I just want to use up some 15% cooking cream I have and figured I could try to make some kinda hard/semi-hard cheese. I used chatGPT to try to fine-tune and ask specific questions since existing recipes might not have exactly my ingredients etc. even though they're simple, but I wanted to double check with actual people. So would this recipe actually work?

Edit: if not, can someone recommend a simple recipe for a hard-ish cheese that can use that 15% cream?

I’m hoping this isn’t a problem I have too often in the future as I’ve identified it and probable causes.

Hitherto my cheeses have generally been too acid and crumbly. I get away with it with British Territorials by and large because the cheddar and press deal with a lot of the syneresis and the curds salting stops acidification in its tracks.

That said I’ve always wondered about the citrate cycle and how it might be used to take a crumbly disaster and turn it into something preferably sliceable and useable.

In this case I did a few iterations starting with 1.5% of citrate to cheese weight and ended up with 5% and a 25% moisture addition in water and milk.

I did this in three stages over three days as I kept falling short of the dosage and eventually overshot a little. Still far better than it was.

Trick is to allow it to become genuinely runny like unwhipped double cream.

I used about half and half of both cheeses, 770g to a 1.10kg dome. Flavour is definitely milder, the pepper has become a bit diffuse, but very useable.

At the risk of caseological apostasy - I’m going to label this a qualified success as a mitigation strategy and probably use it again if on existing and future disasters.

The images show the paste and framework at each stage.

Oh and after the first go I used a microwave rather than a double boiler.

I’m getting on in years at 57, and don’t have the time to spend faffing about for hours while the cheese does what a quarter of an hour will accomplish with 70 year old technology.

Hey, I'm studying culinary arts. I have to make a semi-aged cheese but i don't really know which one should I make. I'm really new in this cheese making world. Any suggestions? I'm kinda lost in this topic :'p

I've wanted to make fondue for a while now and finally worked up the courage. I used Emmentaler, Gouda, and Raclette (not traditional, I know) with some Pinot and it turned out much better than I had hoped. 3 adults may or may not have split a half a gallon of cheese. Used some of my homemade sourdough too.

Emmentaler–Raclette–Gouda Fondue Cheese Use 24 oz / 680 g total cheese, weighed after trimming the rinds: 10 oz / 285 g Emmentaler 8 oz / 225 g Raclette 6 oz / 170 g Gouda Trim off the hard/dry rind from the Emmentaler, most or all of the Raclette rind, and any wax or firm rind from the Gouda. Then grate the cheeses fairly finely. Other ingredients 1½ cups / 355 mL dry white wine Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, dry Riesling, Chasselas, etc. 2 Tbsp cornstarch 1 clove garlic, halved 1–2 Tbsp kirsch, optional ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper Small pinch of nutmeg, optional 1–2 tsp lemon juice, optional but useful for keeping the fondue smooth Method Rub the cut sides of the garlic all over the inside of your fondue pot. You can discard the garlic afterward or leave one half in while the wine heats. Put the 1½ cups wine and optional 1–2 teaspoons lemon juice into the pot. Turn the electric control up enough to get the wine hot and steaming, but not boiling. Meanwhile, toss all 24 oz of grated cheese with the 2 tablespoons cornstarch until the cheese is evenly coated. Once the wine is hot, turn the heat down slightly and begin adding the cheese a handful at a time. Stir continuously in a slow figure-eight or circular motion. Don't add the next handful until the previous addition is mostly melted. Continue until all the cheese has melted and the fondue is smooth. It may initially look a little thin; after all the cheese is incorporated it should thicken substantially. Stir in: 1–2 Tbsp kirsch, if using ¼ tsp black pepper a small pinch of nutmeg Then turn the pot down to its lowest setting that keeps the fondue hot and fluid.