Imeruli

Fresh Georgian-style cheese made from whole milk and gravity drained. 10 L milk. Shared calculations and pH notes.

Milk: 10 L milk
Make: about 11 h + salting
Salt at: 1.5% of drained curd
Affinage: Fresh; cold rest at 4 °C

Ingredients

Already-pasteurised whole milkOrdinary whole milk, not UHT.: 10 L
Bulk mesophilic starterActive bulk mesophilic starter at 1.2% of 10 L milk.: 120 mL
Calcium chloride solution0.3 mL/L of 10 L milk; verify product solution strength.: 3.0 mL
Liquid rennet, 200 IMCU/mL45 IMCU/L × 10 L ÷ 200 IMCU/mL.: 2.25 mL
SaltTotal, split 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/6 + 1/6: 15 g/kg drained curd

Stage	Time	°C	pH	Do	Notes
Milk
Pasteurise				Skip for this cheese	Use already-pasteurised milk; this heating stage is skipped.
Culture	mix thoroughly	30	≈6.6predicted, milk	Heat 10 L whole milk to 30 °C. Add 3.0 mL calcium chloride solution and 120 mL active bulk mesophilic starter; mix gently.
Ripen	60 min	30	6.6source target, milk	Cover and ripen.
Rennet	60 min	30	6.55source target, curd	Dilute rennet immediately before use, stir gently, stop movement and set undisturbed to a clean break.
Curd
Cut and rest	2 min heal + 20 min settle	30	6.45source target, curd	Make initial 25 mm vertical strips; reduce carefully to about 6 mm pieces. Heal, then leave quiet.
Stir				Skip for this cheese
Scald				Skip for this cheese
Whey removal	30 min	30	≈6.4predicted, curd	Remove whey in two stages to expose the curd without drying it out. Gather the curd gently by hand at one side; do not add wash water.
Pitch				Skip for this cheese
Shape
Drain and form	8 h	24–26	5.3source target, curd; act on measurement	Ladle into draining moulds without knitting or applied weight. Keep above collected whey; turn every 30 min initially.	Follow measured acidification; the source gives 5.2–5.4 at salting.
Mill				Skip for this cheese
Salt	0, 12, 24, 36 h	4	5.3source target, curd	Weigh drained cheese; allocate 1.5% salt. Apply one-third top/sides now, one-third bottom/sides at 12 h, one-sixth top/sides at 24 h and one-sixth bottom/sides at 36 h.	Refrigerate promptly after warm draining; drain freely during cold salting.
Press				Skip for this cheese
Cave
Affinage	until salting is complete	4	≈5.3make-end baseline; recheck during aging	Keep covered on a draining rack in the refrigerator; remove collected whey. Enjoy fresh.	No ripening or storage-life instruction is present in the source; no long aging period is invented.

Source and cheese-specific notes

Make records/Imeruli 29 01 26.pdf

Adapted for 10 L ordinary milk. Starter and additive doses below use this actual milk volume. Retain the measured pH and curd-texture endpoints; make times remain guides.

The summary says 2 min healing and 20 min settling, while the detailed note says rest 20 min after cutting. Use a 2 min initial heal followed by 20 min quiet settling; then remove whey in two stages over 30 min.

The source has a 30 min pitch in its detail section, although the summary marks pitch unused. Omit the separate pitch to avoid duplicating the settling stage.

The source shows 24 h salting at 15–18 °C but lists salt additions through 36 h. This fresh-cheese adaptation uses the four specified fractions at 0, 12, 24 and 36 h under refrigeration at 4 °C after warm draining; cold salting is an explicit change.

≈ marks an illustrative prediction. Source targets and recorded readings are labelled separately; recorded readings are historical context, not targets for a new batch. Use a calibrated meter and the correct sample medium. Read the shared method and assumptions.