For this make, I attempted to follow Caldwell’s recipe, with a smattering of ideas from other sources. (Just enough so that I can’t blame Gianaclis if anything goes wrong
).
IngredientsMilk: 3 gal whole
1 Qt. Heavy Cream
4 cubes Flora Danica
1 / 16 tsp (0.3 g)
P. candidum (PC-HP6 strain)
1/64 tsp Geo 15
1/64 tsp. KL71
¾ tsp. Calcium chloride (optional) diluted.
40 drops Rennet, diluted
2% of cheese weight Salt
StepsWarm milk to 94°F (34°C). 9:45 AM.
Stir in calcium chloride
Culture: Sprinkle cultures on top. Let set for 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir gently for 2 to 5 minutes.
(PH was at 6.55 right after adding bulk cultures, so I added Rennet at this point.
Probably should have waited for another 0.05 pH drop. It seems like I consistently get ahead of expected pH readings).Add rennet solution, and stir gently with an up- and- down motion, then still milk. 9:48 AM.
Floc time: 12 minutes. Floc Factor: 6. Minutes: 72. Cut time: 11:00 AM.
Cut: Cut curd into 3 / 4 inch (2- cm) cubes, and let rest 15 to 30 minutes. The pH at cut should be 6.45 to 6.50.
Rest until 3 / 4 inch whey covers curds.
Stir: Stir gently to loosen the curds, rest 15 to 30 minutes, then stir again. Repeat stir and rest phases until curd texture is even throughout. The pH at the end of stirring should be 6.40 to 6.45. Do not reheat vat; room temperature should be 73 to 78°F (23°26°C. By the end of stirring, the curd should be 86 to 88°F (30°31°C).
(It ended up taking about 4 hours to meet the pH target. I’m going back to waiting for a greater pH drop before Renneting from now on).Drain: Ladle into forms. First flip: 30 minutes. Second flip: one hour. Keep flipping occasionally throughout evening. Unmold next morning when pH of cheese is 4.7 to 4.8. Decrease room temperature to 62°F (17°C), and sprinkle top and bottom of cheese with a total of 2% pure salt.
(PH hit 4.8 at 11:00 the next morning. Salted 1% on each side throughout the day).Ripening and Affinage: Place in ripening fridge at 52 to 55°F (11° to 13°C) and 95 to 97 percent RH. Turn daily. When mold growth is even, you can wrap or pat growth down. Ideally, wrap the cheese and move to a cooler fridge, 38 to 40°F (3° to 4°C
(Cheeses went into a 60°F cave from 4/18 until 4/20 to give the yeasts a head start. On 4/18 there was a nice yeasty smell. On 4/19 they had a nice fruity/yeasty odor and slight slime. 4/20 nice and slimy. Temperature to 55°F on 4/20.
As discussed above, I seem to be consistently getting ahead of where I should be on the pH curve. On this cheese I waited to hit the pH target, which I think might have caused a too firm curd. Time will tell).Edited to add: Or just follow Mal's pH markers of 6.58 cut and 6.56 drain. Larry
