Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

thephcheese.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 236 posts

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#191

Post by Stratoscope »

hansvm wrote: post #112
silisili wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I went down this rabbit hole last year, going as far as even buying sodium citrate that's supposed to help it melt together, with mixed results and awful taste. Never came close to anything resembling a well melted, good tasting sauce.

Still buy your cheese in blocks and hand grate, but sodium citrate is better made at home for sauces I think. Titrate baking soda with a tart citrus juice (e.g., lime or lemon, whatever fits with the dish) over medium heat till incremental juice doesn't induce extra bubbles. You'll have a roughly neutral pH, citrus-flavored solution of sodium citrate suitable for nacho cheese and a variety of other dishes.

That sounds fun and easy. I asked Miss Chatty for a recipe, and here's what she came up with:

https://chatgpt.com/share/67eb161a-316c-8012-a9b0-95cb186dc8...

Does that sound like it's in the ballpark, or do you have any comments or suggestions?

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#192

Post by anamexis »

talkingtab wrote: post #180
anamexis wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think of as "real cheese"?

In Europe, and at gourmet cheese stores, you get a slice from a wheel. It is alive, in the sense that it has not been "treated" to increase shelf life. A wheel of cheese is like a little biome or green house or garden in a bottle. The rind of the cheese is the wall. It allows the cheese to breathe, but in a way that preserves the life inside it. Once the wheel is cut, the bottle is broken, and while the cheese can be…

While I don't doubt that getting fresh cheese cut from the wheel is optimal, cheese bagged in plastic hasn't been "treated" to increase shelf life besides being put in plastic - which presumably also preserves the cheese at its existing humidity.

It's not like the act of putting cheese in plastic instantaneously alters it.

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#193

Post by dekhn »

facile3232 wrote: post #179
sophacles wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The G in MSG is glutamate, so not an "also"... as its been covered by OP.

Ah, I found the phrasing quite confusing.

I'm pretty sure the MSG disassociates into the sodium ion and the glutamate, since it's soluble in water. I only use the term MSG to refer to the additive when it's in the salt form in a dry jar.

Side note: it's really funny if you think about it, umami is basically just the taste of amino acids and nucleic acids, which presumably makes sense since the body uses them so much (beyond just making protein and DNA/RNA).

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#194

Post by dekhn »

talkingtab wrote: post #75

It seems wrong to me that most of what people now call cheese is not at all like what I think of as "real cheese". I have ended up making cheese and it is both fascinating, productive and tasty. While there are many "recipes" for cheeses, they are mainly focused on preparing the cheese for aging. These are often techniques, like washing the curd (gouda) or cheddaring (cheddar). The aging part takes more work. I conve…

There's a whole concept of "farmer's cheese"- quickly prepared from pressing whey, minimal preservation- intended for nearly immediate consumption. Cottage cheese, queso fresco, paneer, ricotta, are all examples... then of course you have brined cheeses... feta, etc...

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#195

Post by dekhn »

superb_dev wrote: post #103
bigstrat2003 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly for a quick cheese sauce for nachos I don't think you can beat Velveeta. It doesn't get easier, and I prefer the flavor of American cheese for things like that.

Melt together some velveeta and a salsa for a pretty good cheese dip

I knew somebody who called that "Barf dip". presumably for what it looked like, not tasted like.

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#196

Post by kirtakat »

borski wrote: post #4

Visited Gouda in the Netherlands and learned this. Best cheese I’ve ever had.

It's funny how as soon as I read to Netherlands, my brain back-tracked to correct me on the pronunciation.

If anyone else is ever in the Netherlands and has a chance, due the tour in Gouda, it's delightful and you get to try a bunch of gouda cheese!

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#197

Post by zahlman »

whyenot wrote: post #140
CGMthrowaway wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anti-caking agent can be either cellulose ("sawdust"), potato starch, or calcium sulfate

I know you put it in quotes, but only about 50% of sawdust is cellulose. The remainder is hemicellulose, lignin, resins, and oils. Some shredded cheese use pure cellulose as an anti-caking agent, not sawdust.

I nevertheless find pure cellulose as a food additive very unpleasant.

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#198

Post by zahlman »

coldpie wrote: post #23
stevenwoo wrote: post #12

I'm now kind of upset at myself that I have thrown out perfectly good Cheddar in the past due to white spots.

For firm & hard cheeses, the bad molds very rarely penetrate the surface. If you get some questionable looking mold on the outer surface, you can cut off the outer couple of mm and enjoy the remainder just fine. For rustic/home made cheeses, handling the "bad" mold on the outer surface is a normal part of the aging process before it makes it to the customer anyway. https://cheesemaking.com/blogs/learn/how-to-bandagin…

The USDA says to cut off at least an inch and be careful not to cut through mold: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and...

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#199

Post by thaumasiotes »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #53
ahartmetz wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, if you get bright white(!) spots on cheese like Brie (which is made with white fungus), it's usually just the cheese "reactivating". You - theoretically - don't even need to cut off anything.

I’ve eaten brie weeks after sell by date. It just turns into a firmer cheese by then no striking difference in taste really.

> It just turns into a firmer cheese by then

Really? I thought it was the other way around, starting relatively firm and liquefying as it rots.

Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

#200

Post by thaumasiotes »

astura wrote: post #32
0_____0 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tangent on tangent - in addition to the antifungal there is also anticaking agent (nothing crazy, often some type of flour) that noticeably changes the mouthfeel of cheeses that come pre-shredded. If you notice a grainy texture in your food, try grating it off a brick instead!

People are super religious about this but I've never been able to tell pre-shredded cheese from cheese I've shredded myself and I don't think anyone else can tell the difference in a blind taste test.

Pre-shredded cheese is much, much dryer than cheese you grate yourself. Unless the only cheese you ever eat is already dry, like a parmesan, it should be trivial to notice the difference.
Post reply on HN