Thanks H-K-J
Here are the notes:
Boil spices/herbs with 2 cups of water in sauce pan. Let cool. ad about 1/64 tsp baking soda in water to lower acidity level.
Heat milk to 88F (8L 0% store bought P/H + 900 ml 35% unhomogenized cream = 1.05 P:F ratio)
PH at start 6.68
Add 1/8 tsp MA11
Ripen 1 hour
Add 1/2 tsp CaCl
Add 1/2 tsp calf rennet (PH at 6.60)
Floc multiplier x3.5
Cut in 1/2" cubes. Let rest 5 mins
Stir and cook to 102F over 45 mins (did it in 43 mins)
EDIT: ADDING A LINE I FORGOT: Stir an addition 45 minutes at 102FSettle 15 mins
Drain whey to curd level
Add 60F water until vat temp is 86F (takes about 5-7 minutes) stir while adding water
Stir 5 minutes once stable at 86F
Drain curd into colander. Wait 2 minutes.
Pour water with spices and herbs over curds. mix well. Let drain another 5 minutes
Once drained, weigh curds and ad 2% salt directly to curd. Mix well
Place curds in mould and press
Press 1: 15 mins @ 0.75 psi
Press 2: 30 mins @ 1.26 psi
Press 3: 1 hour @ 3.02 psi
Press 4: 6.5 hours @ 3.02 psi
Instructions say not to go lower than 5.2PH. I stopped pressing at 5.35
Air dried @ 15C and about 75%RH for 4 days.
Cream waxed 3 coats over 6 days, then sealed with vac seal (cream wax was purely used for presentation purposes)
Aged at 11C for another 4 weeks (6 weeks total)
Taste: Creamy, smooth and well balanced overall. I added too much herbs, the rosemary is surprisingly the most prominent taste, it's not what I was looking for.
My next pepper jack will only have crushed red pepper flakes like I did on my first pepper jack. It was awesome! 1.5 TBSP to 8L of milk gave out a great "medium-hot" taste.
All-in-all, this was a successful cheese, I just overdid it a bit with the herbs.