Looking to craft an alpine cheese using Sailor's Beaufort recipe and the "Hard cheese with small eyes" recipe from my new book, Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking, I put this cheese together yesterday.
initial pH: 6.60
4 gallons Pride & Joy Dairy whole raw milk (cream level is marked on the milk jug)
8 cubes of Alp D mother culture, thawed
1/16 tsp Holdbac
1/16 tsp Renco dry calf rennet, dissolved in 1/4 c cool distilled water
Brought milk up to 90F.
7:30 Added thawed Alp D and Holdbac.
Looked for a .1 delta.
7:45 pH 6.50 - Added rennet.
8:05 Floc'd. Using a 2.5x multiplier and 20 minutes floc time, time to cut is 8:35.
Used whisk to cut to 1/4 inch. Rested 5 min.
Cut curds to 1/8 inch, rested 10 min.
Began raising temperature to 120F within 40-60 minutes, continued to stir gently.
End of cooking was at 45 minutes; pH 6.35.
Drained whey, saving 1/2 gallon for whey-brine and 1 gallon for pressing under whey.
Filled standard Tomme mould (7.375 inch) lined with plastic cheesecloth.
Placed filled mould inside pot with warm whey and that pot into double-boiler kettle with couple inches of warm water to maintain heat.
10:00 Began initial pressing to knit rind, using 5 lb weight and 2 pulleys, which delivers 1.9 psi. Pressed for 30 minutes.
10:30 Flipped, redressed, pressed as before. Good knit so far.
11:00 Flipped, redressed, drained whey, pressed as before.
12:00 PM Checked pH...5.60...looking for 5.3-5.4 to stop pressing.
2:45 pH 5.46 Flipped, rewrapped, removed plastic cheesecloth (some sticking)...going naked; pressing as before.
3:45 pH 5.45 Flipped, realigned nubbins in mould to try to push them back into the cheese. It did, but I got new ones!
5:15 pH 5.40 Out of press, weighed
5:30 Into the brine for 4 hours.
9:30 Flipped in brine, continuing for 4 more hours.
1:30 AM Out of brine, dried, weighed, into minicave to airdry. Had to juggle cheese in cave to find a minicave and room on a cave rack.
10:00 Flipped, dried, returned to cave.
I intend to create a natural rind for this cheese and extend its affinage through 12 months or longer. I expect the nubbins to disappear over time.
-Boofer-