I haven't made cheese for a while, partly discouraged after the great blue disaster back in February but mainly because we've been away travelling quite a lot. But now we are back home for a stretch so the cheese making box is out. Thought I'd start with something Swiss since I bought a packet of propionic about a year ago. Browsed my collection of books and decided on Caldwells 'semi to hard cheese with large eye' aka emmental. But, as she says this is a big cheese and you should make a batch of at least 4 gallons (16l) and I'm not comfortable with more that 8l, so it's a faux emmental. I followed Caldwells instructions as well as I could, but here I'll write what I did which varies a bit.
4l Peel Valley gold top, 2l Coles skim, 2l Ivyhome skim, average fat 2.9%
Warm to 30.9oC in a double boiler arrangement.
Added 150g thermo C culture and 1/16 tspn. Prop.
Added 1ml double strength calf rennet.
ph 6.7
Flocculation at 18 minutes, multipled by 2.5, so cut after 45 minutes. Initially into 2cm, then used my monster whisk to break up into the desired 3mm cubes. Rested 5 minutes.
Heated to 50oC over 40 minutes. ph now 6.3
Drained, into mold. Used the wrong one, picked the cylinder I've used for tomes, should have chosen a bigger one so that the cheese is flatter, but never mind...
Using my husbands bar bells which weigh 2.3kg as weights, I pressed with one for an hour, then two for an hour and a half, then three overnight, the next morning I brined it for 4 hours. It's now sitting in a plastic container with a little container of water in my pantry which at this time if year maintains a fairly steady 10oC, which is handy (good for the food as well) I'm surprised that its so dry, I've mostly made softer cheeses which tend to weep whey for a couple of days. This isn't at all, so I guess that means I did a good job of expelling the whey during the cooking process. It will stay there for about 2 weeks, then I'll move it into some part of the house where the temp. Is around 20oC. The cheese weighed 874g when it came out of the brine, and I made 321g ricotta from the whey.
I know it won't be an emmental but I'm hopeful that it will be a good tasting cheese anyway.