Here's my second stab at a Tomme.
Ingredients
8 gal. Whole Creamline Milk
8 cubes MM100
3 cubes TA61
Mycodore, BL, Geo, KL71, 1/16 tsp ea.
2 tsp CaCl
90 drops rennet
Directions
Warm 8 gallons milk to 88 degrees F. Add CaCl, cultures and adjuncts while warming. (overshot to 90).
Ripen for 30 minutes at 88 F or until pH drops at least 0.05. (75 minutes)
Add rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup distilled water, stir up and down 1 minute or less.
Wait for flocculation, multiply by 3 to get total set time from the time you added rennet. Time to floc target is 15 minutes. Use more or less to try and hit the target the next time if you're off a little. (Actual Floc 14 minutes. Cut curd at 42 minutes).
Cut into 1 inch cubes, let rest 5 mins. Whisk to ¼ inch. (Cut at 10:00)
Heat to 92 degrees while stirring gently over 15 minutes.
Draw off enough whey to equal 1/3 of the total milk amount (2.7 gallons, or 40 cups). Before you draw it off, heat the same amount of water to 130F. (Use 125° next time). Drain off the whey and add the heated water in two stages. Add the first half and stir gently for 5-10 mins until the curd firms up a little more. Then add the second half. Your final temp should be the same as with a normal tomme, right around 100F. Do not heat to the high end of mesophilic (105). You do not want acid production to be that fast. If concerned about temp, add the heated water in three stages so you hit 100F. Then stir the curds until they are the right texture. You can tell this by pressing a tablespoon of curd in your hand. It should mat together slightly and be somewhat firm. (Curds were clumping at 10:48. Started settling).
Drain whey and consolidate curds by applying light pressure with a mat. pH should be 6.35 or higher. (pH was 6.5). Put into cheesecloth lined mold. This cheese sticks, so soak the cheesecloth in pH 5.2 whey beforehand.
Press twice at 10 pounds for 30 min, 16 pounds for 1 hour, and subsequent presses at 1 hour increments at 20 pounds.
Press until pH is 5.4 or overnight. (pH 5.38 at 2:15 PM).).
Salt with a total of 2.2% of cheese weight, distributing over top, bottom and sides.
Leave at 55-65 degrees for a day at ~70% RH for the outer rind to dry a little before moving to the cave.
Morge wash consists of 4% salt, and 1/32 tsp each of KL71, B. linens, Geo15 and Mycodore. Cheese is flipped daily with the top and sides getting washed. Daily wash continues for 1 week, Continuing with an every other day wash regimen for the second week. Washing starts around day 6, with morge being prepared on day 5.
Age 3-6 months at 50-55F, 85-92% RH (or higher if using special rind treatment or making a b linens variant). Natural or oil rubbed rind.
Cheese weight out of the press was 3827 Grams. Dry salted over the next 2 days with 84 G. salt.
Larry
