I need a cheese teacher.....

[qdog1955]

  I read a post by Sailor, that Americans prefer a creamy, smoother cheese and the Brits prefer a crumblier, almost bitter cheese. Well, guess I'm an American. After making 4 Caerphillys, all slightly bitter ( I can see where a reference to lemon comes from) I ordered some on line---sure enough my makes weren't far off-----I only bring this up, because if you are a typical American, this cheese might seem a little off to you---and like me, you might start thinking you did something wrong and maybe you haven't.
  I'm not sure bitter is the right word to use---maybe tangy is a better adjective.
Qdog 

[Tiarella]

  I read a post by Sailor, that Americans prefer a creamy, smoother cheese and the Brits prefer a crumblier, almost bitter cheese. Well, guess I'm an American. After making 4 Caerphillys, all slightly bitter ( I can see where a reference to lemon comes from) I ordered some on line---sure enough my makes weren't far off-----I only bring this up, because if you are a typical American, this cheese might seem a little off to you---and like me, you might start thinking you did something wrong and maybe you haven't.
  I'm not sure bitter is the right word to use---maybe tangy is a better adjective.
Qdog

I think of it as tangy like a cheddar. 

[Stinky]

I've heard it's slightly reminiscent of cheesecake. Sweet, and slightly lemony?

No lemon taste that I've ever experienced....harder than cheese cake.  it's salty not sweet.   Hmmmmmm.  where was that from?   

Karlin's book, I believe.

*shrugs*

How long do you like to age it? I know how long you can, but what's your ideal ripening time?

[OzzieCheese]

There are two topics here.  Pressing and Maturing and there is a quite a bit on both.  Lets get the milk in the pot first as there is a lot happening here as well.  Feel free time chime in - But I like Caerphilly because of another coulpe of methods Cheddaring and Milling.  And as most here already have mentioned it's short maturing time of 3-4 weeks though, there is a bit of magic here as well.  Damn I like making cheese.  Let me collect my thoughts and get my day job under way and I'll continue.

-- Mal
 

[Stinky]

Look, I know you can age it for 3-4 weeks, and it tastes good. I'm just trying to figure out what people here like to do. 

But yes I enjoy the cheddaring process as well. Once you get the hang of it, it's quite fun.

[OzzieCheese]

The Maturing time of 3 weeks is good but I do enjoy it out to 6 - 8 weeks. There is a wonderful Caerphilly style availble right there is in US called Landalf that I have had the great pleasure of tasting about 12 monuths ago and this is - in my opinion - a wonderful cheese.

http://landaffcreamery.com/Our_Cheese.html

described as having rustic natural rind and a semi-firm past, subtle aromas of cave and grass with balanced complexity harmonizes a bright buttermilk tang and savory brown butter notes. raw holstein cow, aged 5 months.

The make in the link is also of the same style - yet there are many path ways to achieve cheese.  This one is tangy and creamy and with and open texture.

The interesting part of the description from their Web site is the 'Open and buttery Texture' - and that comes about from a couple of enzymes actions and of course the beauty of raw milk. So, as you can imagine they are guarding what culture they use - though I have recently found out how the rind is developed - secrets revealed later.

-- Mal

 

[OzzieCheese]

Some things I've learnt about Cultures:
1. Although the types of bacteria are the same the ratio is not.  I'm not a biologist but to me that makes duplicating cheese very difficult but take heart, this is where the 'Artisan' part comes in...

2. No two culture are measurements in a recipe are the same, this is a 'It depends' type of thing.  1/32 Teaspoon of a Sacco MO 030 is sufficient to acidify 10 litres but the same amount of Choozit MA011 is not in a reasonable timeframe.  You need to learn your cultures and how they behave - more 'Artisan' stuff. Start simple, work with a couple of cultures for a while.  This is also why the Flocculation method of determining the right time to cut the curd is the way to go

3. Yes you can over acidify at the riping stage and if you don't use the Flocculation method, can lead to very firm curds that makes it difficult to drain whey from.

4. Don't be afraid of mixing them - you can get some really nice combinations.  For example for this cheese you can 1/2 and 1/2 a plain Meso with Flora Danica.  Interesting point here is it learn which ones produce gas and those that don't because that can dictate whether you can Wax it or not.  I made the mistake a while ago of making this with 100% Flora Danica and three week later the pressure of the CO2 being produced popped the wax. Yet, the same make, same culture with a Natural rind was amazing.

5. Learn where the cultures' sweet spot is - try and get their acidification profile from the manufacturer.  Attached here is the chart for MO 030.  There are a couple of interesting points the chart is at 25 Deg C/15 hours/pH of 4.5 PlusMinus point 1.  Although I have only anecdotal observations but as the temperature increases the acidification curve moves to the left 1 hour per degree C increase - again this is dependant on quite a few variables but it's a close enough about guess - Please if any one has a better model - please chime in here. .  The slope of the curve changes slightly but if the culture is added at 27 degrees to rehydrate, they are full active at 30 DegC, the pH change down to where there is sufficient acid created occurs over a6 hour period which seems to be the time it takes to make the cheese until the long pressing period.  The temperature decreases out of the vat but the Terminate pH is pretty constant depending on the culture.
The other point is that it doesn't produce CO2 - I think the word is Homofermentive - could be using this in its wrong context but the bacteria strains can't break down the proteins to create the terminal amino acids that lead to those "buttery notes" - this culture will still produce a very nice crisp, close texture cheese.

Sweet spot for this culture is 30 deg C.  This also gives a nice cooking temperature rise to help expel the whey. the strains used here are Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris
- love the names.

Phew that a whole lot - I'll stop here so you all can take a breath..

-- Mal
       

[Stinky]

How do you change the amount of ripening by using the floc method? I thought you ripen the culture, and then add rennet?

[OzzieCheese]

Yeah - Sorry point three needs expanding.

If you use too much culture or the ripening temperature isn't stable AND after adding the Rennet you use the cutting time in the recipe, you can end up with very firm curds that won't drain well.  The Flocculation method of determining the optimal time time to cut the curd, helps address this variance.

Sorry for the confusion, I was making a non-intuative leap to bridge to the next step.

-- Mal   

[shaneb]

Shane: flower essences (called "flower remedies" in many parts of the world) are a form of vibrational medicine similar in some ways to homeopathy.  My flower essence website is www.foxmountain.net       If you want to see cute baby milk goat photos check out the farm site (still under construction) at www.sovereignhillfarm.com  there's a few cheese photos there too.

Sounds very interesting. The goats are awesome. Are the dogs maremma's?

Shane

[OzzieCheese]

So.  Theory is great but there is no better teacher than experience - Jeff Hamm is the Forum exponent of the Cheese so Jeff please chime in ...  Lets get the Milk in the pot...  As the first request was a bit around temperature control then a bit on thermometers.  Four main types  BTW I have yet to try an Infra red though it might be a cool gadget to use - any reader out use one ?
Here is an interesting list..
http://www.atp-instruments.co.uk/different-types-of-thermometer

For hobby cheesemaking anyway

1. Mercury Filled - would recommend not using these only for the safety reason - they are accurate though and have a great responce rate and no Hysteresis - JohnPC has a great post on that (and he makes great controllers and other wonderful equipment)
2. Red (or other coloured Dye) Alcohol - Again glass implements and cheese making - your choice
3. Mechanical Dial and
4. Digital.

Now this might seem weird but having recently starting to use the a Digital Thermometer I still think the mechanical Dial thermometers give a better feel for the Rate at which the temperature is changing.  I will say however that there is no decimal point on my digital one.  This creates an interesting discussion in itself.  When the Digital one read 32 Deg what is it actually reading 31.5 32 or 32.5 and by the time you catch it the temp then clicks to 33 for example.  Also what is the change over point at .5 degrees or the whole unit.... The point I'm trying to make - a bit unsuccessfully is - the difference between Sensitivity and Accuracy - and the display.  I'm sure the Digital is sensitive but without a decimal point, my interpretation is not accurate.  32 degrees could be somewhere around that and I'm OK with it .  Some other may like to be a little more scientific.

Ok .. enough chatter

Milk going in ...

[OzzieCheese]

Milk heating to 30 Deg C.  Slowly but we dont want to take all day
Culture added - based on the recommended dosage rate.  There are a few points here that I don't have experience in is th euse of raw milk - though you can reduce the amount of culture, I don't know by how much, so again thisis a 'It depends' thing.

Interesting point on the 'over acidification' comment previously.  Curd formation and the resulting sructure is very dependant on the pH of the milk and alot of recipes use pH markers to perform various stages of the cheese making adventure. One of the chemicals responsible for creating the curd is Calcium Phosphate - natually occuring in milk, and without getting into the scientific details the lower the pH (ie the more acidic the milk) the less Calcium Phospate is available to form the curd.   There is a whole other topic around pH and measuring pH. Though I have a pH meter I've only made one cheese using it and this worked very well without it before.

Add Calcium Chloride stir for 1 minute - I use 1/8th teaspoon diluted in a 1/4 non-chlorinated water (boiled and cooled tap water is ok).  If you have the good fortune to be able to use raw milk you can omit this as this is added to help 'repair' the milk of the damage caused by pasteurisation.

Let ripen for 30 minutes.  I prefer to add the CaCl2 at this stage to endure it is evenly distributed and incorporated into the milk before adding rennet.

This is where the note taking come into its own - you can record from one cheese to another whether 30 minutes was enough, the temperatures and the times.  Be honest !! If the temp slips a little or the milk ripened over 40 minutes because you just couldn't leave the 'Bold and the Beautiful' -record it and review later.  If it works and the cheese turns out to your likeing you might want to repeat.   There are so many varables so don't be too hung up on getting it 'Exact' - its cheese
For the Technially minded (from the Technology of Cheese making book) - optimum rennet enzimatic activity  is at pH is 6.0 though thats in the lab. 
There is no real markers for this stage of the cheese.

Ding !!!!  It's Rennet time....
 


 

[OzzieCheese]

Up until now is all been Hot, slightly acid milk.  Few microbes and a touch of chemicals added but still just milk.   Though I will add - if left to it's own devices and a good temperature over 12-24 hours will actually from a curd because as the pH drops, is more acid is created, there is sufficient changes to the structure of the milk for it to agglutinate - form a mass (gotta love google).  Several authors, way better than I explain it very well.  Gianaclis Caldwells book "Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking" is an excellent, just technical enough book that has taught me so much.  If you can find a copy of the Technology of Cheesemaking - it is a deeply scientific book covering a huge number of topics.

While maintaining 30 DegC. - Important, a contant temperature is to ensure a consistant clotting behaviour.
Add Rennet - note the time, start the stop watch - Stir for 1 minute - gently.  I use a liquid rennet that is termed 'single strength' but that can vary depending on the manufacturer.  The spec sheet says that mine has a performance of an average 190 IMCU (International Milk Coagulation Units) but some are double or triple strength. Again, other authors have wonderful descriptions on the types and origins of coagulation agents.

The link at the beginning will take you to where I describe the Flocculation method of determining the best time to cut the curd.  And I'm sorry but even this is a guide - a better guide than just time,  but still a guide. But it's not the end of the cheese if it's too early, it will just be... different.

If you don't want to use the 'Floc' method check for a 'Clean Break' as described earlier at about 40 minutes.

Curd Cutting time.  Cut the curds as closely as possible into ¼ inch(6mm) cubes.  There are so many ways to do this but, try to get to this size.  If you are using just a curd knife on a round pot, cut as close to this as possible and use a whisk with a few 'gentle' stir and lift motions to get the curds to an even size. then let them rest for 5 minutes. This is described as letting the curds heal.  it actually allows curd matrix to close around the cut surface to encapsulate the fat.  The key word here is gentle as the curd is very fragile at this stage and where people first notice that the curds 'Fracture'.   

This is the amazing bit, even here and if the curds turn to mush, you can whack the temp to about 80 Deg C, add about 1/4 cup of nice vinegar, stir, drain through a fine cheese cloth, hang for 2-3 hours add salt to taste and voila - 'Whole milk Ricotta'.   

But this is Caerphilly.

This cheese has a very gentle cooking of the curds and a medium stirring time. 
Slowly raise the temperature to 33-34 DegC over 10 minutes.
Stir gently @ 33-34 DegC for 40 minutes and let rest for 5 minutes.

How is every one going here - bored yet ?

Back soon for the fun bit..

-- Mal
 
 

[Kern]

Awesome Mal, I am hanging on every word awaiting the next installment.  Have a cheese on me for your efforts!

[Danbo]

Also a cheese from me - great detailed descriptions, Mal! :-)