sessions by reducing the amount of added culture in pasteurized milk recipes by 25% at a time until you are satisfied with the results. ➡️ 2. Cheese is a little greasy on top. The temperature may be too high during the ripening stage. The fat content in the raw milk may be higher than the recipe intended. Temperature abuse during the cheesemaking session may have prevented the fat from being fully incorporated into the cheese. No worries here. Aging the cheese at cave temperatures should alleviate this. ➡️ 3. Omitting the calcium chloride. You were right to omit the calcium chloride. It is not needed when raw milk is used.This decision has no bearing on the smell or greasiness the cheese is experiencing. Whew! This was a long answer to relatively short questions, but it should give you enough information to make some decisions. All of this information and so much more can be found in my book, available on my website at www.cheese52.com. I hope this helps, and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
As a beginning cheesemaker, I'm enjoying your videos. I've noticed that you don't seem to have trouble putting your pot of milk on direct heat. How do you avoid scorching the milk on the bottom? Do you use a diffuser? Do you have gas or electric? I'm just wondering, especially for three gallons - it takes a while to heat that much milk. Thanks!
Hi Arlyne! I'm so glad you found the channel! I have a gas stove and I use a very low flame to slowly heat the mik. I stir regularly with a top to bottom motion to evenly distribute the heat. I stay close and don't really leave the stove area. I've never scorched a pot of milk. Some cheesemakers use a double boiler system. Hope that helps! Lisa 👩🍳🧀
@@Cheese52 Aha! Thanks so much! I usually don't use AC but I will for this. Your videos are wonderful, thank you for making them! And Yumyum is an excellent director. :)
Hi ! I use spring or purified water from the grocery, but I think any of those listed will be fine. You could also boil tap water for about 5 minutes, allow it to cool completely, then use it in the recipes. Lisa👩🍳
Hi Lisa, Would you perhaps happen to know the reason the Havarti first needs to sit in water overnight before going into the brine? Thank you in advance. Hi to YumYum 💛😸
Different cultures produce unique flavorsand aromas. I enjoy the flavor and aroma that Flora Danica imparts to the cheese. It is a gas producing culture, so it will also produce small holes, making a lacey-like texture. Hope that helps!
@@WhoisMichelleCollie Next time for sure! You can also order it straight from New England Cheese: cheesemaking.com/products/flora-danica-starter-culture-for-cheese-making?aff=35 Happy cheesemaking!
Not at all. It's a great question. When choosing to age a cheese for any length of time, there are two factors that mist be considered: humidity and temperature. If the cheese was being aged naturally, the humidity of its environment should be 80-85%. Since I chose to vacuum seal the cheese, humidity is not a concern. This cheese needs to age in a cooler temperature than that of room temperature, in this case, between 50 and 55 F. A wine cooler naturally holds in that range so it is the perfect tool for the job. Hope that helps and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
@@TheDrakanMaster124 Well, vacuum sealing is easier to do, and you can see if there is anything going on with the cheese, but they are both synthetic sealing techniques, so humidity isn't a factor for either one of them.
I don’t have any dill here in Bangladesh and I haven’t seen any in the market. Would you do anything differently if you didn’t add the dill? Or just make the cheese without it?
Cheese52 oh! Thank you for the reply! I really like havarti, and I have these cultures, so I think that will be my next one after farmhouse cheddar. I just got my cheese press two weeks ago, I’ve been giddily making cheeses I couldn’t make before. My previous attempts at balancing things on other things for pressing were spectacularly unsuccessful unless your measure of success is how many items you can break while pressing cheese. I now have a parmesan dubiously aging, a Caerphilly that smells good so far, and a mystery cheese that was supposed to be the farmhouse cheddar, but apparently self inoculated with some good tasting bacteria whilst cooling from pasteurization. It was already coagulated, so I just went with it and heated the curd, then drained and pressed it. I guess we’ll see if if it’s edible then. Anyway, all that long rabbit trail to say that I’ve been binge watching cheese making videos to get prepared for all the semi-hard to hard cheeses I want too make! And thanks to this video, havarti is now on the list!
Quick question... the cheese taste salty? cause the double salt addition, one in the cooking one with the brine. I got that most of the salt of the cooking goes away with the whey, but who knows! 🤷🏻♂️
I thought the same thing at first. Believe it or not, this cheese is not too salty at all. In fact, I'd call it perfectly salted. The first salting contributes not only to taste, but to the reduction of whey in the curds. So it's an interesting step, for sure. I have tried several Havarti recipes, and this one produces the best result for me.
Cheese52 thanks I’ll try it in a few days... today was too hurry to try, so make Gouda! Hug, from Chile. 🧀 my cat is named “Diri”, and don’t like and is not interested into cheese at all tho ! 😹
Instead of submerging the cheese to 18C water, can I put it in container as long as the temperature is 18C? The temperature here is always 32-38C, so to keep it in the water that always calls for attention, can I put it in without water?
I thought I saw a comment from you earlier today regarding a sponge- like texture. It is hard to know for sure what the underlying issue is, especially without pictures, but THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS, so I am going to reply to it here. 1/ The use of florica danica culture will produce tiny holes over time, but not immediately. If you are at the soaking stage, as I understand with this question, the culture is not responsible for the holes. THERE ARE TWO SERIOUS CONCERNS: 2/ Yeast contamination can make the cheese look like a sponge. Have you baked bread in the last 24 hours? If so, it is possible the yeast is the culprit.I don't recommend that the cheese is consumed. Other cheesemakers may disagree with this, but I don't recommend consumption because it is very difficult to discern yeast contamination from coliform contamination. 3/ THIS IS THE MAJOR CONCERN- The cheese may be a victim of early-blowing- coliform bacteria contamination. These pathogens can infect milk when sanitary conditions get compromised during milking or milk processing. You don’t want to risk getting sick, so I recommend that this cheese is thrown away. If raw milk was used, the bacteria may have entered at the dairy/milking stage or in the kitchen at the the cheesemaking stage. If store purchased milk was used, it was likely contaminated during the cooking stage. So sorry this happened. My recommendation is to throw out the cheese, do a little sleuthing on your end to determine the cause, make some corrections and try again. Cheesemaking can be frustrating, especially if something like this happens, but it is part of the process of learning to make amazing cheese. Don't give up! Best, Lisa
Hello, when in my ripening box, my cheese is developing a pinkish coloring in certain areas. Is this bad, and is there any way I can remove it without wasting the cheese? Thank you!
Hello! Yep, pink mold is an undesirable mold and can be caused by too much moisture/humidity in the ripening box. I suggest that the cheese is removed from the box and wiped down with a white vinegar and heavy brine solution (50/50). Wipe or lightly scrub until all of the mold is gone. If it is stuck in a crack or crevice you may need to cut it away. Dry the cheese at room temperature for about a day and check for mold again. Assuming the mold is gone, it is time to vac seal the cheese. Watch it closely in the cave. When you take it out of the cave inspect it for the pink mold. Cut out up to an inch around the mold spot and discard. The good news is that this cheese tastes great even at a very young age, so if you decide to consume it sooner than expected, it will have a good flavor. Hope you can save it. Good luck! Lisa
@@RamirezVB Sad, but hopefully some of the cheese is salvageable. Every home, every environment has different molds, floras, humidity ranges, etc. It's part of what makes our cheeses unique! Here are some suggestions to reduce the chances of this happening the next time you make it: 1/ Dry the cheese out a little before the ripening box stage. 2/ Crack the lid open more on the box. 3/ Wipe the moisture out of the box 2x daily 4/ Reduce the amount of time spent in the box. 5/ At the very first sign of pink mold, pull it out of the box, wipe it off, dry the cheese and vac seal it. This is my family's very favorite cheese at the moment, (in fact I have one drying right now!) and I hope it will become one of your family's favorites too. Good luck and enjoy!
Hi again, I forgot to ask, You use 2 differnt cultures. I only have the Flora Danica, so shall I use the double up of the Flora Danica. I made Havarti from anothe youtuber, but it is a little dry and he does not use the water bath, as you so that is properly the issue Thank you for your nice answers,. By the way, I am from Denmark , a cheese loving country like Holland ❤
Hi Marianne, my Danish cheese friend! Yes, the water bath is an important step to develop the flexible texture. Regarding your question about Flora Danica, yes you can double up, or you can use any mesothermic culture in place of the buttermilk culture. Happy cheesemaking, Lisa
It's your cow! You can do whatever you want! I use pasteurized milk because it is more available, and I like to support my local farmer. If you do choose to use raw, the general recommendations are to be fastidious about sanitization at the collection point and to age cheese for at least 60 days to reduce the chance of food borne illness. Happy cheesemaking!
That's nice that you go and visit your brother. My brother and sister never once came to visit me. I'm afraid of you. you could kick my butt.lol your a blackbelt very cool. I'm not a fighter though.
I like cheese, but I am lactose intolerant. This looks like it would be good on a sandwich for my kids. Could I just put the dill on the bread? Or will I knead a good dill dough?
Hi Keyser! When ever I hear that someone is lactose intolerant, I am a little sad :) Sorry to hear it. In case you can use this information, here are 5 cheeses that clock in with the lowest lactose ranges. They are, in order: Muenster: 0-1.1% lactose range Camembert: 0-1.8% lactose range Brie: 0-2% lactose range Cheddar (mild and sharp varieties): 0-2.1% lactose range Provolone: 0-2.1% lactose range Regarding the sandwiches for your kids- Dill Havarti is great on a grilled cheese sandwich, and the dill flavor really comes through nicely, so I don't think you would need to use a dill bread. I would suggest it with a nice sour dough bread and a pickle spear on the side. In fact, it sounds so good I just might make one for myself for lunch. Thanks so much for watching! Lisa
Pressed and aged cheeses generally have negligible amounts if lactose. The culture changes the lactose to lactic acid. If you check the nutrition label on commercial cheeses like cheddar, it has about 0.5g of carbohydrate (ie lactose) per 100g of cheese. This amount is very unlikely to cause intestinal upset
@@Cheese52 I can definitely see that. I once made Ina Garten's cheddar dill scones recipe, and this cheese brought back that memory. Great scones. You should make them if you haven't already done something similar.
@@Cheese52 oh my! You replied! At last, a cheesemaker replied my question! I ve been making cheese and yet so many questions left unanswered. I read that sometimes a cheesemaker put lipase in their milk. Why? What taste will it make? Will the cheese taste better?
@@sheyalovely9504 I'm happy to answer your questions! Lipase is an enzyme that produces a stronger, "tangy like" flavor. Some cheese makers prefer the flavor so they use it to boost flavor, especially if using cow's milk for Feta. It is used in small amounts because it packs a big flavor punch. Hope that helps!
@@Cheese52 Great! The question is, where to get pasteurised non-homogenised milk here in Citrusdal. We farm citrus, wheat, sheep and beef cattle... No milk... And the supermarket is EXPENSIVE.
I’ve never heard a recipe call for non chlorinated water… is my normal bottled water that I drink chlorinated?? Or are you just telling me not to scoop the water from my pool?
Hmm. Most cheesemaking recipes recommend non-chlorinated water, because chlorine kills bacteria, and that is what is needed to make cheese. Most bottled water does not contain chlorine. Your tap water might, but you can boil it so the chlorine dissipates. Hope that helps! Lisa
Hello Cheese52! I hope this message finds you well. I am a producer at INSIDER and I recently found this amazing video and we would love to feature it in one of our videos about cheese around the world! For a little knowledge about us, INSIDER is a part of Business Insider, focused on food, travel and art. Most of our video traffic comes from our Facebook pages, where we have over 30 million followers. Our popular videos have helped out countless small businesses and bloggers. All of your footage will be credited with your Facebook, Instagram or UA-cam page. Please let me know if this is okay with you! You can also email me at agulab@businessinsider.com
Hello Aliza! Thanks so much for reaching out, and I'm glad you enjoy the video! I am honored --I'd love for the work to be featured in an INSIDER video. Super cool! Look for an email from me. Thanks again! Lisa
Hello my havarti came out. Ok. It is lacking a lot of salt. Is there a way to add salt, maybe through brining? I already cut the whole wheel in half. Thanks for any help!
Great! Glad it turned out! I'm not sure if brining after aging would work- try a small wedge to see. Next time you make it you could increase the brine percentage to match your preference. part of the fun is in the process! Enjoy!
New Book Available! amzn.to/3vlpWyr (affiliate link- we make a commission if you purchase)
@@Cheese52 Hi Lisa. Thank you for your reply to my earlier question. I would love to purchase your book, however, when I tried the link it says it isnt available in my area. I live out of country. Do you have a Kindle version available? I would definitely love to own it.
@@justiceforall5004 Unfortunately no. The kindle format is problematic because the book contains so many charts and infographics. We were unable to format the book for consistent quality on all devices. In which country do you live? Another KDP marketplace may carry it.
Lisa
I may have just discovered a new craft to explore. Well done!
Awesome! Welcome to the channel, cheese friend!
I am an intermediate level cheesemaker and I found this recipe and instruction the best I found after quite a bit of searching and viewing videos. Great job! Now I'm going to see what other useful videos you have.
Hi Mike!
Thanks, and welcome to the channel! I am glad you found the video helpful. Many cheesemakers have told me this now is their go-to vid for Havarti. It really is a great process, and pretty easy to follow. Have fun exploring, and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
The cheese looks really good. I love how you showed that you are a martial artist instructor in this video. 🤗
Thank you! The day gets busy and sometimes I just don't have the time to change back into regular clothes before I video the next step! There are days I feel like Princess Amadalla 😉
2nd havarti with fenugreek yum. I know it will be good without it but can u imagine this cheese having a sweet maple taste??? yes ma'am! IMHO Lisa's recipes are foolproof if you follow her directions. She is concise and accurate in her recipes. I will ask for her book for Christmas!
Awwww, thank you for your confidence in my work!
I've not sure I've ever been on someone's Christmas list! 😀 I am honored.
Lisa
You are a black belt in cheese making! :) That looks so delicious!!
😉Thanks!
Wow, that is pretty incredible! This looks like a lot of work, but the cheese looks beautiful! 😋
Thank you so much! The result is worth it. The taste is fantastic 😀
Thanks for watching!
I made this a couple of weeks ago, and today was the day to place it in a vacuum-sealed package. Well, you know how you cheated a little saying that half was for your brother? LOL I pretended I was going to do that, but my brother and I share a home. So yes you have to taste it! OH MY WORD!! Did I make that? YES I DID!!! Lisa this cheese is soooooooooo good without the dill. I have never seen it with dill before and Havarti is one of our favorites. It's only a 2 lb cheese cause I have not gotten a bigger pot yet or a larger cheese mold. But I am going to be making lots of 2 pounders! Any of your cheese recipes I have made have always come out great!
Hi Lori!
Thank you so much for reporting your success. I am glad you find value in the recipes on the channel.
I hope you and your brother enjoy your Havarti together!
Thank you for your confidence in my work!
Lisa
I really love your added knowledge & tips. The reasons & methods of cheese making.... Total TKS
Hi Richard,
Thank you! I try to add helpful tips along the way in every video. Thanks for watching! Lisa
I do LOVE Yum-yum. We have a peanut butter here in South Africa called Yum-Yum.
She's the star of the show for sure! I didn't know there was a brand of peanut butter called YumYum! Today I learned 😀
Good morning!!! You are just reading my mind. Havarti is one of my favorites. I have never made it by myself as I didn't find any reasonably doable recipe. Now I can try it. You are a fountain of knowledge, inspiration and patience. Thank you very much for another great recipe. You are really changing the shape and quality of cheesemaking online. Huge respect and best wishes to you and your growing channel. Should I have any questions, I know where to find you and YumYum:-)
Hello, my kitchen friends! I am so glad you love Havarti! I do too, its such a mild and melty cheese. I blushed a little at that compliment, my goodness. thank you. YumYum and I are honored. High paw from YumYum!
CHEESE ISNT THAT EXPENSIVE AFTER ALL! THATS A LOT OF WORK!!
LOVE YUMYUM😸
THANK YOU
Thanks so much! Believe me, it's worth the time. High paw from YumYum!
One of my favorites! Can’t wait to try.
Mine too. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I know where this ilk came from!! Buhl, Idaho. I grew up on this Dairy’s milk.
We love our Havarti Cheese here in Denmark. Good job, it looks delicious.
Hello from the USA! I fell in love with Havarti many years ago at a specialty import cheese shop at the Kensington Market in Toronto, ON. It was then that I learned that the Danes really know their cheese. This is one of my top all time favorites, for sure. I'm so glad you stopped by!
Lovly video, what does the water bath do, before you put it into the brine
Hi Marianne,
Thank you! The curds absorb so.e of the water, making the texture smooth and flexible. During this time, yhe pH drops to about 5.2, which also contributes to the texture.
Lisa
I love your recipes and your beautiful cat
Thank you!
Hello. Love this video, the cheese looks delicious. I am wondering about how in several of the videos you talk about the humidity. I see what looks like a high low thermometer item that you use. What do you do if the humidity falls outside of the range that you are targeting?
The item you see is a hygrometer, which measures the humidity. Mine broke a while back so I've been estimating the humidity. If it dips below the desired range, add more wet sponges, or even a dish of a salt slurry. Close the vent in the pie lid, and close the container completely. If it goes over the desired humidity, open the vent more, take out the sponges, crack the lid. Checking the humidity , and responding to the changes on a daily basis definitely helps to keep the humidity in the desired range. Hope that helps!
So glad you enjoyed the video. Happy cheesemaking! Lisa
That looks divine ! 👌 I am LITERALLY wiping drool from my lip. 🤤 Your cheese skills inspire me ❤🤗
Thank you so much! I'm pretty excited about this one. It was tasty after a week. I can't wait to try it when it's been aged a month or two!!!
@@Cheese52 We can't wait either 😉 You should have a little cheese boutique, Caleb would be in heaven 🧀
I think you'll love this one. I don't plan to ever sell my cheese. I just want to give it to family and friends💛 I assume you are in line for this one?😉
@@Cheese52 we are in line to enjoy whatever cheese you are sharing 🤗 we love them all. Fantastic Work !
Awesome channel! If I were to use cumin instead of dill, could I use the power form and how much would you recommend? Will be doing a same 3 gal batch too. Thank you!
Hello and thank you! Cumin is very powerful, so I suggest a light touch the first time. Try 1/2 tsp per gallon first, see how the distribution looks in the curds, and add more if you think you need it. Welcome to the channel! Lisa
Awesome video❤
Thanks, Peggy!
Looks wonderful
💛My greatest fan💛 Thank you!!!
Wow loks really good !
Thanks!🙏
Looks amazing!!
Oh Thank you, Bridget!
Are you adding salt to the curds and whey to slow down acid production? Nice video. Thanks. 🤠
Thank you! The hot water washed curd process slows down the acidification, and the addition of the salt accomplishes 2 things- it helps to shrink the curds by pulling out whey and it flavors the cheese. I've seen some Havarti recipes that only add salt to the cooking curds. I salted this cheese in 2 steps (cooking curds and brine), and I wondered if it would be too salty- but it's not! The salt levels are perfect (at least they are for me!😉) Thanks for watching!
Nd I thought Havarti would be easy to make...but hands down this is my fav. Cheese...
Love your videos. What temp do you want your cheese cave to be when your havarti is in the ripening box for 1 week? I didn't hear where it was mentioned. Would it be the standard 54 degrees? Also, do I want the same temp. when it's aging 2-3 months? Thank-you so much for your awesome videos!
Hi Rachel,
Yes, 54 F for both the 1 week box ripening and the 2-3 months aging time. So glad you enjoy the channel! Lisa
Havarti with Caraway Seed is my favorite cheese. I used to be able to buy it, but it is no longer available in this area. Do you have a recipe for it?
Yes, you can put caraway in Havarti.
Caraway has a pretty strong flavor, So I would start with a small amount first, say 1 tsp per gallon. Use this recipe, but instead of adding dill, mix Caraway seeds in with the curds just before the pressing stages. Heat treat the seeds first, either by toasting them in the oven at 250 °F for 10-15 min, or by adding them to a small amount of boiling water, and allowing the water and seeds to cool. If you use the latter method, you can pour the water and the seeds right on to the curds and mix them in.
I love caraway. I think this will be my next make!
Thanks for the question, and happy cheesemaking!
Lisa
Congrats on another beautiful cheese, Lisa! I've made Havarti twice but never came across a recipe with the two meso cultures. Any suggestions re the ratio for a 2-gallon (up to 10L) batch? :)
Thank you Honey! Mhmm, I researched several recipes before I put this vid together. I ran across a couple of them that used more that one meso, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd drop the mesophilic to 1/8, but I think I would keep the aromatic at 1/8. Its the culture that will create those pretty little eyes. I'd try that before I would drop it to 1/16th. I'd also drop the cal chloride and the rennet to 1/2 tsp each. I thought of you when I put this vid together. If early taste testing is any indication, I don't think this cheese is going to be bitter at all. Here's hoping!!
@@Cheese52 Yay! Tbh, I only looked at a couple of recipes and both used only the aromatic. It would be interesting to see the difference in flavor. Havarti is my favorite aged cheese so I really look forward to making this. Thanks, Lisa!
@@honeybunny958 Time will tell but I am hopeful about this one!Let me know how your Havarti cook goes!Do you plan to sell it in your market or will you keep it for yourself?😉
@@Cheese52 I would rather keep it to myself hahaha but we'll see. I'll be sure to tag you when this is ready. I also made Gouda from your recipe but I haven't posted it yet.
@@honeybunny958 Oh awesome! Hope it turned out well for you!
Do you or can you reuse the cheesecloth after washing and sanitizing or do you use new each time? Thanks! I love watching your videos - well done!
Hi Gail,
Great question. There are 2 types of cheese cloth I use: 10 weave for dressing the cheese at pressing, and 90 weave ( tighter mesh) for hanging cheeses. All cheesecloth can be rinsed, washed on the sanitized setting and sterilized in boiling water before reuse. However, I have found that the 10 weave does not stand up too well to repeated washings, so I use new cheese cloth each time. The 90 weave cleans up very well, and I have used mine for over a year now. Hope that helps! I'm so glad you enjoy the channel. Thanks for being here. Lisa
رائع جدا أرجو الترجمة للعربي وشكرا
May I ask what size cheese mold you used for this cheese? Also I can not afford to buy a special cheese cave may I use my refrigerator?
Hi Diana, Sure! It's a 3lb multi purpose mold. This is the one you see in the vid: cheesemaking.com/pages/search-results-page?q=brie+mold&aff=35
The ideal temp range for most cheeses to age is 50-55F. Regular refrigeration temps won't produce the flavor/texture you are after. Here are some options if you're not ready for that big purchase:
1. Search thrift stores. I found my second cave for $25, and it works great.
2. Buy a styrofoam cooler and ice packs. Stick your thermometer through the styrofoam so you can monitor the temp. Change the ice packs daily.
3. Some cellars run about 50-60F. It is not an ideal situation, as the temperature fluctuates and critters may be tempted to feast (mice), even through the vac pack seal.
4. Check the temp of your crisper drawer in your fridge. Sometimes it can vary from the regular fridge. It won't be as warm as 50F, but it might be a couple of degrees warmer than your regular fridge area. Not an ideal situation, but better than regular fridge temp. Hope that helps and happy cheesemaking! Lisa
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my questions. Thanks for the great idea for the cheese cave too!:)
@@dianacoburn8269 My pleasure. Happy cheesemaking!
,, again fabulous
Thank you!!
Cheese52 (and YumYum, of course). New to cheese making here... My initial mesophilic culture purchase (and still the only mesophilic culture in my cupboard) is Flora Danica. Is it okay to simply use Flora Danica for the 1/8 tsp as well as the 1/4 tsp of mesophilic culture for this Havarti cheese? I mean, what the heck is the difference b/w mesophilic cultures?! Are they very much dissimilar?
Is it necessary to use the Aroma Danica or can that be omitted?
@Najeeb706 Hi Brian,
It is not necessary to use Flora Danica. However, it will provide a lacey texture and buttery flavor/aroma.
Culture type plays a major role in in flavor and texture development.
Lisa
Hi, Q this cheese can be waxed or just as good vacuum pack, thank you. Ed
Hi Ed!
Yes, you can wax this cheese. You may want to let it age 4-5 days in a ripening box first, to allow the eye development produced by the flora danica culture,
That way it shouldn't split the wax. If any mold develops during the ripening process, just wipe it off with a white vinegar/salt solution before it's waxed. Hope that helps! Lisa
If using raw farm milk do l need any of the cultures? Can this recipe be halved? Just think if l mess up, that is a lot of milk to waste. Hope l can pull it off cause l love Havarti. Thanks.
Hi Sharon,
Yes, you still need to add some culture if you if you are using raw milk. I suggest omitting the calcium chloride (you won't need it) and reducing the cultures and rennet by 1/3.
Yes this recipe can be halved. Lisa
Hello, I had some cheddar aging at 50 degrees and put the havarti in the same cheese fridge at that same temp. Is that okay and should I leave the Havarti in longer than the 4 weeks? Thanks!
Sure! You can age it at the same temperature as the Cheddar. It may age a little slower than at the reommended 54 degrees, so you could wait a little longer if you like. To be honest, this Havarti develops some pretty nice flavors very early in the aging process. I don't think you can go wrong by opening it at the 4 weeks at 50F. I just finished makinf one myself, and I tasted it before I put it in the cave. It was fantastic before it had even started aging. Good luck and enjoy! Lisa
Cheese52 oh that is good to hear. Thank you!
Is the Calcium Chloride necessary if you're using farm fresh milk? Thank you.
Nope! Not necessary for raw milk.
I'm curious about the brand of milk you're using...can you refill the bottles? or do you just have a bunch of old milk bottles around?
I use Cloverleaf Creamery, a wonderful local dairy. They have a return system. I return the empty bottles for deposit when I buy more milk :)
Hello! When I added the hot water to wash the curds, my curds clumped together and formed large masses. I still moved forward and tried to break them up, but the curds ended up being irregular sizes and and not all uniformly small in size and shape. Do you think this will affect the final product? Thanks again!
This can happen when the hot water is added too quickly. Also, stirring during the hot water addition step can help avoid curds forming a large mass. If this happens, do your best to break up the curds, and keep going. You have nothing to lose at this point. Some of the curds may have formed a case, leaving whey trapped, making the curds harder to shrink. It may not produce an result you were looking for, but it will still be cheese. It should be fine. Fingers crossed for you ! Lisa
How do you store your cultures? I have those foil packs that are rated for 500litres+ of milk but what is the shelf life of these cultures when frozen?
I store cultures in the freezer, in a ziploc bag. If they are in an airtight container and stay frozen, they should easily last a couple of years.
I just pulled my 1st havarti out of the cheese cave after 1 week. Is it normal for it to smell a bit "off" and be a little greasy on top? Theres no mold or signs of spoilage. It just smells a bit pungent. Also, i used raw milk for my recipe and omitted the calcium chloride
Hmmm. Let's tackle each question one at a time.
➡️1. Smell is a bit "off" after one week in the cave.
I'm assuming you mean unpleasant when you characterize the smell as off and pungent?
There are a variety of reasons your cheese could smell "off."
A. Expected smells:
✅️ Mild cheesy smell. If it is mildly "off," it could be the result of the cultures in the cheese doing their thing. A Havarti made with the cultures recommended in this recipe will smell slightly of 'ripening cheese' after a week. This is normal.
✅️ Ammonia smell: This can occur when the cheese has been in a vacuum seal or in a ripening box without exposure to the air for a period of time. If so, removing it from the ripening container and letting it breathe in the open air for a few hours should release the ammonia smell and allow oxygen exchange.
✅️ A tangy smell may be present if there were more good bacteria present during the make. This can happen if raw milk is used with pasteurized milk recipes, like this one. Your raw milk may have a good amount of culture already in it. It's impossible to know how much. Variables include animal type and breed, feed, season, and the land on which the animals graze. More bacteria can cause the cheese to over acidify, which can cause a tangy smell, among other defects. It's not necessarily bad, but it may cause some quality issues, like an over tangy taste or a crumbly texture.
B. Unexpected smells:
❌️ Your cheese should not smell musty, rancid, putrid, or sour, and it should not smell like a barnyard.
Possible causes include:
⚠️Improper sanitization protocols. Unwanted bacteria can be introduced during the milking procedure or during the cheesemaking process itself. Cheesemaking is different from other home cooking activities, in that it requires a much stricter level of attention to sanitization. My recommendation would be to review your procedures from milk handling to the aging stage. I cover procedures and sanitization methods extensively in my book, Confident Cheesemaking.
⚠️Incorrect temperature control.
If the temperature exceeded the recommended amounts for the recommended times during the cheesemaking process, unwanted bacteria may have had an opportunity to grow.
The ripening stage in this recipe can be performed at cave temperatures (50-55F or 10-13C). Higher temperatures at this stage can encourage unwanted bacteria growth if it is present.
⚠️ Old culture.
Long expired culture may not produce the acidity needed to compete with unwanted bacteria.
If you feel good about your sanitization protocols and your temperature regulation, and if you used cultures within two years of the expiration date, and it smells tangy, my money is on excess culture present in the raw milk. You can compensate for this in future cheesemaking sessions by reducing the amount of added culture in pasteurized milk recipes by 25% at a time until you are satisfied with the results.
➡️ 2. Cheese is a little greasy on top.
The temperature may be too high during the ripening stage. The fat content in the raw milk may be higher than the recipe intended. Temperature abuse during the cheesemaking session may have prevented the fat from being fully incorporated into the cheese.
No worries here. Aging the cheese at cave temperatures should alleviate this.
➡️ 3. Omitting the calcium chloride.
You were right to omit the calcium chloride. It is not needed when raw milk is used.This decision has no bearing on the smell or greasiness the cheese is experiencing.
Whew! This was a long answer to relatively short questions, but it should give you enough information to make some decisions.
All of this information and so much more can be found in my book, available on my website at www.cheese52.com.
I hope this helps, and happy cheesemaking!
Lisa
As a beginning cheesemaker, I'm enjoying your videos. I've noticed that you don't seem to have trouble putting your pot of milk on direct heat. How do you avoid scorching the milk on the bottom? Do you use a diffuser? Do you have gas or electric? I'm just wondering, especially for three gallons - it takes a while to heat that much milk. Thanks!
Hi Arlyne! I'm so glad you found the channel! I have a gas stove and I use a very low flame to slowly heat the mik. I stir regularly with a top to bottom motion to evenly distribute the heat. I stay close and don't really leave the stove area. I've never scorched a pot of milk. Some cheesemakers use a double boiler system. Hope that helps! Lisa 👩🍳🧀
I also use a gas stove on low and never burt any milk yet?
how do you keep the water at 65 degrees overnight? do you stay up all night or replace the water every 2 hours? Not sure how to follow that step.
I drop my house temperature to about 65 overnight, so that's an easy one for me. I think you could go up to about 70 F and be ok.
@@Cheese52 Aha! Thanks so much! I usually don't use AC but I will for this. Your videos are wonderful, thank you for making them! And Yumyum is an excellent director. :)
Hello what kind of non chlorinated water do you use? Spring water, purified, distilled? Thank you!
Hi ! I use spring or purified water from the grocery, but I think any of those listed will be fine. You could also boil tap water for about 5 minutes, allow it to cool completely, then use it in the recipes. Lisa👩🍳
Cheese52 thank you!
Hi Lisa, Would you perhaps happen to know the reason the Havarti first needs to sit in water overnight before going into the brine? Thank you in advance. Hi to YumYum 💛😸
Hi Martine,
Sure! The water bath drops the ph to 5.2, the perfect level for Havarti. YumYum says Hi back!🐾🐈
@@Cheese52 thanks so much Lisa. It makes sense. Cheese has everything to do with ph. Why-ever did I not think of that 🙄. 😻
Thank you
My pleasure 🙏
I see the new england cheese recipe with no flora danica, whats the difference in using it and not using it.
Different cultures produce unique flavorsand aromas. I enjoy the flavor and aroma that Flora Danica imparts to the cheese. It is a gas producing culture, so it will also produce small holes, making a lacey-like texture. Hope that helps!
@@Cheese52 yes ty, bummer didn't order it with my amazon order. next time I will try it.
@@WhoisMichelleCollie Next time for sure! You can also order it straight from New England Cheese: cheesemaking.com/products/flora-danica-starter-culture-for-cheese-making?aff=35 Happy cheesemaking!
This might be a noob question but how do you do the 3 month aging.
Thanks in advance
Not at all. It's a great question.
When choosing to age a cheese for any length of time, there are two factors that mist be considered: humidity and temperature. If the cheese was being aged naturally, the humidity of its environment should be 80-85%. Since I chose to vacuum seal the cheese, humidity is not a concern. This cheese needs to age in a cooler temperature than that of room temperature, in this case, between 50 and 55 F. A wine cooler naturally holds in that range so it is the perfect tool for the job. Hope that helps and happy cheesemaking!
Lisa
@@Cheese52thanks!!
Another thing is there a difference between using cheese wax and vacuum sealing?
@@TheDrakanMaster124 Well, vacuum sealing is easier to do, and you can see if there is anything going on with the cheese, but they are both synthetic sealing techniques, so humidity isn't a factor for either one of them.
@@Cheese52 thanks
@@TheDrakanMaster124 My pleasure 🙏
Svp explications en Français merci et Bravo
If you use whole unpasteurized milk should you seperate cream? Also do you need to use calcium chloride
You don't have to separate the cream, and you don't need calcium chloride if you are using unpasteurized milk.
Hello, thanks.
Hello and welcome!
I don’t have any dill here in Bangladesh and I haven’t seen any in the market. Would you do anything differently if you didn’t add the dill? Or just make the cheese without it?
You can omit the dill and you will be rewarded with a lovely regular Havarti 😀 I enjoy it with or without the dill. 😀
Cheese52 oh! Thank you for the reply! I really like havarti, and I have these cultures, so I think that will be my next one after farmhouse cheddar. I just got my cheese press two weeks ago, I’ve been giddily making cheeses I couldn’t make before. My previous attempts at balancing things on other things for pressing were spectacularly unsuccessful unless your measure of success is how many items you can break while pressing cheese. I now have a parmesan dubiously aging, a Caerphilly that smells good so far, and a mystery cheese that was supposed to be the farmhouse cheddar, but apparently self inoculated with some good tasting bacteria whilst cooling from pasteurization. It was already coagulated, so I just went with it and heated the curd, then drained and pressed it. I guess we’ll see if if it’s edible then. Anyway, all that long rabbit trail to say that I’ve been binge watching cheese making videos to get prepared for all the semi-hard to hard cheeses I want too make! And thanks to this video, havarti is now on the list!
Quick question... the cheese taste salty? cause the double salt addition, one in the cooking one with the brine. I got that most of the salt of the cooking goes away with the whey, but who knows! 🤷🏻♂️
I thought the same thing at first. Believe it or not, this cheese is not too salty at all. In fact, I'd call it perfectly salted. The first salting contributes not only to taste, but to the reduction of whey in the curds. So it's an interesting step, for sure. I have tried several Havarti recipes, and this one produces the best result for me.
Cheese52 thanks I’ll try it in a few days... today was too hurry to try, so make Gouda! Hug, from Chile. 🧀 my cat is named “Diri”, and don’t like and is not interested into cheese at all tho ! 😹
Instead of submerging the cheese to 18C water, can I put it in container as long as the temperature is 18C? The temperature here is always 32-38C, so to keep it in the water that always calls for attention, can I put it in without water?
I recommend that the recipe is followed. Submerging it in water helps bring the cheese to 5.2 PH.
I thought I saw a comment from you earlier today regarding a sponge- like texture. It is hard to know for sure what the underlying issue is, especially without pictures, but THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS, so I am going to reply to it here.
1/ The use of florica danica culture will produce tiny holes over time, but not immediately. If you are at the soaking stage, as I understand with this question, the culture is not responsible for the holes.
THERE ARE TWO SERIOUS CONCERNS:
2/ Yeast contamination can make the cheese look like a sponge. Have you baked bread in the last 24 hours? If so, it is possible the yeast is the culprit.I don't recommend that the cheese is consumed. Other cheesemakers may disagree with this, but I don't recommend consumption because it is very difficult to discern yeast contamination from coliform contamination.
3/ THIS IS THE MAJOR CONCERN- The cheese may be a victim of early-blowing- coliform bacteria contamination. These pathogens can infect milk when sanitary conditions get compromised during milking or milk processing. You don’t want to risk getting sick, so I recommend that this cheese is thrown away. If raw milk was used, the bacteria may have entered at the dairy/milking stage or in the kitchen at the the cheesemaking stage. If store purchased milk was used, it was likely contaminated during the cooking stage.
So sorry this happened. My recommendation is to throw out the cheese, do a little sleuthing on your end to determine the cause, make some corrections and try again. Cheesemaking can be frustrating, especially if something like this happens, but it is part of the process of learning to make amazing cheese.
Don't give up! Best, Lisa
@@Cheese52 yes, it was my previous question. Where can I send my picture to you? Email, maybe? I followed other recipe and ends up with that. 😓
@@sheyalovely9504 Hmm. I don't think it is a recipe issue. You can send a pic to lisa@cheese52com.
@@Cheese52 I have sent it to your email. 😊
Hello, when in my ripening box, my cheese is developing a pinkish coloring in certain areas. Is this bad, and is there any way I can remove it without wasting the cheese? Thank you!
Hello! Yep, pink mold is an undesirable mold and can be caused by too much moisture/humidity in the ripening box. I suggest that the cheese is removed from the box and wiped down with a white vinegar and heavy brine solution (50/50). Wipe or lightly scrub until all of the mold is gone. If it is stuck in a crack or crevice you may need to cut it away. Dry the cheese at room temperature for about a day and check for mold again. Assuming the mold is gone, it is time to vac seal the cheese. Watch it closely in the cave. When you take it out of the cave inspect it for the pink mold. Cut out up to an inch around the mold spot and discard. The good news is that this cheese tastes great even at a very young age, so if you decide to consume it sooner than expected, it will have a good flavor. Hope you can save it. Good luck! Lisa
Cheese52 thank you so much! This is exactly what is happening. The mold is in different areas so I’d be cutting a lot away.
@@RamirezVB Sad, but hopefully some of the cheese is salvageable.
Every home, every environment has different molds, floras, humidity ranges, etc. It's part of what makes our cheeses unique! Here are some suggestions to reduce the chances of this happening the next time you make it:
1/ Dry the cheese out a little before the ripening box stage.
2/ Crack the lid open more on the box.
3/ Wipe the moisture out of the box 2x daily
4/ Reduce the amount of time spent in the box.
5/ At the very first sign of pink mold, pull it out of the box, wipe it off, dry the cheese and vac seal it.
This is my family's very favorite cheese at the moment, (in fact I have one drying right now!) and I hope it will become one of your family's favorites too. Good luck and enjoy!
Cheese52 thanks again! I appreciate your quick responses and all of the information.
Hi again, I forgot to ask, You use 2 differnt cultures. I only have the Flora Danica, so shall I use the double up of the Flora Danica. I made Havarti from anothe youtuber, but it is a little dry and he does not use the water bath, as you so that is properly the issue Thank you for your nice answers,. By the way, I am from Denmark , a cheese loving country like Holland ❤
Hi Marianne, my Danish cheese friend!
Yes, the water bath is an important step to develop the flexible texture.
Regarding your question about Flora Danica, yes you can double up, or you can use any mesothermic culture in place of the buttermilk culture.
Happy cheesemaking,
Lisa
I have a cow. Do I HAVE to pasteurize first?
It's your cow! You can do whatever you want! I use pasteurized milk because it is more available, and I like to support my local farmer. If you do choose to use raw, the general recommendations are to be fastidious about sanitization at the collection point and to age cheese for at least 60 days to reduce the chance of food borne illness. Happy cheesemaking!
That's nice that you go and visit your brother. My brother and sister never once came to visit me. I'm afraid of you. you could kick my butt.lol your a blackbelt very cool. I'm not a fighter though.
Hahaha, Me either.
I like cheese, but I am lactose intolerant. This looks like it would be good on a sandwich for my kids. Could I just put the dill on the bread? Or will I knead a good dill dough?
Hi Keyser! When ever I hear that someone is lactose intolerant, I am a little sad :) Sorry to hear it. In case you can use this information, here are 5 cheeses that clock in with the lowest lactose ranges. They are, in order:
Muenster: 0-1.1% lactose range
Camembert: 0-1.8% lactose range
Brie: 0-2% lactose range
Cheddar (mild and sharp varieties): 0-2.1% lactose range
Provolone: 0-2.1% lactose range
Regarding the sandwiches for your kids- Dill Havarti is great on a grilled cheese sandwich, and the dill flavor really comes through nicely, so I don't think you would need to use a dill bread. I would suggest it with a nice sour dough bread and a pickle spear on the side. In fact, it sounds so good I just might make one for myself for lunch. Thanks so much for watching! Lisa
Pressed and aged cheeses generally have negligible amounts if lactose. The culture changes the lactose to lactic acid. If you check the nutrition label on commercial cheeses like cheddar, it has about 0.5g of carbohydrate (ie lactose) per 100g of cheese. This amount is very unlikely to cause intestinal upset
i love cheese
Meeeee tooooooo!
eating havarti dill rn and wanted to watch how it was made
If you use raw milk do you have to use calcium chloride
Nope!
Hi there could you maybe consider also mentioning the measurements in kilogram and litres? Would make it easier for us Europeans 🥰
Hello, and yes!
This is one of my first videos. All of my newer videos include metric measurements 😀. Happy cheesemaking!
Lisa
At around 18:20-18:25 your YumYum is focused on something do you know what?
I have no clue. My back was to her while I was videoing and I didnt know she had done that until I reviewed the footage 😀
That is a LOT of dill. Not a complaint in the least. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
True! But it really is the right amount, at least for me! This was one fantastic cheese!
@@Cheese52 like you, I'm a huge fan of dill. The aroma alone...
My nephew call this pickle cheese😀🥒🧀
@@Cheese52 I can definitely see that. I once made Ina Garten's cheddar dill scones recipe, and this cheese brought back that memory. Great scones. You should make them if you haven't already done something similar.
@@henrydickerson9776 I haven"t but I will now! I just looked it up. A CUP of fresh dill?!?! That sounds amazing. Thanks for the suggestion!
😋😋😋شهية جدا
Yes! It was delicious!
Isn't calcium chloride made the cheese taste bitter?
Great question. Only if too much is used. The amounts in the recipes are low enough to prevent the bitter taste from entering the cheese.
@@Cheese52 oh my! You replied! At last, a cheesemaker replied my question!
I ve been making cheese and yet so many questions left unanswered.
I read that sometimes a cheesemaker put lipase in their milk. Why? What taste will it make? Will the cheese taste better?
@@sheyalovely9504 I'm happy to answer your questions! Lipase is an enzyme that produces a stronger, "tangy like" flavor. Some cheese makers prefer the flavor so they use it to boost flavor, especially if using cow's milk for Feta. It is used in small amounts because it packs a big flavor punch. Hope that helps!
@@Cheese52 thanks a looot!!♥️♥️
Did you say 'pasteurised UNhomogenised milk' or 'pasteurised AND homogenised milk'? I listened carefully but couldn't make it out.
Hi Susan,
I use pasteurized, non-homogenized milk. Hope that helps!
Lisa
@@Cheese52 Great! The question is, where to get pasteurised non-homogenised milk here in Citrusdal. We farm citrus, wheat, sheep and beef cattle... No milk... And the supermarket is EXPENSIVE.
Your brother is lucky
Haha. Yes, but I think I'm the luckier one. He's a pretty awesome brother!
Cheesus!
Yes! What a friend we have in Cheesus! 🙏 (Sorry, Mom!😉)
could i add jalapenos to this?
Yes!
❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤
What a party! Thank you!
I’ve never heard a recipe call for non chlorinated water… is my normal bottled water that I drink chlorinated?? Or are you just telling me not to scoop the water from my pool?
Hmm. Most cheesemaking recipes recommend non-chlorinated water, because chlorine kills bacteria, and that is what is needed to make cheese. Most bottled water does not contain chlorine. Your tap water might, but you can boil it so the chlorine dissipates. Hope that helps! Lisa
Hello, I guess you forgot the option to translate to other languages. Thank you.
Hello SuTus! I am having trouble with that feature right now- But hang in there I working on it! Thanks for your patience😀 Lisa
Hello SuTus, the closed caption feature has now been activated on this video. Thank for you for your patience, and enjoy the episode! Lisa
🤩🤩🤩😍😍😍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🍋🍋🍋
I do not have that kind of patience lol
Hello Cheese52! I hope this message finds you well. I am a producer at INSIDER and I recently found this amazing video and we would love to feature it in one of our videos about cheese around the world! For a little knowledge about us, INSIDER is a part of Business Insider, focused on food, travel and art. Most of our video traffic comes from our Facebook pages, where we have over 30 million followers. Our popular videos have helped out countless small businesses and bloggers.
All of your footage will be credited with your Facebook, Instagram or UA-cam page.
Please let me know if this is okay with you! You can also email me at agulab@businessinsider.com
Hello Aliza! Thanks so much for reaching out, and I'm glad you enjoy the video! I am honored --I'd love for the work to be featured in an INSIDER video. Super cool! Look for an email from me. Thanks again! Lisa
I never tried this cheese and I probably won't it looks yucky lol.
If you like dill, this cheese is scrumptious!
Hello my havarti came out. Ok. It is lacking a lot of salt. Is there a way to add salt, maybe through brining? I already cut the whole wheel in half. Thanks for any help!
Great! Glad it turned out! I'm not sure if brining after aging would work- try a small wedge to see. Next time you make it you could increase the brine percentage to match your preference. part of the fun is in the process! Enjoy!