I've decided I should make a parm for next Christmas as we're going to be visiting family and I can take this with me. So, here's the make plan for tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free. I'll check before I get started to see if anyone has spotted some glaring mistakes. I got this protocol from the forum years ago, but I'm not sure who originally posted it as I seem to not have recorded that information.
A couple of things to note if you are used to making Meso cheeses. First, you will want to drop your rennet down. I normally use 1.6 ml of this rennet to get a floc in the 10-15 minute range for meso type cheeses. For this, with the higher temp and different acidity curve of thermophillic starters, your rennet will work differently. I've dropped to 1.1 ml, so just under 70% of the usual amount of rennet. I also wanted it to set a bit more slowly, and at 17 minutes when I removed the floc tester bucket it was just leaving an impression.
Second, you will expel a lot more whey, so the cheese will be shorter than others from the same volume of milk. That's fine, it's just water that you've lost. This might be an issue if you stack weights to press. I had to add some additional "lego" to my weight stack or the weights would just rest on the top of the mould.
Third, the cheesecloth will stick when you are pressing it! After the first hour in the press, remove the cheesecloth and press naked (I mean the cheese; what you do with yourself is not my business).
Parmesan (Sunday, Mar 1, 2015)
6 Litres Silver Top (cream line 4% fat, 3.1 g/100ml protein)
4 Litres Home Brand Light blue (1.5% fat, 3.7 g/100 ml protein)
1 Litre Home Brand Trim (0.5% fat, 3.9g/100ml protein; total p:f ratio = 1.22:1 – target 1.25:1; next time, 3 Light blue and 2 trim = 1.27:1)
1.1 ml 280 IMCU calf rennet (baseing on my previous Bitto makes)
4 tbls yogurt (Or strep thermo, and LH)
1/16th tsp Lacto.Halviticus
1/8th tsp calf lipase in warm water
¼ tsp CaCl2 (50% solution)
1. Add CaCl2 while setting up
2. Add starter and lipase and warm the milk to 38 C (38.0 C; 7:33)
3. allow the mixture to ripen for 45 minutes (7:33 - 8:18; 37.5 C)
4. warm back to 38.0 and add Rennet (8:21:00) floc time (8:38:00 = 17m 00s 2.5x = 42m 30s = cut time 9:03:30) (if you are used to meso cheeses, you probably will need to cut back on your rennet amount; also aim for slightly longer floc, and over 15 -20 min is ok)
5. Cut to ½ cm cubes (9:04 - 9:10)
6. Allow the curds to sit for 10 minutes to firm up. (9:10 - 9:20)
7. Slowly raise the temperature of the milk to 124 F (51.5 C). It should take as long as 45 minutes to reach this temperature. During this time, gently stir the curds every few minutes so they don't mat together. (9:30 - 10:18 C 38.0 - 51.8 C)
8. Keep the curds at this temperature for another 15-30 minutes until very small and firm. (10:18 - 10:45)
9. Drain the whey by pouring through a cheesecloth lined colander. (10:55)
10. Carefully place the drained curds into your cheesecloth lined mold.
11. Press the cheese at about 10 kg for 30 minutes. (11:00 - 11:30)
12. flip and redress, then press at 20 kg 30 minutes (11:30 – 12:07)
13. flip and REMOVE cheesecloth (it will stick), then press at 30 kg over night (12:10 – 5:30 -8:33 pm reduced to 15kg as things tilted but knit is fantastic already - 6:20; 1186g, 15.8x5.2 = 1019cm3 = 1.16g/cm3) Note, without the cheesecloth, the cheese gets stuck in the mould.
14. Float the cheese in a COLD brine solution** for 30 hours. Be certain to flip the cheese over at least three times to ensure even rind development. (??:?? - ??:??)
15. Remove and pat dry
16. Place the cheese in your cave to age for at least five months (longer for stronger flavor). You will need to flip the cheese over every day for the first two weeks and then at least once weekly or it will dry unevenly.
17. Inspect daily for mold. Should mold develop on the cheese surface, simply remove it using a paper towel dipped in white vinegar.
18. After three, six and nine months of aging, rub the surface of the cheese with olive oil. Do not wax this cheese.
I made ricotta, raised to 92.8 C, added 50/50 cider/white vinegar (ran out of cider vinegar, otherwise I just use that), and let it set for 30 minutes. Didn't seem to get a huge amount, but what I did get was very fluffy. The proteins seemed to stay in the whey rather than float up to be scooped off.
