Lactic set
A slow, acid-led set, lasting most of a day, that gives soft, tangy, delicate goat and fresh cheeses.
Also: lactic curd, caillé lactique, slow set
In a lactic set, milk is cultured with lactic acid bacteria and given only a small dose of rennet, then left at a cool room temperature for sixteen to thirty-six hours. Most of the setting is done by acid as the bacteria sour the milk, so the curd is soft, fragile and moist. It is ladled gently into moulds and left to drain under its own weight, without cutting or pressing. This is how most small French goat cheeses, such as Crottin, Valençay and Sainte-Maure, are made, along with Saint-Marcellin, fromage frais and many fresh cheeses. Lactic cheeses have a fine, almost mousse-like texture and a clean, lemony tang.