Danbo's Cheddar with Port

[Danbo]

I made this Cheddar with Port yesterday - just out of the press this morning. Now it is resting at around 17C for two days to dry and then it will be waxed or vacuum packed.

If anyone is interested in the make notes and images of the process I will post it here...

:-) Danbo

[qdog1955]

Danbo
  Please do that----I enjoy your makes and Often "steal" your thoughts----that cheese looks great.
Qdog

[awakephd]

Beautiful -- AC4U! Looks like a lovely knit. How much weight did you use for how large a mold?

[Danbo]

Qdog: I am very honered that someone can get ideas from me. Thank you very much! I will put my notes and images online soon. :-)

[Danbo]

Thank you Awakephd! :-)

You don't actually need a lot of pressure to make a good cheddar. I know that OzzieCheese has created perfect cheddars without the need for extreme press. I think that it depends a lot on how dry the curds are, room temperature etc.

Pressing details are in the make notes in the next post...

:-) Danbo

[Danbo]

DANBO'S CHEDDAR WITH PORT - Make notes

Inspired by a recipe in the book "200 Easy Cheese Recipes" (http://www.amazon.com/200-Easy-Homemade-Cheese-Recipes/dp/0778804658). Consider buying this book - there is a lot of exciting recipes! I have tried to describe the way I did it as precise as possible but there might be errors.


Ingredients:

- 24 liters of Demeter-quality milk. Fat content 4,03%. Not homogenized. Pasteurized
- 3,75 ml (1,35 g) Choozit MA4001 culture
- 3,4 ml Calcium Chloride 50%
- 7 ml Bioren Liquid Rennet Extract (1:15.000)
- 55 ml sea salt
- 0,5 g Lysozyme (to prevent late blowing - optional)
- 0,5 liter Dark Red Portwine


Process:

- Kitchen and equipment cleaned and santized with StarSan (30 ml to 20 liters of Water)
- Lysozyme (dilluted in a glass of water) added to milk
- Milk slowly heated to 31C
- Culture springled over milk. Left to rehydrate 5 minutes before stirring for 3 minutes
- Left to ripen for 40 minutes
- Calcium Chloride (dilluted in a glass of Water) is added. Wait 5 minutes after stirring
- Rennet (dilluted in a glass of Water) is added. Stirred for 2 minutes
- Using "spinning bowl"-method to calculate time to cut:
     Floc.time: 19,5 mins
     Floc. factor: 3
     Time to cut: 59 min
- Curds cut into 1,5 cm cubes 59 minutes after adding rennet
- Curds rest for 5 minutes
- Temperature increased to 39C over 45 minutes (around 1C every 6 minutes) while stirring slowly
- Maintain 32C and stir for additional 35 minutes
- Drain all the whey from the curds
- Return the curds to the vat and leave them for 10 minutes till they mat together. The vat was kept in a water bath to maintain the temperature
- Turn the mass of curds over and wait 15 minutes. Drain the whey
- Break the mass in two and let them rest on their sides. Wait 15 minutes. Drain the whey
- Turn the two pieces over. Wait 15 minutes. Drain the whey
- Break the curd into pieces of around 5x2x2cm
- Soak the curds with portwine for 30 minutes. Halfway the curds was mixed in order to soak all the pieces
- Drain the portwine/whey and add half the salt. Mix it in and mix the rest of the salt in
- Curds packed in a cloth covered mould (20 cm in diameter)
- Press the cheese:
     2,2 psi for 30 mins
     4,4 psi for 30 mins
     8,8 psi for 1 hr
     8,8 psi for 9 hrs (without cloth on top)*
     16,2 psi for 15 mins (without cloth)*

     I was using a mould with a diameter of 20 cm / 8 inches:
     50 kg / 110 pounds for 30 mins
     100 kg / 221 pounds for 30 mins
     200 kg / 441 pounds for 1 hr
     200 kg / 441 pounds for 9 hrs (without cloth on top)*
     370 kg / 816 pounds for 15 mins (without cloth)*

     If I had used a mould with a diameter of 10 cm / 4 inches it would have been:
     13 kg / 27,7 pounds for 30 mins
     25 kg / 55,4 pounds for 30 mins
     50 kg / 111 pounds for 1 hr
     50 kg / 111 pounds for 9 hrs (without cloth on top)*
     93 kg / 204 pounds for 15 mins (without cloth)*

     Calculations:
     Area of mould in inches = 3,14 * (Mould diameter/2)^2
     Weight in pounds needed = Pressure in psi * Area of mould in inches
     Weight in kg needed = Weight in pounds needed * 0.45


* Sometimes I do not fold the cheesecloth over the top of the cheese during some of the pressing. This makes it easier to avoid deep imprints from the cloth. I think that the draining is OK anyway. I normally press for a short period without any cloth at all at the end to make the surface smooth and nice.


Images of the process will follow...

[Al Lewis]

Gorgeous cheese!!  AC4U

[Danbo]

Thanks Al! :-)

[Danbo]

Images from the make...

[Danbo]

More images...

[qdog1955]

Danbo
  Absolutely wonderful! Now I can give you a cheese as payment for the ideas I'm going to "barrow"  and you'll get another when it tastes as good as it looks :)
Qdog

[Frodage]

Very nice mottling. A cheese for you!

[Danbo]

Thanks guys! :-)

[Al Lewis]

Did this merlot washed Colby back when I first started cheese making.  Sorry it's out of focus.  I had to add calcium carbonate to the wine to get it to the same Ph as the cheese.  Did you have to do the same??

[OzzieCheese]

Well that is one Cool lookin Cheese. Port and Cheddar and no washing up !! 

A Cheese for Ye !

-- Mal