Author Topic: Traditional Cheddar Creases  (Read 1974 times)

girlsrockmovie

  • Guest
Traditional Cheddar Creases
« on: March 10, 2009, 03:24:15 PM »
so I took my first traditional cheddar out of the press this morning, and there were a few creases showing here and there where those tough leathery curds hadn't completely smoothed over...is this normal? This is my first cheddar after making Gouda and Manchego, both of which had no seams on the outside after pressing. I did 35 pounds for 12 hours, flipped and did 45 pounds for 24 hours...I know that's 5 pounds short of what Ricki Carrol calls for, but couldn't get more weight on there with my makeshift setup.

Is this gonna be ok? Is there anything I can do about it at this point? Anyone know why it happened? For the moment, I've filled the creases with butter, as Carroll recommends for cracks, but not sure what to do next.

Thanks for your help!

Arne

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Traditional Cheddar Creases
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2009, 05:32:04 PM »
Hmm,  A couple of questions:
How much cheese are we talking about.
How big is your cheese mould
How much weight did you apply and for how long?


girlsrockmovie

  • Guest
Re: Traditional Cheddar Creases
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2009, 07:00:04 PM »
2 pounds of cheese
35 pounds of pressure 12 hours
45 pounds press 24 hours
2 pound mold from cheesemaking.com kit

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Traditional Cheddar Creases
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2009, 07:07:34 PM »
Was this a 4 inch mould with 45 lbs of final wieght yielding a pressure of about 3.6 PSI?

If so, that is about right.

How long was in the mould for?  Did you Flip it?


girlsrockmovie

  • Guest
Re: Traditional Cheddar Creases
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2009, 01:23:17 AM »
Yep, right measurements...
36 hours and flipped after 12...

Is the cheese gonna be alright? I feel like a worried parent...

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Traditional Cheddar Creases
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2009, 01:37:56 AM »
A typical  cheddar pressing protocol calls for increasing the pressure on the wheel of cheddar  over successively longer periods of time, with a flip and cheesecloth redress between each pressing.
 
Offhand 36 hours sounds like a long time.

You might look here for for some guidelines.