Parmesan
Recipe based on “200 easy homemade cheese recipes”. Adjustments to the process made based on further research. I have had problems during research of pegging definite pH targets…I put these together for now and will continue to research. If anyone knows what they should be, please let me know. I have seen some specific conflicts, such as brine at 5.4 or press at 5.4?
At any rate, it is what it was and we will see. I plan on aging this for a year to be available next Christmas.
I actually repeated this make the next day, in order to have 2 separate makes with identical recipes, however I did cook the curds a bit longer for the 2nd make. I also made ricotta from the whey both days…so will be making lasagna soon!
pH targets:
rennet: 6.55-6.6
settle under whey at 6.40-6.45
drain: 6.4
brine: 5.3-5.4
Ingredients:
1 gallon whole raw milk
1.5 gallons non-fat pasteurized milk
2.0 cups heavy cream
1/4th teaspoon SuCasu Culture mix
1/8th teaspoon lipase powder
1/4th teaspoon 100% calcium chloride
5/16th teaspoon single strength liquid veal rennet (25 drops)
Saline (saturated) solution for brining
1. Standardize milk to P/F ratio of 1.50
2. Warm milk to 94F and add culture once there.
3. Let ripen 45 minutes, maintaining temp at 94F.
4. Add calcium chloride dissolved in 1/4th cup water.
5. Add lipase dissolved in 1/4th cup water.
6. Dilute rennet in 1/4th cup water and add after ripening period.
7. Using 1.5 flocc multiplier cut curds after ___ minutes from the addition of rennet. (I did a double take when I set my timer…with a flocc time of 12 minutes, I had to set my timer for 6 minutes…)
8. Cut curds initially to 1/4th inch and then using a whisk reduce to lentil sized pieces.
9. Let curds settle for 10 minutes.
10. Heat curds and whey to 130F fairly quickly…30 minutes would be optimum. Keep stirring to distribute heat. The curds should shrink to the size of rice grains by time to press.
11. Once you have reached the desired temp, maintain temp until curds begin to clump together. The final curd needs to be dry, but not so dry that they do not hold together when pressed.
12. Drain whey and curds into a cloth lined colander. Reserve the whey.
13. Fill prepared (warmed and sterilized) cloth lined mold with curds and transfer to press.
14. Press under warm whey at 1 psi for 30 minutes. Flip and rewrap, press for another 30 minutes.
15. Remove whey, flip, rewrap and press at 2 psi for 30 minutes. Flip, rewrap and press for another 30.
16. Flip, rewrap and press at 3 psi for 12-16 hours.
17. Place in cool (50F) brine for 30 hours, flipping occasionally.
18. Remove from brine and dry at room temp for a day or 2 until rind is dry to the touch.
Affinage:
Age at 50F and 85-90% humidity for a minimum of 6-7 months. (I will be aging this for a year so it will be ready by next Christmas.) Flip cheese daily for the first couple weeks and then once weekly thereafter. After 3 months rub rind with olive oil and then again every 2-3 months.
If mold appears on the rind, wipe off with a cloth dipped in a vinegar-salt solution.
Result of first out of brine: 2 pounds 0.9 ounces. Result of 2nd out of the brine: 2 pounds .7 ounces.
The make seemed to go well, given I was flying blind pH wise....I felt I should have cooked the curds a bit longer, so the 2nd make I did just that. Will post the resulting weight tomorrow once it is out of the brine.
Edit: adjusted pH targets
2nd Edit: added 2nd make weight