Lanchashire(ish) #2

[Geodyne]

Just the ticket for a fast make, to use up a pile of milk. It may be an exercise in how not to do things, but we'll see what the results are.

26 L pasteurised, non-hom milk
1/4 tsp Flora Danica
1/4 tsp TCC-20 (Thermo B)
1/32 tsp lipase
3 ml rennet, in 1/2 cup water
60 g salt

Floc multiplier = 3x.

0800 Started heating milk to 31C
0830 Milk at 31C. Added cultures and lipase, rested 5 minutes to hydrate cultures
0835 Stir cultures in. Allow to culture 45 minutes. This is where it all went wrong. The temperature dropped to 30C so I turned the heat on and popped out of the kitchen to do another quick job. The temperature shot up and reached 35C over the course of the next 10 minutes. And one does not lightly take a very-full pan with 26 litres of milk out of a bain marie, so I was stuck with that temperature. Rather than wait for the temp to drop while the cultures were working and without a working pH meter, I pressed on.
0925 Add rennet and give a couple of stirs. T = 35.0 C. Floc = 16 minutes, so set time = 48 minutes.
1020 Cut to 1 cm cubes. Stir, rest 5 minutes to heal. T = 33.7 C.
1030 Stir 10 minutes. T = 33.0 C
1040 Rest 5 minutes to settle.
1045 Drain whey, then drain curds in cloth-lined colander. Twist cloth to release whey.
1110 Return to pot, press to develop curds, stand 15 mins T = 31 C.
1125 Turn curd mass, drain whey (this is the point at which the photo was taken)
1140 Cut curds in half, turn, piling one piece on the other, stand 15 mins T =31 C.
1155 Mill to 1" chunks, add salt, place , cloth-lined mould.
1210 Press 10 mins at 5 kg, then 50 mins at 10 kg
? Flip, press 6 hours at 20 kg.

I'm currently at the first press. The photo shows the curds on the first flip, starting to show some of the classic cheddared development.

[Digitalsmgital]

Sounds to me like you are gonna have a success after a botched try, how did you get so much milk? That is a large wheel, 3 kg?

[Matthewcraig]

rather than doing a six hour press at 20kg i would do 3-4 hour at 20kg then 12 hour press at 50kg

[Geodyne]

Which is probably exactly what I should have done. This is still a very moist cheese, as can be seen from the photo. The Lancashire, on the right, was taller and the same diameter as the Cheshire (on the left) when it came out of the mould. Now it looks like it's had a few too many pints of good English ale. ;-) It's by far the moistest pressed cheese I've ever made, and the only one to have slumped. I've always erred to the too-dry side. I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

The Lancashire came out at 3800 g, DS, but I think it will shrink to a 3 kg wheel. I'm very fortunate in that I've found a localish dairy who don't homogenise their milk, and who win awards with their clothbound cheddars. I can buy the milk at almost wholesale prices, so long as I buy it by the 18 L crate. Three crates makes two big batches of cheese, with my bain marie.

[Geodyne]

Updating this post. I bought the milk to make this cheese, and the next day bought a cheap flight to the UK, with three days' grace before I flew. Consequently this cheese was made and put in the fridge and immediately neglected - not even turned - for three weeks. When I got back, it was seriously fuzzy and they bottom was quite moist where the whey had pooled. I brushed it off and washed the surface with vinegar and salt but had to be very careful not to break the soft cheese on the bottom.

[Geodyne]

I've spent the last month fighting the fuzzies and the blue on this, and in the last week or so it's started to get a bit of a slimy B. linens surface to it as well. Which is slightly surprising, as I've never made a cheese with B. linens. It's been quite moist and tacky and completely unlike the more cheddared type of cheeses I normally make.

On Saturday, at exactly two months old, I cracked it open for lunch, to see what it was like and to inaugurate my new cheese knife. I had very low expectations and was expecting a bitter cheese because of the amount of residual whey. What I had was a white, moist, slightly crumbly but soft paste, with a soft, pliable layer just under the rind. Constant turning over the last month has evened out the whey distribution.

[Geodyne]

The flavour is mild and creamy, sweet with a hint at a complex finish at the end which it could develop with more maturation. Notably more complexity of flavour in the softer part close to the rind. No sign of the lipase flavour but that will probably come with time. I have to say that it tastes like a Lancashire. We ate it as a table cheese on the weekend so I don't know how it melts yet but I can't see it having a problem.

I've cut this into eighths, kept one for eating and vacuum-sealed the rest. There's still almost 3.5 kg of cheese, from the initial 3.8 kg wheel from the press. It's been in a 12C fridge, at roughly 80 % humidity (maintained solely by the cheeses in there).

Especially considering that I thought this was going to be a disaster, I'm delighted. There we have it: Lancashire de neglect.

[JeffHamm]

That's a fine looking result! A cheese to you.  The b.linens are everywhere.  If the surface conditions are right, they will come.  The moisture of this one allowed for the environment to develop appropriately, and the linens could just come from your hands.  I get wild linens all the time on some cheeses.  My latest tomme, which is a fairly moist make like this one was, has a wonderful undergrowth of linens on the go even though I didn't add them this time. 

- Jeff

[Geodyne]

You're probably right Jeff. I'm always careful to wash my hands in vinegar before handling my cheeses, but that doesn't preclude some transferrence. I'm definitely not complaining at the result, and for a fast cheese I think I prefer this to caerphilly.

Lancashire is the best cheese in the world for cheese on toast, I'm told.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Geo,

Yah, Lancashire is another good quick cheese.  I find it takes about 2 months though, while caerphilly I like it at 3 or 4 weeks.  However, they are very different cheeses so they fill different niches.  Personal preference is the only metric to go by in this, the final, analysis!

- Jeff

[scasnerkay]

Your 26 liters is almost equal to 7 gallons of milk. I have done 3 makes with 4 gallons of milk. The amount of culture you added was 1/2 tsp total. I have used 1/2 tsp and then cut back to 3/8 tsp total. I think I could go less.
You used 3ml of (single strength?) rennet, and so did I. My floc time has been about 12 mins. Perhaps I could go with a bit less...
You also did not use CaCl in your make. Though my milk is non-H I still use the calcium.
It is interesting to compare and to think about...

Congratulations on the good results! It is nice to be happily surprised.  A cheese to you.

[Geodyne]

Hi Scasnerkay,

It is indeed interesting to compare makes.

I work on 6.5 gallons for my 26 litres. I find that 1/2 tsp of culture works if I'm using direct set for that amount, unless I'm working with a mother culture. If I'm working with a mother culture, I work to 200 ml per 10 liters, so roughly 500 ml of culture. I use 1/32 tsp to make that the night before: a much more economical prospect, I'm sure you'll agree, but I find I have to watch pH carefully and I don't have a pH meter at the moment after my old one died.

3 ml would instinctively seem a bit low for the rennet I'm using. It usually recommends 0.2 ml per 10 litres, which works out to 5.2 ml for 26 litres. But I found floc times too rapid at that quantity so I've scaled back.

I've used CaCl in other makes, but I have to say that I've not seen an effect with the milk that I'm using so I've discontinued it unless I feel a recipe needs it.

[MrsKK]

Looking very good!  I made a Lancashire at about the same time, then broke two fingers on my left hand on May 5th, with the result that all of my cheese has been very neglected.  I cut into the Lancashire a couple of weeks ago and it was very, very mild, however this week we used more of it and it is getting very tasty.

I'm drooling over your cheese knife - it is very similar to what I've been thinking about having someone make for me.  Does yours have handles on both ends?  Where did you get it?

[Geodyne]

Two broken fingers!!! You poor thing. You have my sympathy.

I vac-packed most of this cheese to allow it to age further. I felt confident enough to do so, knowing that it wasn't completely ruined. I'm finding that it's marvelous melted. Lancashire always melts so well. They must take neglect well too.

The cheese knife does have a handle on both ends, in rosewood. I bought it the last time I was in the UK. I happened to be passing through Melton Mowbray on the day of the artisan cheese fair (http://www.artisancheesefair.co.uk/) and popped in. A truly marvelous affair, and very well attended. Jongia had a stall there so along with a few cheeses I indulged in the 38cm knife, knowing I can't buy one in Oz.   

I remember being asked at the time why I was purchasing such a large knife. Did I have a cheese shop?

Link to show whole knife: http://www.cheesemakingshop.co.uk/Professional-Dutch-style-Cheese-knife-with-wooden-handles.html

[Spoons]

Thats one beautiful cheese knife, Geo! Another accessory on my "to buy" list. Who said this wasn't an expensive hobby 

A cheese for you for that nice Lancashire!