Author Topic: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux  (Read 4394 times)

Offline Boofer

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Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« on: October 25, 2013, 02:45:35 PM »
Yesterday I used four gallons of sweet, creamy raw milk from one of the three local creameries available to me. I was struck by the deep yellow color of the cream and again of the volume of that cream in the gallon jugs. It promised a rich and wonderful cheese.

Loosely following Tammy's guidance, I wanted to make a Cheddar that was more moist and flexible than I had previously done. I also wanted to boost the horseradish character in this cheese compared to my previous effort.

Cheese Number 82.
Initial pH: 6.65
Renneted at 6.58
Drained at 6.30
Milled at 5.96

4 gallons Cozy Vale Creamery whole raw milk
1/4 tsp MA4001
1/16 tsp LH100
1/16 tsp dry calf rennet in 1/4 cup cool distilled water
1/4 tsp annatto in 1/4 cup distilled water
4 TBS Morton's pickling salt
1/2 cup Fred's Horseradish (horseradish, vinegar, salt), clear water rinsed and pH-adjusted to 5.62

- I added the cultures and annatto to the cold milk and raised the milk temp to 90F.
- ripened at 90F
- floc'd in 15 minutes and I used a 4X factor

When I cut the curd there was a slight resistance to the sharp knife because of the firmness of the gelling. This is in contrast to the weak gelling I experienced recently with my Saint Paulin #3.

- cooked and stirred at 102F for 30 minutes
- cheddared and then cut into cubes
- using my gloved hands, I mixed in the pH-adjusted horseradish and salt in four movements
- - I sampled some of the cubed curds and they were pleasantly squeaky against my teeth
- put curds to the mould with plastic cheesecloth
- pressed in the warm pot using 25 lbs for 15 minutes to knit the rind
- flipped, rewrapped, pressed in the warm pot using 25 lbs for 15 minutes to knit the rind
- flipped, rewrapped, pressed in the warm pot using 80 lbs/2.6psi for 15 minutes to knit the rind
- flipped, rewrapped, pressed in the warm pot using 150 lbs/4.9psi for 4 hours
- pH 5.49 -- out of the press, dried, weighed, into the minicave to airdry at room temperature
- - The cheese weighed in at 2376 grams which is 5.24 pounds, possibly making this cheese the heaviest cheese I have created for the volume of milk used.

The added annatto deepened the already rich yellow hue from the pasture-sourced cream in the milk. This should be a comfortably warm-colored Cheddar.

One of the the things that concerns me at this point is the horseradish that is apparent in the surface of the rind. I've had some experience with added components and their effect on the rind: Herbes de Provence in Esrom, cumin seeds in Leiden. Those additions didn't seem to cause any problems. Still, it's something I will be watching closely.

-Boofer-

« Last Edit: October 25, 2013, 03:06:41 PM by Boofer »
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Offline H-K-J

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2013, 02:52:43 PM »
I wish I could find milk that look's like that :P
it looks like everything went well with the make.
I want to try this one day (when my wife lets me do another experiment)
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JeffHamm

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2013, 05:40:00 PM »
That's great looking milk!  Should be a fantastic cheese.  Very nice.

How long did you cheddar it before cutting into cubes?  If you're going for moister, shorter cheddaring, in the 30 to 45 minute range, is probably better than longer (i.e. the 2 hour range).  That, of course influences texture and such, so finding the right balance may require some titration of time.

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2013, 12:24:14 AM »
Yeah, it's all a balancing act...floc factor, curd size, stirring time, cooking time, cooking temp, pressing power, salt level. I'm hoping the time I spent cheddaring (~60 min) along with all the factors I mentioned will give me a decent Cheddar. I'm still finding my way with the Cheddar style.

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george

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2013, 10:37:23 AM »
LOOK at that cream line!!!

jwalker

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2013, 02:58:53 PM »
Fantastic looking milk !

I've been getting low temp Pasteurized , unhomogenized milk out of Idaho , but it NEVER has THAT much visible cream , it only has and inch or two , I guess even the process of Pasteurizing at 140 must cause the milk to homogenize some as well , either that , or their skimming some off the top and not telling me !

5.24 pounds is very surprising for 4 gallons of milk , I guess that's due to the high fat/cream content.

What is "plastic cheesecloth"  , does it work any better than regular cloth , and where do you get it ?

Should be a great cheese !

Offline Boofer

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2013, 08:11:59 PM »
Although this cheese is still very new, I decided that it looked dry and stable enough to vacuum-seal. Hopefully I haven't hurried this before it's ready. I wanted to ensure that the cheese was protected against wayward, chance infections. I'll be watching it closely for any signs of moisture in the bag or other signs of nastiness.

Some of the horseradish embedded in the rind has browned slightly from exposure to the air. That's another motivation to seal it up.

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2013, 09:28:38 PM »
I still think that's a great looking cheese. 

I'm a little curious that you want to prevent wild rind development on this, since cheddar is normally left to go quite mouldy and that would add typically to the flavour development.  You lose the rind (well, I do, as I find wild rinds just taste dusty and off, though they flavour the paste nicely), but it doesn't penetrate if the rind is well sealed.  Is it more because of the horseraddish turning brown and to avoid too much moisture loss?  I wax cheddar if I want to age them out a long time because otherwise they dry out too much since they are only 1kg or so.  It also frees up room in my cave (so it's not like I don't do this as well, I'm just curious why avoiding wild moulds on a cheddar is indicated as a main motivation - I know you like mouldy rinds and soft cheeses).

- Jeff

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2013, 01:07:33 PM »
You know, Jeff, I do like some of the cheeses with a bit of rind development, but I'm not a big fan of crusty & dusty, "think I'll forget about it and see what happens" rinds. I'll see if the raw milk and cultures I added can give this cheese some sophistication.

The thing with the horseradish is that it's spread internally and externally, which is desired, but the bits peeking through the rind surface were a concern for me.

As with all the cheeses, time will tell if my strategy with this make is successful or another candidate for the Failures thread.

This is probably the heaviest cheese I have done. It almost didn't fit into the vacuum bag.

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JeffHamm

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2013, 05:15:56 PM »
Oh, it won't be a failure.  Sealing still produces a nice cheddar.  I aged one a year in wax that was very good, and have a Dunlop that is a few months short of its 2nd birthday that seems promising (just letting it catch its breath after its long hibernation).  I think the wild and rampant rinds do need a bit of keeping in check by brushing back, but if you've got a good knit they seem fine.  Not edible, but can produce nice flavour.  My Tomme de savoie type was good, though due to poor knit the rind got everywhere.  But the bits that could be salvaged were very nice.  .... Sigh, .... another one needs to go on the list.  I have too many cheeses I want to make, and too little time right now. 

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #10 on: October 24, 2014, 06:43:30 PM »
Twelve months ago I started this cheese with the hope of producing a moister cheddar with some horseradish character. Today that promise was fulfilled. The color of this cheese is phenomenal. I was surprised that the beta carotene shows so much in the milk. I did not add any annatto.

This cheese slices well, has a bit of a tang but isn't overdone, and possesses a horseradish touch that fully complements the cheese without focusing all attention on that horseradish flavor. The cheese shows the outlines of some of the cheese curds that came together when the horseradish was milled into the cheese curds. It wants to crumble slightly along those curd lines, as shown in the pieces taken from a slice.

I am looking forward to sampling this in a grilled cheese sandwich or on sourdough over tomato slices. Yum! :P

Overall, I am well pleased with this outcome and will file this make procedure in the "do again" list. 8)

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Spoons

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2014, 07:10:54 PM »
But, but... your notes say you added annato ;)

That colour IS phenomenal!

When you say "The tang isn't overdone", are you talking about the old cheddar taste or horseradish addition or both? This is a cheddar I'll most likely try, just want to know if it best served medium or old along with the horseradish.

Nice cheddar, Boofer!

AC4U!

Curdtastrophe

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2014, 07:18:54 PM »
That's beautiful!

 :)

Offline Boofer

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #13 on: October 25, 2014, 05:30:32 AM »
But, but... your notes say you added annato ;)

That colour IS phenomenal!

When you say "The tang isn't overdone", are you talking about the old cheddar taste or horseradish addition or both? This is a cheddar I'll most likely try, just want to know if it best served medium or old along with the horseradish.

Nice cheddar, Boofer!

AC4U!
Wow, you are correct! For some reason I had it in mind that this was strictly the beta carotene.  ::)

The tang was referring to the characteristic Cheddar taste.

Made grilled cheese sandwiches tonight...yummy! It melts and marries to the bread wonderfully.

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Offline scasnerkay

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Re: Horseradish Cheddar...Redux
« Reply #14 on: October 25, 2014, 05:39:25 AM »
I love it when I get a cheddar with a bit of crumble. Somehow that seems to really say cheddar to me. It is a beautiful outcome. Congratulations on the make and on your patience. A cheese to you!
Susan