Author Topic: 5 month old Cheddar  (Read 5394 times)

tnbquilt

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5 month old Cheddar
« on: August 03, 2013, 02:56:01 PM »
I opened a 5 month old cheddar today and I am so proud! I finally got it right! WAHOOOO.

I know the inside doesn't look so good, I'm kind of assuming more pressure during pressing was required, but it tastes wonderful!

It's moist, and it has a strong cheddar flavor, with a bit of bite to it.

No, it doesn't taste like Kraft, it tastes like CHEESE!

I haven't made a good cheddar for a year and a half. I've made many other kinds of cheeses that were good, but all of my cheddar's were not that good, and many were just trash.

Now, I'm going to go make a 4 gallon Gouda, and a 4 gallon Gouda with mustard seeds. Maybe. I might make the Gouda with mustard seeds and something else.

Offline Spike

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2013, 03:59:16 PM »
A cheese for your beautiful Cheddar!
My first cheese is a cheddar. It is approaching 5 months old now. Since it is my first, I am not expecting results as nice as yours. l am getting anxious to open it though.

tnbquilt

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2013, 06:53:25 PM »
The waiting is the hardest part.

JeffHamm

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2013, 07:13:34 PM »
A cheese to you for that great result.  I think it looks fantastic myself, but I quite like crumbly cheddar.  Yours sounds like a big hit.  I had a wensleydale turn our to perfection.  I must try and replicate that again. 

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2013, 06:02:13 AM »
Good job, Tammy. A cheese comes your way.

I rather like the more moist texture that yours seems to have.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

jwalker

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2013, 03:09:39 PM »
That looks great to me , I've had a couple of Farmhouse Cheddars that were pretty good at 4-5 months.

But I'm guessing that's a traditional Cheddar , so it would be even better.

I have since made two proper Cheddars  , I will be letting them age 6 and 12 months respectively .

Have a cheese , Louise.  ;D ;D

errrr.....Tammy.

tnbquilt

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2013, 01:43:38 PM »
I rather like the more moist texture that yours seems to have.

-Boofer-

I like the more moist version also. I've made several dry ones but this one is moist and creamy. It took me awhile to figure how to do that!

hoeklijn

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2013, 08:12:41 PM »
A cheese to you Tammy! Congrats with the result!

dthelmers

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2013, 08:42:47 PM »
I rather like the more moist texture that yours seems to have.

-Boofer-

I like the more moist version also. I've made several dry ones but this one is moist and creamy. It took me awhile to figure how to do that!
And how did you do that?

tnbquilt

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2013, 04:23:05 PM »
I'd have to post the recipe. I don't have it with me at work, but I can do that later.

I really don't know exactly which step led to my success, but I'm so happy with it that I don't care! I'll just use the same recipe again.

I was getting dry cheddars, real dry cheddars, but I spent a lot of time reading and studying and looking at what everybody on this forum said about cheddar and I derived a recipes from it.

I will post it when I get home tonight.

tnbquilt

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2013, 01:13:26 AM »
My recipe, the short version

4 gallons of raw milk 
heat  88d
2 pkts of C101 Meso culture, the one from Rickki Carrol, it was what I had that day
ripen 45 minutes

1 tablet vege rennett wait 45 min (the floc time was 12 minutes so that was a multiplier of 3.75.)

cut 1/2" cubes, heal 5 min

Heat to 102d over 35 minutes (I actually reached 105 and had to take the liner out of the roaster and spray it with cold water to get it back down to 102. It took me about 5 minutes)

cook 30 min, stirring, let sit 20 min

drain PH level 6.23

I cheddared it by putting it in the colander and setting the colander in the electric roaster. I flipped the whole curd every 15 minutes for 2 hours PH 5.45. I did not cut the curd into strips, and left it in the colander the whole time. This seemed to make the curd softer than the way I was doing it.

Milled to 1/2" pieces
salted with 2 tbs salt, toss, wait 5 minutes
add 2 tbs of salt, toss, wait 5 minutes

I pressed in (2) molds that were 4-1/2" round. I did 10lb for 15 min, 40 lb for 1 hour and 50lb for 12 hours.

I used the press in the pot method for the 15 minute and 1 hour press. I did not press under whey, I just put a little 115 degree water in the bottom of the pot, and I set my mold on something to hold it up off of the bottom so the water didn't touch the cheese. I wrapped a towel around the top. Sailor shared this method, and I love it. It doesn't even take much water, about 2 cups. I never pressed a cheddar right until I saw Boofer doing this, and he said that Sailor had posted it first.

The ph when I took it out of the press was 5.00

I love good notes!
« Last Edit: August 14, 2013, 01:23:19 AM by tnbquilt »

jwalker

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2013, 12:10:13 PM »
I rather like the more moist texture that yours seems to have.

-Boofer-

I like the more moist version also. I've made several dry ones but this one is moist and creamy. It took me awhile to figure how to do that!
And how did you do that?

I've found that less weight and also less time in the press make for a softer moister cheese.

I've cut back on the weights on most of my cheeses and find they are much more enjoyable now , I'm sure there are other steps that contribute to a moister cheese , but this is the thing I have found most effective.

Not sure how it affects the PH , as I still dont have a meter yet (maybe ignorance is bliss) ::) , but I certainly am pleased with the results.

That , and going to larger (4 gallon makes ) , seems to help , my original 2 gallon Goudas were more like grating cheese !






Offline Boofer

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2013, 01:21:10 PM »
Tammy, thanks for taking the time to post your make notes. I may have to try another Cheddar following your guidance.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

tnbquilt

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2013, 04:13:52 PM »
I think that the cheddaring process made it a lot moister also. I was cutting it into slabs and putting it in the pot and flipping them. Then I started leaving it as one whole chuck and flipping it, but it was still in the bottom of the pot and I kept having to drain the whey off.

Then I bought a colander that fits into the pot, so I leave it in the colander and the whey drains into the pot. The curd seems to be softer at this point, it is not like cooked chicken breast, and I think that makes a difference.

I put the colander in the roaster, stick the digital thermometer probe in it so that I can monitor temperature, and I put the lid on the roaster. I make sure that the curd remains 100 degrees, and if it starts to drop I just turn on the roaster again.

This cheese is moist, and it's sharp also. I'm surprised after only 5 months, but it has a really good bite in it.

I have under pressed cheese, and it came out all gooey, but we ate it anyway. It was leiden, and I made two of them that weekend but I used different sized molds. It's funny that the one I thought was pressed too hard came out great, and the one that I thought that I did right, came out gooey. It wasn't just moist, it stuck to your fingers.

BobE102330

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Re: 5 month old Cheddar
« Reply #14 on: August 15, 2013, 03:29:55 PM »
I guess the recommendation should be that it feels like rare chicken breast not cooked to the recommended 165F.   ::) 

A cheese to your success.