Develop a Standard for Kefir Cheese Spread and Establish Benchmarks for Aging a Raw Milk Cheese Spread

Develop a Standard for Kefir Cheese Spread and Establish Benchmarks for Aging a Raw Milk Cheese Spread

Summary

I have been designing an aged raw milk Kefir cheese with Dexter cow milk that will retain high moisture while aging for 60 days.
Results have been successful, although I will not feel that I have exhausted all the possibilites until I have the opportunity to work at Cornell as planned. If all goes well, that will happen this coming year.

Kefir Cheese Spreadable Raw Milk Cheese Project is still waiting to hear from New York Farm Viability Institute for approved funding that is on hold until this spring due to NYS budget cuts.

Because I have not been able to make use of the Cornell Pilot Lab and the team assigned to this project, I have been working at my cheese plant at Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery LLC.

Objectives/Performance Targets

My objectives are the same as I set out in the grant proposal.
The plan is to design a raw milk spreadable cheese, that falls within the federal guidelines, and also retains flavor and texture appeal for an interested market.

Thus far, I have had success with aging a high moisture cheese for the 60 days, that can be processed minimally to change the cheese from a wheel configuration to a spreadable cheese that can be marketed in a container that will facilitate a spreadable experience for the consumer.

Accomplishments/Milestones

At this point we do have a version of the cheese that we set out design. I have worked with Dr. Dave Barbano on our first recipe. But it was not appealing enough to me, as a cheesemaker, to qualify for a final result.

As I work with my own concepts at my cheese plant, I have come up with an acceptable cheese design.

I still would like to work at Cornell on the processes that were set out initially for this study. Because of the hold up in funding, I have had to rethink this entire project.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

IF and when the NYFVI funding arrives, I plan to schedule work at Cornell to begin what originally we set out to do.

Until then, I do plan to submit some of the high moisture cheese I have made for this project to the Silliker Labs for probiotic testing. I plan to have the testing done before the end of April.
Also, the packaging part of this project is on hold also, until the other funding arrives.

If, in the end, the funding does not manifest, I will have a cheese that we have designed. It will be tested for probiotics, and we will have a marketable product.

Collaborators: