Author Topic: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209  (Read 9782 times)

wharris

  • Guest
Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« on: March 22, 2009, 01:32:42 PM »

Hello all
Well,  today I am gonna tackle the Acidity issue with my Cheddars.  This will be a "stirred curd" cheddar varietal.

List of Ingredients:
  • 6gal whole pasteurized/homogenized off the shelf milk (1.99/gall at SAMS Club)
  • 3/8 tsp Choozit MA11
  • 24 drops double strength Annatto (diluted in 2/3 cup distilled water)
  • 3tsp CaCl2
  • 1.5tsp veal rennet (diluted in 3/4 cup distilled water)
  • 3.3oz of flaked salt


My Goals:
  • To make a cheddar that is has a final pH of no lower than 5.1
  • To make a cheddar whose consistency is significantly more plastic in nature than the crumblier mess that I normally get

Here is what I am gonna try.
  • Use the minimum amount of DVI starter. (less than half of what was used in the past)
  • Get to temperature on time.  No messing around.
  • Use a bit more salt at the end to stop any more lactic acid creation by any surviving Lactococcus lactis critters
  • Like to see a pH of 6.1-6.2 at the end of cooking.
  • Like to see a pH of 5.1-5.2 at when its time to add put in moulds.


Basic Process:
  • Add milk to vat, start heating to 90degF
  • Add Annatto
  • When milk is at 90, add Culture.  Stir in for 1 min
  • Wait 30 min then add CaCl2
  • Wait 15 min then add Rennet Solution
  • Wait 45 min or until clean break, cut curd, then let rest for 15min
  • Stir curd and begin heating protocol from 90-100 degF  That is 2 deg/5min
  • Let sit at 100def for 30 min.
  • Drain curd, not too long to avoid matting
  • place in pan, stir curds with fingers, avoid mashing
  • Add salt in two phases, allowing for slower absorption
  • Stir every 5 min for 1 hour
  • place in 8"mould
  • Press@.2PSI for 15 min
  • Remove from mould/flip/redress/re-mould
  • Press@.5PSI for 30 min
  • Remove from mould/flip/redress/re-mould
  • Press@2.5PSI for 2hours
  • Remove from mould/flip/redress/re-mould
  • Press@6.5PSI for 24 Hours



Here is how it is playing out in real-life:
TimeTaskWater TempMilk TemppH
8:31amAdd Color93387.02
8:49amHeating100537.00
9:45amHeating103866.83*
10:05amAdded the MA11 Culture107906.79
10:21amacidification113916.81
10:34amadded CaCl2109926.76
10:50amadded the rennet solution108926.68
11:35amCut Curd102906.63
11:53amStarted Cooking102906.59
12:18pmFinished raising temp to 1001311006.52**
12:48pmMiddle of Cooking @ 100degFN/A1016.37**
1:11pmMiddle of Cooking @ 100degFN/A996.15
1:25pmStirring curd -
Add 1/2 ofsalt
N/A99?
1:29pmStirring curd -
Add last 1/2 of salt***
N/A99?
1:45pmStirring curdN/A995.92
2:01pmAdded 2 more tbls saltN/A995.83
2:01pmStirring curdN/A995.83
5:30pmPlaced into press for final pressing
 at 6.54PSI
N/AN/AN/A




Notes:
*Am a bit concerned about that pH drop when I have added nothing more than Annatto
** Need to drop .4 pH before end of next phase of cooking.  I Will end the next phase when whey has a pH of 6.15, not based on the time.
*** The curd looks WAY different than previous batches.**** Am concerned now that I added salt too soon in stir process I may have killed it and it may not ever get to desired pH of 5.1


Wrap up
The Cheese is still in the press.  I am pressing at 6.54PSI for 24 hours.  My final press will not include any muslin. I am trying to avoid the wringles associated with the cloth. This morning, after 12 hours at max pressure, I notices little 1/8th in long bits of cheese that have been extruded through the drainholes in my 8" Tome mould.  I am not really worried about that.
However  I am not particularly hopeful for this batch because of the salt.  I believe that I added the salt too early in the process and I may have stopped acid production too early.  In my quest to make cheese that was not as acidic as normal, I may have over corrected.
The last pH reading i was able to get was not low enough, and the rate of decrease in pH seemed to be leveling off too soon.

The curd this time around was MUCH different than that of prior batches.  The curd was better defined, and springy to the touch.  In previous attempts, my curd was mushier to the touch. The curds this time around, just prior to pressing, were much tougher, almost like little bits of chicken breast

Lastly, and I do not know what this is worth, when I got to the last hour of my stirring effort,  very little whey was left in my pan.  At the VERY end,  when I went to drain the whey before stirring, there was no whey left.  That was a change from before. So, we shall see how well this batch knits together after 24 hours of pressure.  I will not age this batch as it is a process test batch. I will age this no more than 3 weeks.






« Last Edit: March 28, 2009, 06:50:29 PM by Wayne Harris »

Offline DeejayDebi

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Connecticut
  • Posts: 5,820
  • Cheeses: 106
    • Deejays Smoke Pit and DSP Forums
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2009, 09:12:28 PM »
WOW you make great notes! Good luck hon!

thegregger

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2009, 10:45:52 PM »
Wayne:

Nice work.  If you dump this data into a simple spreadsheet, you'll be able to graphically monitor the increase in acidity for future batches.  Really cool.

In what way did the curds look different from previous batches?  Whenever I've made an acid cheese (and there have been many), the curds looked and felt fine.

Greg

Likesspace

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2009, 02:36:23 AM »
Wayne....
One thing that I find interesting in your post is the starting Ph of your milk.
Fresh milk should have a Ph of between 6.7 & 6.5 which leads me to believe that your meter may be a bit out of calibration.
If that is the case then your final Ph might be quite a bit lower than you thought.
Just an observation but it might be worth checking in to.

Dave

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2009, 02:43:55 AM »
Good call,

I will re-calibrate this weekend. 
Then,  I guess i will have to run the experiment again.  (Just to be sure!)
:)

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2009, 02:55:32 PM »
I do have a question for you all.  This batch of cheddar was merely a test batch.  I am not looking to develope flavor or aroma.  The main focus of this test was the look, the feel, the texture. 

I want a highly plastic, closed curd, moist cheese.  On that I can slice (one handed) with a knife and put on a cracker.

Kinda like one would buy at a store.

At this point,  I don't care about taste.

How long do i need to wait before cutting this open and looking inside?

Offline Cartierusm

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,874
  • Cheeses: 21
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2009, 07:26:11 PM »
I have to agree with Dave on the PH thing. I was told that milk by nature will always be between 6.9-6.6 ish. 7.02 is not that far off so I don't know if in the milk world that a huge difference.

As to your question... Tillamook ages I think 6-8 months for their regular cheese? But as far as close texture and wax like, remember professional cheese makers for cheddar, production volume of course, use a vacuum chamber.

I can build you one Wayne, actually you could build one your self. Just get a sturdy insulated cooler, read igloo, at Goodwill or Craigslist and buy a vacuum pump and gauge. Noramlly these would be expensive but I have sources. Here a place to get real good surplus stuff.


This one will suck start a leaf blower
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009032414240810&item=4-1669&catname=
Then get this vacuum gauge and use regular 1/4" NPT Pipe fitting and some thick air compressor hose and you'll be good to go. You need the gauge to make sure it's pulling vacuum and you don't have an air leak. http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009032414240810&item=2141&catname=

P.S. if you do use a vacuum chamber I think that would pull all the moisture or residual whey out, which would lead to quicker aging.

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2009, 12:01:08 AM »
Update:
I could not wait, and I cut into this wheel today after work.  I quartered it and fully cut up one of the quarters.

The pH of the wheel is 5.10 exactly.  That is interesting.  That actually is what i was planning.  But I was not able to see the the 0.7 pH decent from ph 5.8 to pH 5.1.  I checked my pH meter by opening a new 7.01pH control fluid. My pH meter read 7.02.  That was close enough for me. So I did not recalibrate.

So, I am on target as far as pH is concerned.  So... .what does the wheel, the cheese,  look like?
Well as soon as my cam Battery charges, i will snap up some pictures
But I will try to describe.
The curd is slightly open.  I am not sure what to do about this.  The holes are irregularly shaped, about 1/32" in size, and spaced about 3/4" separated from each other. Pressing in a vacuum might be the right whey.  (lol)

A slab of this cheese is plastic in nature.  Its moist, not runny.  Absolutely no running whey.  It is firm, dense, springy to the touch. When broken the curd is not shiny with whey.  This cheese can be cut in 1/4in slabs easily with a standard kitchen knife.

The cheese is BLAND!!!!!
I will write more later...

Offline Cartierusm

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,874
  • Cheeses: 21
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2009, 01:05:10 AM »
Of course it's bland it's only 2 days old! Or is this from another batch?

Offline DeejayDebi

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Connecticut
  • Posts: 5,820
  • Cheeses: 106
    • Deejays Smoke Pit and DSP Forums
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2009, 01:31:24 AM »
Well 2 day old cheedar is about likw what ... store bough provelone?  ;D

Good job on hitting you marks. I can't wait to see this puppy!

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2009, 01:40:22 AM »
Carter, 
I think i understand the source of your confusion. I think i was not as clear as I could have been.  So lets take a step back and break this down a bit.


I have followed the forum standard naming convention outlined below:
[Person Making the Cheese][Cheese Variety][Date Made]

So, in the case of this thread, "Wayne" is the person:
"Cheddar" in the cheese in being made:
And the date the cheddar was made was March 22, 2009 AD.

So..  putting it all together the name worked out to this:
Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209


Now that this is behind us, lets examine the current date. 
Today, the date is March 24th, 2009AD

Noting today's date, and the [Date Made] parameter of the name of the cheese, it is a simple process that can be used to yield the age of the cheese. 

Simply take the current date (March 24th, 2009AD), and subtract the date on the [Date Made] parameter of the Cheese name. This will yield a delta of 2 days time.  This cheese can therefore be considered to be in-fact 2 days old.


That being said, the age validation of cheese in any future thread that also subscribes to the forum-standard nomenclature of [Person Making the Cheese][Cheese Variety][Date Made] should be a simple process and provide clear insight as to the age of the cheese in question.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.

Offline Cartierusm

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,874
  • Cheeses: 21
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2009, 01:56:14 AM »
LOL, thanks for the explanation Dr. Wayne Science Guy.

I thought you were going to call me when you were inebriated not insult me publicly in the forum?

makkonen

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2009, 10:03:38 AM »
You guys are so cute.

wharris

  • Guest
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2009, 01:02:11 PM »
OK,  Well I promise, I promise pictures are coming.  (But I am at work at the moment)

The cheese worked out pretty darn well except for the small bits of openness. 

Come to think of it, most of my Cheddars,  traditional, or stirred have a bit of an open curd to them. 

So the question I have is this: Does anyone get a completely closed curd with cheddar? 

If not,  how do we collectively think this fault should be addressed?
1>More pressure?
2>Use a vacuum chamber?
3>Adjust the recipe so the nature of the cheese is not susceptible to an open curd.
4>Stop Caring about it.
5>None of the above.






Offline Cartierusm

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,874
  • Cheeses: 21
Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #14 on: March 25, 2009, 06:39:27 PM »
Hmm, I think it could it be solved a lot of ways. Personally I haven't opened any cheddars recently so I'll let you know in 6 months.

Wayne, what I've noticed in making cheese for me to get a closed tight curd, Parm for example, the curd has to be warm. So maybe it's something you and I know about but completely forgot about because it's not very convenient for home use, but we've discussed it before, A warmed draining table. Maybe the pros use a warmed draining table while doing the cheddaring phase?

It's not a big deal to have a little openess, your wife sure won't mind, but I would worry about getting the taste, texture and moutht feel you want to achieve, as I think that's the whole point. Master something you love and then build upon it to create your own style. Oh vacuum chamber might be one of the helpful tools.