Author Topic: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209  (Read 9781 times)

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #15 on: March 25, 2009, 06:48:48 PM »
I float my cheese in a metal pan, in 110 deg water between stirs.

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #16 on: March 25, 2009, 07:34:07 PM »
Wow, good job. So that can't be it.

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #17 on: March 25, 2009, 07:39:52 PM »
I have been racking my brain trying to figure a way to fix this.

My next batch, I will do identically. 
But I will bump up my pressure from 6.5PSI to around 10PSI.

That is,  (on an 8in mould) 50.25 sqin X 10lb = ~502lbs on the wheel.

If that does not work,  I am building a vacuum chamber and making a different press.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2009, 11:06:18 PM by Wayne Harris »

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #18 on: March 25, 2009, 08:27:57 PM »
You know you can use the vacuum pump for lots of things besides cheese. So if you need some adivce on the purchase pros and cons let me know.

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #19 on: March 25, 2009, 08:38:56 PM »
I have been eyeballing one for a while.  I would like to start degassing my wine.

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #20 on: March 25, 2009, 10:29:47 PM »
Pictures:
« Last Edit: March 25, 2009, 10:35:25 PM by Wayne Harris »

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #21 on: March 25, 2009, 10:36:49 PM »
one more picture:

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #22 on: March 26, 2009, 12:11:39 AM »
Wayne, you are definately overly critical...hark do I hear someone saying Pot, Kettle, Black meet Carter..ahhhemm, anyway. I think that looks great, looks a lot closer to real cheddar than anything else posted thusfar.

P.S. How much are you milling the curds before pressing. Because Pros use a machine to grind it up to scrambled eggs consistency.

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #23 on: March 26, 2009, 12:20:38 AM »
Thanks,

I don't know about "anything", there is a lot of good cheese made here.  But its certainly my best effort... 

The milling consists of using my fingers to break up the curds every 5 minutes  and drain the curds..

By the time I was done there was no more whey coming off the curds and they were dry and tough to thee touch.  They started off well formed about .25 inches-.5inches in size.  They got firmer over time and some got bigger.  I broke many apart while being careful not to crush any.

In between stirring, I placed the pan in the water that kept it warm.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2009, 01:37:15 PM by Wayne Harris »

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #24 on: March 26, 2009, 01:32:25 AM »
Wayne that looks as good or better than anything I've ever bought let alone made!

Dukester

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #25 on: March 26, 2009, 01:51:36 AM »
WOW...I think I have now been inspired!!!!  I'm new to this forum and have kicked around the idea of making my own cheese for several years and now I have stumbled upon this forum.

I have to tell ya, I have been somewhat discouraged reading other post about how "nasty" some of the home cheeses have turned out.  But, not only now have I learned the intricate details of the forum naming convention from Wayne and Carter, but have also seen this great looking cheese of what I would hope mine turns out to be someday.  I certainly know how to calculate how old cheddar is now and Carter's high praise for vacuum pumps....ha.

You have me inspired.  I'm searching now to find what beginner equipment etc that I will need.  Who has the best price etc.  I know all you pro's will tell me to start out making cottage cheese or some other sissy cheese like cream cheese or something.  Not my bag, I want to jump right in and make some hard type cheeses like cheddar or gouda.  Got a buddy that's into home brew beer and figure my home made cheese might go along good with that..ha.

Wayne....Great looking cheese and I've learned a lot reading all your post.  Would appreciate some thoughts on beginner equipment, type of cheese to make first etc.  A picture of your press and other equipment might get my grey matter in gear for rounding all this up.  Look forward to reading more on here and hopefully soon you will be reading about my first cheese. 

wharris

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #26 on: March 26, 2009, 01:29:38 PM »
Dukester,
Thanks for the kind words.  I would start off by saying the cheddar is one of the more difficult and time-consuming cheeses to make.  You can see by my log how long I was at it.  What you don’t see from my log is the prep before and the cleanup after.  All in all, you can expect to give a full day to making cheddar.
If you want to dive in to cheddar, you can.  I would invest in 4 basic things. 
•   Get a thick and sturdy stainless steel stockpot that is sized 20% bigger than your cheese batches
•   Get a good digital thermometer.  (have an analog one at the ready as a standby)
•   Get a pH meter.  Get a decent one.
•   Get/make a press. Carter and Dave can talk more about that.  Here is mine

I would also recommend the following items that might be a bit more subjective, but I find them important.
•   Get good rennet (liquid 2x strength animal rennet)
•   Get good starter culture.
•   Get a curd knife (an icing spatula will work fine initially)
Dave (likespace) said it best, Cheese-making, the art, is an exercise in managing those subtleties that are inherit with each operational step in a cheese recipe. 
For example,  a heating protocol that says raise the temperature of your cheese 2 degrees every 5 min for 25 min, then 3 degrees every 5 min for 40 min.   That is tough.   Temperature control, that precise, is both required and difficult. It demands your attention.   I would practice with water first.
There are a number of other subtleties that I am still struggling with, and some that I still am blissfully ignorant of.   This cheese in this thread merely represents the state of the art for me and my abilities.
 
« Last Edit: March 26, 2009, 01:45:38 PM by Wayne Harris »

Estes

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #27 on: March 26, 2009, 10:08:38 PM »
That is a fantastic looking cheese!  Really professional and inspiring.  One of these days...
Great work!

Brian

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #28 on: March 26, 2009, 11:29:50 PM »
Man, that looks great!
I might have to start adding the color to mine.  Every cheese I make is of course white.

Brian

Likesspace

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Re: Wayne's Cheese: Cheddar032209
« Reply #29 on: March 26, 2009, 11:40:11 PM »
Wayne....
I have to say that you have produced the best looking cheese I've seen to date on this forum. Not just the best looking cheddar.....the best looking period.
Now you've gone and made me want to cut open my first attempt, just to see what I have aging. Would it hurt anything to cut one open and then rewax it for further aging?
Thanks for sharing these pictures and your procedure. This gives me hope of eventually turning out a completely commercial quality cheese.
GREAT WORK!

Dave