I made a cheddar last night. I rarely post on cheeses I make but I was excited to use my new siphon for the first time and decided to take lots of pics.
16 Liters 0% P/H milk (17 days from BB date)
1.85Liters of 35% un-homogenized cream (15 days from BB date)
P:F Ratio 1:1
Start 5: 15pm
Bring milk to 90F
PH 6.69
Add acidifiers and ripen 30 minutes (3/16 MM100, 1/16 TA61, 1/8 FLAV 54)
PH 6.64
Add ¾ tsp CaCl2 in dist water
Add ¾ tsp + 5 drops calf rennet
Floc : 13 minutes x 3 = 39 minutes (waited 40 minutes)
Cut into ½” cubes and rest 5 minutes
Stir and bring to 93F in 15 minutes
Stir and bring to 102F in 15 minutes
Stir at 102F. PH at start 6.52
Stir at 102F. PH at 30 minutes 6.41
Stir at 102F. PH at 40 minutes 6.36
Stir at 102F. PH at 45 minutes 6.33 (texture test passed)
Adjust water bath to 98F
Drained whey
Cheddaring process:
Let rest 15 minutes
1st flip at 15 minutes
2nd flip at 15 minutes, cut mass in 2. PH 5.82
3rd flip at 12 minutes. PH 5.59
4th flip at 10 minutes. PH 5.44
5th flip at 7 minutes. PH 5.35
Milled curd. Weight 2287g
Salted at 2.5%: 57g
Moulded curds
Press 1: add increments of 0.5LBS until whey trickles out of mould; 1.5 LBS @ 0.3PSI for 15 minutes
Press 2: same as press 1. Stopped at 3 LBS @ 0.6PSI for 30 minutes
Press 3: 5 LBS @ 1 PSI for 1 hour
Press 4: 20 LBS @ 4.1 PSI for 9.5 hours
Final weight: 1836g
Final curd PH: 5.26
I’m pretty happy with the make. The PH targets are closer to North American-style cheddar.
The siphon was great to work with. I’ll need to add a filter at the end of the tube to prevent siphoning curds. There were a few wandering curds that went through the tube at few times even though I placed a ripening mat as a filter. The solution is simple; slightly modify a stainless steel tea ball to fit the end of the tube.
Now I remember why I don't like taking pics while making cheese. My phone ended up being sticky from dried whey, but I pressed on like I was on a mission!
The squeaky cheese curds after being salted were quite a delight! It resulted in my cheese wheel being slightly smaller than anticipated.
Oh well