Hi,
Well, here's my first go at a swiss type cheese. I picked up some PS culture that is low gas producing, so this shouldn't result in large eyes. Still, having seen Boofer's wonderful outputs, I just had to give it a go. And, as Sailor had posted his make procedure, I figured I would go with it since I had it copied into my file of cheese procedures.
So, the cheese has now completed two press under whey cycles and the knit is fantastic, though the cheese feels very soft still. Mind you, that's probably not unexpected. I've pressed under whey once or twice before and the result is always a good knit but the cheese feels soft. It will firm up as the pressing schedule progresses. This should be very interesting, but it is going to take awhile to find out how this adventure unfolds. :)
Sailor’s Alpine Beaufort: Sunday, Mar 3, 2013
11 litres whole milk (Siliver top; creamline)
Mesophilic -MA011 (1/8 tsp). 2 ice cubes
Thermophilic - ST B01 (1/16 tsp).
LH (1/10 tsp).
Propionic shermanii (1 pinch – 1/20 tsp).
¼ Tsp CaCl in egg cup water
1.6 ml 280 IMCU calf rennet in egg cup water
6.25 inch diameter tomme mould
Make time : 128 minutes in recipe plus “activity time”
1) Starter Cultures and warm to 32.2 C
2) Ripen for 30 min (7:53 - 8:23)
3) Add CaCl
4) Rennet: Adjust as necessary to achieve flocculation at 10-15 minutes. Floc multiplier is 3. (ideal: 30 to 45 minutes) 8:30:30 floc time 8:42:30 12m 00 sec x3 = 36 m 00 sec cut time: 9:06:30
5) Cut into 2.5 cm cubes, then rest for 3 minutes (9:10:30 - 9:13:30)
6) then cut to 0.6 mm cubes. Heal for 10 minutes (9:25 - 935)
7) Cook: Heat and stir curds slowly to 53 0C over 40-60 minutes. (31.4 - 53.0 C ; 9:35 - 10:25)
8) Prepress: Press under whey or “In The Pot” for 30 minutes with 10 kg (0.72 PSI) for better curd consolidation. (10:45-11:15)
9) Flip and repeat. (11:15-11:45)
10) Pressing: Move cheese to regular press and gradually increase weight to 2-3 psi. Continue pressing overnight. As the acidity continues to develop, the curd can aggressively stick to the cheesecloth. To avoid this, soak the cheesecloth in acidified whey (or vinegar) with a little calcium chloride added. Resoak after each flip. (11:50 @ 20 Kg, 1.43 psi; 12:45 @25kg; 1.72 psi; 1:45 @ 30 kg, 2.15 psi; 4:10 @ 35.2 kg, 2.53 psi; 7:00 @ 35.2 kg, 2.53 psi)
11) Salting: Remove from press (1412g, 15.5 x 6.5 cm = 1.15g/cm3), but keep cheese in the hoop. Allow unweighted cheese to cool and rest for 24 hours.
12) Remove from hoop and brine for 6-8 hrs.
13) Aging: 80% RH at 11-12 0C. This is traditionally a washed rind cheese. In about 7-10 days surface molds will start to develop. This needs to be wiped down with a saturated brine at 3-6 day intervals to start. Traditionally the surface of large Beauforts is sprinkled with salt and allowed to develop its own brine. This is rubbed into the surface the following day, the cheese is turned, and the cycle repeated. A red rind will form in time and will require less frequent treatments.
Age for 6 -18 months depending on the flavor desired.
I made ricotta out of the whey (raised whey to 93 C, added 1/4 cider vinegar, and let it sit for 15 minutes or so). Got a decent yield , though it's still draining. After draining, it weighed in at 574g worth, to which I added 10g salt.
After a few hours in the press (not under whey), the curds have compressed well, and do not have that loose moist feel. This is coming along very nicely.
Now, just flipped again at 7:00 pm and going into the overnight session. It smells fantastic, and has a great knit. The wobblies are gone, and it's looking promising for this phase. The affinage will be the key, as per usual.