Keep the curds separate until you begin to notice them stretching on their own as you move them around.Д¬heck the water to make sure it has not cooled too much, add more hot water if needed. I find that in about 5-10 minutes the cool curds and hot water will stabilize at about 145ВЎF (measure the water). Quickly work the curds to keep them separate and evenly heated. Do not pour the hot water directly on the strips (that will cause portions to become too hot), pour the hot water around the edges. Next pour some of the hot water/whey into a bowl with the cheese strips. This will allow the hot water to evenly heat the curd. Begin by slicing the curd mass into long thin strips. Once your test has shown a good stretch, the curd is ready for the final stage. It's important to have enough moisture in the cheese, the correct final acid, and the cheese body at the right temperature. This step combines acid development and heat which will change the final structure and texture of the finished cheese. This method was used before there was a way to accurately test for acid levels and is still widely used today. If the curd stretches but then breaks, repeat the test at 15 minute intervals. Repeat this at 30 minute intervals until you see signs of stretching. If the curd shows no sign of stretching leave for another half hour and test again. When it's ready it will stretch with little to no effort. The traditional way to test the final curd is to cut a small piece and place it in hot water 175ВЎF for about 5 minutes. I usually bring the water to a simmer at about 185ВЎF. In some cases it may take longer.Дuring this time you should heat water for stretching in the next step (whey can also be used). The final acid will be reached after 2-4 hours depending on how warm you keep the cheese. The cheese should be turned in the form after the first hour.

Put a lid on the pot or close the cooler and let it sit for 2 hours.

Place the cheese still in its draining mold or colander on top of the space, be sure the cheese is not submerged in the water.

Use a spacer into the pot or cooler, an empty cheese mold works well, the top of the space needs to be above the water level.

Place 2-3' of water or whey at 110-115ВЎF in the bottom of a large pot or insulated cooler.

The incubation chamber I use is quite simple: It's important to keep the cheese at 95-100ВЎF during this time to encourage acid development. The cheese needs several hours to develop its acidity. The whey can now be removed and the curds can be transferred to a colander or cheese mold lined with butter muslin. Because of this rennet is added at very high levels of acid development hence the long 3 hr ripening time before adding rennet. Traditionally, this cheese was made with raw milk, which in warm climate of Mexico would develop considerable acid before adding rennet. It will be very slow initially but will soon kick into a more rapid rate of converting lactose to lactic acid Let the milk sit quietly for the 3 hours (Yes this is much longer than normal) to allow the culture ripen. The milk now needs to be kept at this target temperature until it is time to increase for cooking the curds. Note: If using yogurt as the culture, make sure it's fresh and stirred to eliminate clumps before adding it to the milk. To prevent the culture from caking and sinking in clumps, sprinkle the culture over the surface of the milk and wait 2 minutes for the culture to re-hydrate before stirring it in. Once heated to 94ВЎF the culture can be added. If you heat directly on the stove top make sure the milk heats slowly and is stirred while heating. Do this by placing a pot of milk into a larger pot of water or sink of very warm water.

How do you make cheese rope