Troubleshooting
My Yield Is Lower Than Expected
Less cheese than the batch size should give, often with cloudy whey.
Short answer
Low yield most often comes from losing solids to the whey — through cutting before the gel had strength, stirring too aggressively, or curd that was too soft — as well as from milk that is leaner than you assumed.
Work through the causes
01Cutting too early
Cloudy whey full of fines is the signature. Use the clean-break test.
02Stirring
Start gently and let the cut curd heal before increasing agitation.
03Curd firmness
A weak gel sheds solids. Review temperature, calcium and set time.
04Milk composition
Fat and protein content set the ceiling on your yield.
05Drain and press management
Moisture retention targets differ by style; review your schedule.
Coagulation is never controlled by one variable. Milk composition, temperature, pH, calcium, the cheese style and your process conditions all shape how the curd forms — the coagulant is one input among several.
Still stuck?
Send us your milk source, temperature, pH and process notes. Luis reads these and answers them properly.
Ask Bixa