Farmhouse cheese - First aging fail

[Paine88]

So I made a cheese.
Read 4 different recipies on farmhouse "cheddar" cheese and have now learned to take meticulous notes next time, as I have forgotten all details on the make, but I mostly used Caldwell's recipie. Have also been too lazy with turning and cleaning of moulds, doing it every 3-4 days instead of checking every day.
Tried it today, 6 weeks old. After rubbing the mold down a little bit, the smell was good and cheesy. The paste was creamy and soft.
The taste, however, turned out to be quite bitter. I probably used too much rennet.
But so many lessons learned! Now I just need more cultures so I can try again!

[Andrew Marshallsay]

Bad luck, Paine but don't let it discourage you.
A couple of things to consider:
1. Did you use the amount of rennet given in the recipe? I tend to ignore that and go by the manufacturer's recommendation as not all rennets are the same strength.
2. Did you measure flocculation time? This could be used as a guide to whether or not you have used the correct amount of rennet as well as determining when to cut.
3. You describe the paste as "soft". Perhaps there could have been too much whey retained, which could have several causes, including....
4. ...Did you press it for long enough and hard enough? The reason I raise this is that, from the photo there seem to be more mechanical openings than I would have expected.
 

[Kern]

Six weeks for a cheddar?  Maybe it is bitter because it does not want to be judged when it is so young!  Time, Paine88, give it some time and the bitterness will more than likely go away.  Having chided you for your impatience let me say that I like your spunk and perseverance.  By all means take notes.  Get a pH meter if you don't have one.  Remember THAT section of Caldwell?  I am giving you your first Cheese because I think you did a reasonable job on this cheese.  (Besides that some of my ancestors came from Norway!).  I've attached an Excel Spreadsheet for a cheese I made.  You can clean it up and use this as a template for your notes.  Incidentally, the cheddar on this template was not good for about six months and is still excellent 18 months later.     

[Paine88]

Thanks for responses!
Kern:
1. Not really a cheddar, but a farmhouse cheese. Used the quotation marks because the recipie in the kit I bought called it that, and I salted the curds before pressing. Caldwell, and the other recipies I followed, both stated that it could be tested young or aged for a month or so.
2. I so want a PH-meter, but I've not had the funds for one yet :/
3. Thank you for my first cheese! And the spreadsheet! Will help alot!

Raw Prawn
1. I followed a recipie calling for double-strentgh rennet, which I did not have, so I doubled the amount. Manufacturer's recommendation is very vauge, but I'll def do some more math next make.
2. the whatnow? I'll have to read up on that.
3. Yes, creamy and crumbly. Did not have a very good knit, and yes, whey could have been retained. I think it is because of the salting before pressing. Pressed it for a total of 20 hrs with pressure increasing to 50kg or so for the last 12 hours. 

I will give you both cheeses as soon as I can, thank you so much for help and tips

[awakephd]

Salting the curds before pressing is standard procedure for cheddars. (More specifically, for a true cheddar, the cheddaring process leave the curds in slabs; these get milled, either by cutting into cubes or rectangles, or by tearing into pieces; then the milled curds get salted, usually in two or three stages to give the curds some time to absorb the salt. Then the milled curds get pressed until they knit together.

[Andrew Marshallsay]

What you tell me about the rennet and the pressing sounds pretty good.
The concept of flocculation time is worth your while finding out about. It is the best way of deciding when to cut and will give you a guide to whether you are adding the right amount of rennet and how good the rennet is. You will find more information here.
You will also find more information by doing a search on this forum.

[Paine88]

A cheese for an excellent link. That...was...brilliant! I will absolutly use this for my next cheese!

[valley ranch]

Kern, On the table, re: the link, there is a space for pH. Do you or others on the forum use a pH meter?

Thanks

Richard

[Kern]

Many Forum members use pH meters.  It, along with the thermometer, is the primary instrument for controlling the cheese making process.  I use this one.   Regardless of which one you choose you'll need some pH 7 and pH 4 buffer solution to calibrate it.

[valley ranch]

Thanks Kern, The daughters have one, it's at the lower ranch, I hope to get hold of it when we're next down there. It looks quite different than the one you've shown, but if it works.

Thanks Richard

[Gregore]

A ph meter is like having a very experienced cheese maker standing  by your side whispering in your ear ...... This is what ph xx.x looks like or this is what the curd looks like when it is time to hoop.

If you make the same cheese enough you can use it to train your senses to know the stages just by feel .

I,  however am still a long way from that

If you make a lot of cheese ..... Free milk from your farm animals , then I would get a good one if it is in the budget .  Hanna makes a blue tooth ph meter designed for milk.

[valley ranch]

I have a pH meter, our daughters had it for school. look like when I use it, there will be a pain to clean up inside around the sensor. Do some have less exposure, and less inside to clean?
I'll look again at the one you posted.



I just looked at others, looks like none are without some difficulty to clean. The meter has been calibrated.

Sorry for blabbing on this thread about the meter.

[awakephd]

I also have an Extech 100 - very easy to clean, and necessary as well -- I clean mine with a bit of dish soap and tap water before and after each use, then dry with a paper towel. For storage, a bit of pH 4 buffer solution in the sponge in the cap. This seems to give good, repeatable results for me.

[Kern]

I also have an Extech 100 - very easy to clean, and necessary as well -- I clean mine with a bit of dish soap and tap water before and after each use, then dry with a paper towel. For storage, a bit of pH 4 buffer solution in the sponge in the cap. This seems to give good, repeatable results for me.

Several times I just stuck the probe end of my Extech 100 into distilled water rather than using soap and warm water to clean it after the previous reading.  When I used it again an hour or so later the reading appeared not to make a lot of sense.  So, I cleaned it as above and got a reading several tenths lower.  I've now changed my procedure and initially calibrate in 7.0 buffer solution, always use soap and warm water to clean, rinse well and put the tip in distilled water so it is ready for the next reading.  Once the curds and whey have been separated I recalibrate in 4.0 buffer solution and follow the above procedure.

[valley ranch]

Soap and water then in distilled water? You have to make this into a pain in the,,,,,,,,neck.

Well, I guess it need calibration, with a reading of 6 .5, I made Armenian String Cheese, it stretched quite well, I have it in a brine now. I've read it should be at about 5.3 or there about. It must be there, even though the meter reads 6.5.

Oh, well ~ gimmy have a glass o wine.