Hi Frodage, welcome to the forum and congrats on your first wheel!
Here's what made my washed curd cheeses better over the years. They don't really mention these tips in most recipes:
*Whole milk is good, but you'll get a better result if you add a bit of partly skimmed milk to it. Aim for a Protein-to-Fat Ratio of 1.1:1
* Know the exact amount of whey you drain and the exact amount of water you add. Don't eyeball it like they do in recipes. You'll need to have water at a precise temp before hand.
* Do the wash in 2 steps, taking note of time. ex.: raise to 95F in 5 mins. Stir 5 mins, then raise to 102F in 5 mins. you'll get a better control on the washing step this way.
* Careful not to scald the curds when adding water. So stir a little more vigorously when adding water, and only add small amounts at a time.
* Pressing under whey: This one took me time to figure out. I used to take the curds out and put them in the mould and then place the mould under whey and press 5lbs for 15-20 mins... it didn't work. For a near perfect paste every time, the curds simply CANNOT leave the whey for even half a second, otherwise you'll get some mechanical hole. So what I do now is I drain a bit of whey and then I simply add a pressing plate to the pot and add 5lbs (non buoyant) to it for 15-20 mins. Then drain. cut the curd mass in 1" pieces and place in mould for pressing. This is purely for aesthetic reasons.
* Pressing: don't press overnight. If you don't have a PH meter, then only press 4-8 hours.
* After pressing, leave the wheel in the mould without cloth and put it in the same area as the brine. Let the wheel reach the same temp as the brine before brining. The wheel shouldn'tacidify during this time. Brine between 10C and 16C.
* Aging: air-dry at 10C and age at 10C. You'll get mechanical holes at 12-13C especially if you used some MM100.
* Secret ingredient: L. Helviticus as a flavour control. Add a tiny amount to some MM100 or MA4001 plus some FD or Aroma B. (or you can simply use Choozit Kazu)
