Author Topic: monterey pepper jack  (Read 4808 times)

reg

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monterey pepper jack
« on: July 26, 2008, 11:08:48 AM »
this past Tuesday i made a four gal batch of pepper jack cheese using the recipe out of Ricki Carrolls book pg 126. followed the recipe exactly but was not happy with the outcome, this cheese is wet wet wet. the first pressing calls for 3 lb weight for 15 minutes then 10 lbs for 12 hrs. its now Saturday morning and the cheese is still bleeding plenty of whey. i have it bandaged and changing twice a day.

with that amount of moisture i am concerned about problems down the road. should have gone with my gut feeling and pressed with more weight for a longer period of time. live and learn i guess

reg

Cheese Head

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2008, 11:33:40 AM »
Should still be Ok, just keep allowing cheese to expell whey, my Monterey Jack was also moist.

But your experience brings out a good point, scaling recipes to larger and smaller batches is straightforward for ingredients, but pressing weight to achieve a certain moisture content at end of pressing is another issue. Initially I've thought that double the cheese volume and should double the weight, but not that simple as whey removal it is really a function of curd quality, weight, time, and dimensions of cheese. For example:
  • Mold A = Height 30", diameter 2", surface area 195 in2, volume 94 in3
  • Mold B = Height 5", diameter 5", surface area 117 in2, volume 98 in3
  • Mold C = Height 30", diameter 2", surface area 225 in2, volume 95 in3
All three of these cheeses have roughly the same volume but very different surface areas for the whey to escape through. Thus 1) weights in recipes are just an estimate as the author doesn't know your milk source and curd quality or mold shape and 2) the weight applied to Mold A would be very different to Mold C. Therefore, as reg says I really think you should go with your experience on amount of weight.

Tea

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2008, 09:31:37 PM »
Hi Reg, and I concur with Cheese Head.  The decision on weight is sometimes confusing.
The first time I pressed a monterey jack I used the weights suggested on this site, but I used a fairly closed mold to press in.  At the end of pressing even though the cheeses were still moist they definately were not leaking whey as such.  Check out the Monterey Jack recipe posts and see.
If you are wrapping them I would think that the wraps would be drawing out moisture, and that eventually the leaking should stop.  Your cheeses may end up being softer then usual, but it will be interesting to see what you feel the end result is.
Do you have two cheeses.  I wonder if you could leave one wrapped and press the other again, and then see what the end result is?  Just a thought.

reg

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2008, 12:33:19 PM »
thanks for the replies, i think you have both made a very good point. this wheel is the 8" x 3"  so its just the one cheese Tea. i did think about repressing but was just not sure which way to go. i won't give up on it and just continue to bandage.

on another note the Alpine style i made a few weeks ago looks fantastic. it has a beautiful rind on it and today it will get a brushing with a light salt brine. i'm pretty excited about this one and can't wait to try it in 6 months :-)

reg

Cheese Head

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2008, 12:53:29 PM »
Wow, you going for a 6 month cheese, that's part of the fun of this hobby, waiting and seeing, my problem is not enough patience.

reg

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2008, 01:21:16 PM »
well i'm going to try my best CH. i can always cut and vac pac but i really do want to age this one whole as i think there is some merrit to that idea. if i can hold out will let it go even longer if possible

reg

Tea

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2008, 09:52:53 PM »
6mth for your cheese  :o  that's as bad as my mead.  Been waiting 2 years, and it's still not ready.  I going to wear a path out, pacing back and forward in front of it.
Hope you can last the 6mth then.

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2008, 03:03:34 AM »
Text and pictures emailed in by reg:

Morning John. Attached are a few photos of the latest cheeses that I made here. Guess its pretty obvious which one is which ;-)

The alpine is just starting to get a slight touch of white mold but its hard to see in the photo. It already has a smooth surface and is starting to firm up nicely. This is the one that will be getting the brine wash a few times a
week and I'm hoping to age this at least 6 months before cutting

The pepper jack is the one previously discussed on the forum about being wet. Also the next time I do the pepper jack I'm going to add the peppers at the time of molding so that the surface of the cheese stays tight and smooth. You can also see in the photo how the red from the jalapeno has 'run' a bit through the cheese, can't wait to see this effect after it gets cut. More than likely going to cold smoke this one later then let it age more. Will forward that photo after smoking

Anyway hope everything is good in your part of the country

reg

Cheese Head

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2008, 03:10:45 AM »
Reg, both look great ;D.

On the Alpine, how do you get it so smooth and rounded corners, assume you are using a cheesecloth lined hoop?

On the Monterey Pepper Jack, I like the red peppers and running of the colour, should impart some flavour into the cheese. Were they fresh or dried and what type are they? Also what do you mean by next time adding peppers at time of molding so that surface stays smooth, you going to try and mix the peppers just into the curds in the middle of the cheese so that none on surface and then surprise when you cut it open?

Have fun smoking later on . . .

reg

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2008, 11:09:42 AM »
morning CH. yes the hoop is lined and what i do is to pull up on the cloth all the way around to get the wrinkles out.

on the pepper jack the peppers are jalapenos that were veined and seeded the individually frozen then bagged. and yes mix the peppers more in the center of the cheese during hooping so the surfaces stay smooth and easy to care for

reg

Tea

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2008, 09:43:21 PM »
Those cheese are fabulous Reg.  I too can't believe how smooth and beautifully rounded you get your edges.  Just so professional looking.
Well done, and something I am striving to emulate.

Tea

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #11 on: September 24, 2008, 07:18:03 PM »
Reg I was just wondering how the pepper jack turned out, or turning out?  Did it eventually stop weeping?

reg

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Re: monterey pepper jack
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2008, 11:54:48 AM »
morning Tea. i ended up tossing the pepper jack because of the moisture problems. tasted it before i threw it out and was happy with the taste at that age but i just did not want to fight that much to try and save it.

will be making more cheese after the first week of Oct and that one will be back on the list of things to do

reg