Cracking/weeping during air drying - Very new cheese maker questions

[WovenMeadows]

I'm going to disagree with the late-blowing diagnosis -- though honestly, I've never encountered it in person, so I may be blowing hot air, as it were. But the fact that it is leaking whey makes me think you may have pressed too much too quickly, trapping whey. And the "barrel" shape of the cheese in the picture makes me think the rind has dried out quite a bit.

Again, I'm no expert, so take this with a grain of salt ...

This is what my thought was too. The weeping of whey is the main issue IMO - the fact that it's weeping at all (nevermind that there's a crack) suggests the curd was too moist to begin with. What comes to mind is either that the curd was not cooked long enough before pressing, and/or it was pressed too hard, too fast once in the mold, trapping whey inside the wheel. Since they whey has lactose and moisture, this will probably result in a sour tasting cheese down the road from fermentation. (I speak from experience - before getting an idea of what the curds should look and feel like during the make process, my first few cheeses came out like this.) Since the cheese wheel itself is probably too moist, as the surface continue to dry it also shrank, and then the crack(s) formed.

[John@PC]

Hi Sarahal88 and welcome the forum.  What part of Va. are you?  My hometown is Covington I know it is definitely going to be cold up there the next couple of days.

[Sarahal88]

Thanks for all the input, it is really helpful.

The cheese is bulging a good bit where the crack is, but the weeping seems to have mostly slowed down. I think I am going to try to finish air drying and waxing the cheese - even if it is not good to eat, I want to learn as much as possible from this one mistake so I'd like to follow the process through and see what turns out.

If there is some coliform contamination in the cheese (which is very possible because we recently had a coliform contamination issue in our well water - though I did boil the water used for washing equipment) will the cheese smell off or look off or otherwise alert me not to eat it? Suppose I wax and age this for a month or so, cut it open and it looks okay - should I still not eat?

Also, seeing some other threads about easy cheeses for beginners, I am thinking of trying Gouda next. Is that any easier than this farmhouse cheddar? Before this I was making quick mozzarella and then graduated to feta, which was successful.

Thanks for all the help. I am so glad I found this forum. Making cheese just by reading books is really hard, without help and advice from real people. I think I am going to post again to get opinions of my potential cheese aging places. I was doing this cheese waxed because I don't yet have a good place with controlled humidity. Right now my house is so cold the temp is about right for cheese inside though!

Also:

Hi Sarahal88 and welcome the forum.  What part of Va. are you?  My hometown is Covington I know it is definitely going to be cold up there the next couple of days.

I am in the western mountains of Virginia, outside the Harrisonburg area. It is very cold now.

[Al Lewis]

Thanks for all the help. I am so glad I found this forum. Making cheese just by reading books is really hard, without help and advice from real people. I think I am going to post again to get opinions of my potential cheese aging places. I was doing this cheese waxed because I don't yet have a good place with controlled humidity. Right now my house is so cold the temp is about right for cheese inside though!

Welcome and please post away!!  This place is no fun without lots of good folks sharing their successes and failures and we've had many of both. The more folks here the merrier.  We can all learn something from each other.

[Danbo]

Al:
I couldn't have said it better... :-)


Sarahal88:
I have tried to make Mozzarella a couple of times without succeeding... I think that a Gouda is a very good cheese to make. It doesn't require a big press and then it tasts great. Be sure to have plenty of cooled preboiled water ready when making Gouda. The first time I made a Gouda I got stressed in the middle of the make because I didn't have enough preboiled water ready...
Do you have a recipe? If you have any questions regarding any steps just ask. Everyone in here are so helpful and there are no stupid questions!
I'm not sure that you are able to see coliform bacteria in the cheese, but the cheese might not have any bacteria at all... It might be just fine. It's a good idea to wax and age it and see how it will develop.


:-) Danbo

[awakephd]

If you have early blowing (coliform bacteria), you should see a lot of small holes in the paste when you cut it -- almost a "frothy" look. Google "early blowing cheese" and you will see lots of pictures.

As for another cheese to try -- I'd recommend Caerphilly or Lancashire; both are in the cheddar family, but they ripen much more quickly, allowing you to eat them as soon as 3 weeks for the former or 6 weeks for the latter. What do you have on hand as far as recipes? In addition to several good books, this forum contains a number of recipes, and there are many out there on the internet. Just ask and someone will point you to a recipe they've tried.

[Sarahal88]

If you have early blowing (coliform bacteria), you should see a lot of small holes in the paste when you cut it -- almost a "frothy" look. Google "early blowing cheese" and you will see lots of pictures.

As for another cheese to try -- I'd recommend Caerphilly or Lancashire; both are in the cheddar family, but they ripen much more quickly, allowing you to eat them as soon as 3 weeks for the former or 6 weeks for the latter. What do you have on hand as far as recipes? In addition to several good books, this forum contains a number of recipes, and there are many out there on the internet. Just ask and someone will point you to a recipe they've tried.

Thanks for the recommendations I am using 2 books for  my cheese education. I am using recipes mostly from Ricki Crroll's "Home Cheese making" because they seem a little more basic and straight forward, and getting more of the theory from "Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking" by Gianaclis Caldwell.

[awakephd]

Both good books. I have those two, Debra Amrein-Boyes, 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes.

There are variations of both the Caerphilly and Lancashire, some of which are fairly significant. For what it is worth, here are the basic recipes for each that I am using, amalgamated from various books and make reports here on the forum:

Caerphilly

4 gallons of whole milk
3/8 tsp Flora Danica or similar meso culture
1 tsp CaCl diluted in 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water (if using P&H milk)
1/2 tsp single-strength rennet diluted in 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water
3 tbs pickling (non-iodized) salt

Heat milk to 88˚F; add culture; ripen for 45 minutes.
Add CaCl; wait 5 minutes. Add rennet; allow to set for ~45 minutes.
Cut into 1/2" cubes. Rest 5 minutes
Stir gently and slowly raise heat to 94˚F; continue stirring (total stirring time = ~45 minutes)
Rest 5 minutes; drain whey
Cheddar every 10 minutes for 30 minutes
Mill into 3/4-1" cubes; toss with salt in two batches, waiting 5-10 minutes between.
Place in mold; press lightly at first, working up to firm pressure to achieve well-knit rind, unmolding and flipping at least 3 times; each time, sprinkle on a bit of additional salt
Ripen for 3-4 weeks; can go with natural rind, wax, or use brush or salt/vinegar to clean mold

Lancashire

4 gallons of whole milk
3/8 tsp Flora Danica or similar meso culture
1/8 tsp TA60 or similar thermo culture
1 tsp CaCl diluted in 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water (if using P&H milk)
1/2 tsp single-strength rennet diluted in 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water
2.5-3 tbs pickling (non-iodized) salt

Heat milk to 90˚F; add culture; ripen for 45 minutes.
Add CaCl; wait 5 minutes. Add rennet; allow to set for ~50 minutes.
Cut into 3/8" cubes. Rest 5 minutes
Stir for 10 minutes
Allow to settle, then drain whey
Cheddar every 15 minutes for 1 hour
Mill into 3/4-1" cubes; toss with salt in two batches, waiting 5-10 minutes between.
Place in mold; press lightly at first, working up to firm pressure to achieve well-knit rind, unmolding and flipping at least 3 times
Ripen for 6-8 weeks; can go with natural rind, wax, or use brush or salt/vinegar to clean mold

[Sarahal88]

Ok I am on my second attempt for this cheese. Can someone remind my what the appropriate RH for the air drying stage would be? Not for aging, which I believe is 85-90%, but for air drying. Trying to get it right this time.

[OzzieCheese]

yep 85% sounds good.  Air dry (could take 2-3 days as long as the room temp is not too hot or cold about 23 Deg C sorry not good on Deg F) it first to let the rind develop a bit. Then 80-85% RH at 10-12 Deg C.  If you wax, Vac PAc the cheese the RH doesn't matter too much if you plan the Cloth Bandage it or leave it a Natural rind then a good constant 80-85% will be good.

-- Mal

[Stinky]

And how strong is the taste of Lancashire at 6 weeks?

[awakephd]

Lancashire at 6 weeks is surprisingly well developed, though it does continue to get even better over a few more weeks. I don't think it can be aged a long time, but I've never had one last more than about 9 weeks.

[Stinky]

Okay. Thank you!