Well the make today went very well. Even though it wasn't done under ideal conditions (I don't have my make room set up, so I had to... improvise) everything happened like it was supposed to. Curd set up exactly like it should have in just the right amount of time (a short set, because I don't want to bond too much of the cream into the cheese. Mutschli is not supposed to be a creamy cheese)
Curd cut beautifully, brewed well, heated perfectly and bonded perfectly. I took off a small bit to eat fresh and this under only its own weight knit together flawlessly. That is great.
But that's one of the traits of Mutschli, is that it is a very easy cheese to make.
Now it's in the press, last time I flipped it it looked great. I can tell it is knit very well, now I just need to press the lines out of it.
Pictures, of course...
Here is one place where I improvised. Rough cut with a knife into 1" squares and stirred with 2 saucers to get the first cutting done.
And the curd cut very beautifully...
The recipe of this make is:
Mix milk and culture and herb infusion (my herb mixtures shall not be disclosed, sorry)
Heat to 32
add rennet, stir very well
Set for 30 minutes
Cut coursely and stir for 5 minutes
stir with harp for 5 to 10 minutes, get curd grains the size of a coffee bean
brew the curd for 20 minutes
heat slowly to 43 degrees over a period of about 20 minutes
let the curd settle
draw the curd out with cheesecloth and kneed into form
the last draw is not so good for the cheese, it will be drier, so just eat it.
Press for 20 hours or so
Then I will air dry it for 2 hours and brine it for 48 hours
It will then be washed in a special brine. I haven't decided exactly which.
I will age this cheese for maybe 4 or 5 weeks
This final cheese will be very similar to an Appenzeller...