[Cheese] CaCl2-What's it for?

[Calvin Gadbury]

Scott Asks:


> Why do many cheese recipes ask for Calcium Chloride to be added?  Does
> rennet require it?  Does dry milk powder have enough CaCl2 in it to
> avoid needing to add more?  My batches of milk seem to produce nice
> looking curd without adding extra calcium.  Will this ruin the cheese 1
> month later?
>
>
>
>

Scott

Homogenized milk will often form a soft curd.

Sometimes pasteurization and overheating can (overheating often will) cause
a soft curd.

A soft curd that is difficult to handle and sometimes carries more moisture
than
is wanted to develop a good hard cheese.

Milk bought at the store will always be pasteurized in most
states and amost always homogenized, and will often
need CaCl2 added for good results.

Many of the recipes for the hobby cheese maker assumes
store purchased milk will be used, so the CaCl2 is recommended
so as to prevent an unecessary disappointment by a first timer.

The Ca++ ions in the milk are necessary to form the lattice work of proteins
that forms the curd.  Somehow the Ca++ ions get tied up and not available
when pasteurizing and homogenizing milk and CaCl2 will correct such a
deficiency.

Pasteurizing by heating  milk to 145F and holding for 30 minutes,
hasn't caused any problems for me.  Cooling the milk
rapidly is thought to help maintain quality in flavor and fragrance.


I have not heard of CaCl2 being added to powdered milk, but if it is it
should
be on the list of ingredients.  To use or not use CaCl2 should not affect
the
final product if you get the quality of curds your looking for. According to
Kosikowski
Federal Standards of Identity for Natural Ripened Cheese limits the
adddition
of CaCl2 to a maximum of 0.02% by weight.

I can tell you that the butterfat is removed before drying the milk, because
dried milk with
fat will  go rancid at a much earlier date compared to dried milk
without fat.  The cheeses that require fat to develop a unique charateristic
texture and flavor
such as cheddar will
benefit from having some cream added.

Calvin