2nd Havarti, and the last cheese I'm making with this borrowed mold, as my new one should be arriving tomorrow. Once again all seemed to proceed well. Recipe used was as follows:
1) Boil jug and put 20mls of water aside to cool.
2) Take 10 litres of milk and slowly bring up to 32 degrees C. Put 4 litres of hot tap water into your chilly bin in preparation for later steps.
3) Add 1 packet of Mad Milly’s Aromatic Mesophilic Starter Culture (or 150mls if you’ve prepared a culture) to the milk and mix in well for a couple of minutes
4) Add 2ml of rennet to the 20ml of cooled water, mix, then slowly pour this into the milk as you stir. Continue stirring for 2 minutes.
5) Place milk into chilly bin with thermometer and allow milk to set whilst holding at 32C. At 40 minutes test for a clean cut of the curd.
6) Cut the curd into 10mm cubes and allow to stand for 5 minutes before stirring gently for 20 minutes.
7) Put 2 litres of water on to boil, then allow to cool to 60C. Short bursts with the element will maintain at this temp.
Allow the curd to settle and ladle off 3 litres of whey.
9) Cooking the curd: Slowly add the 2 litres of water over 15 minutes to the curd/whey mixture. By the end of the 15 minutes the curd/whey temp should be up to 38C. Stir frequently during this stage.
10) Continue stirring the curd intermittently for the next 70 minutes.
11) Ladle 4 litres of whey off off, then add cool water till the temperature drops to 28 degrees C (Seem to be around 1 litre of cold tap water)
12) Rest for 5 minutes, then drain off all the whey. Briefly stir to release any more whey that may be trapped.
13) Put the curds into the mold, then press lightly, turning regularly with increasing pressure for 4 hours until you get a good knit at the rind.
14) After 4 hours remove from mould and put in a cold (8-10 degree C) fresh water bath for 2 hours. (it will Sink to the bottom!!)
15) Place your cheese into a cool 20% brine solution for 3.5 hours. Turn regularly to get an even distribution of the brine.
16) Remove from brine and allow to air dry on a rack allowing air circulation, flipping whenever you think about it till the cheese is dry and starting to form a natural rind. For me this is about 3 days.
17) At this point you can wax, vacuum pack, or (like I do), allow to form a natural rind.
18) Store at 10-15 degrees C for 6 to 10weeks, turning the cheese 2 to 3 times per week.
19) Slice and Enjoy!!!!!!!!
