I decided to try a Butterkäse since I was starting to get the blues from making blues. This recipe is basically the same as the one on cheesemaking.com and I also used their cultures. It is quite a different process as one culture dies off as the temperature is increased for the benefit of another. Care must also be taken during the flipping process because this cheese is quite soft at that stage. Kind of like handling a water balloon.
I also tried out a new mold I purchased that I feel gives a better height to width ratio for 2 gallon batches. It also has nice rounded edges.
Ingredients:
• 2 gal. raw milk
• 1 packet direct set Buttermilk culture (C21)
• 1 packet direct set Thermophilic culture (C201)
• 1 pinch Geotrichum Candidum (C7)
• 2.25 ml or slightly less than ½ Tsp. Liquid Animal Rennet
• Salt Brine
Steps:
1. Add milk to pot and bring up temperature to 86° F (30° C).
2. Sprinkle in all cultures, cover with lid and let rest 5 minutes.
3. Stir well, cover with lid and let mature undisturbed for 1 hour.
4. Slowing raise temperature to 104° F (40° C).
5. Add rennet and wait for 25 minutes.
6. Cut curds vertically only spaced 2 inches apart and let rest for 5 minutes maintaining temp.
7. Cut horizontal with ladle and stir for 10 minutes while breaking curds down to about a 5/8” size.
8. Stir and cook curds for an additional 10 minutes using a spoon as to not break curds further.
9. Remove ½ of the whey and replace with 104° F (40° C) purified water.
10. Gently stir with spoon for 30 minutes.
11. Ladle curds into cloth lined 5.3" × 5" mold and press with 6 lbs. for 30 minutes.
12. Flip, rewrap and press again for another 30 minutes with 6 lbs.
13. Continue to flip every 30 minutes without cheese cloth and without weight for another 4-5 hours.
14. Leave in mold, cover and place in normal fridge overnight.
15. Next morning pat dry and place in brine for 5-6 hours.
16. Pat dry and move to cave set at 85% humidity and 50-55° F (10-13° C).
17. Age for 4-6 weeks flipping daily for the first week and every other day from there on.
18. Wipe as needed with brine solution to keep unwanted mold away. Do not allow rind to dry out.