i just want to make good cheddar!

[mamanaturale]

ok, so i have been "attempting" this cheesemaking things for 4-5 months now.  yes i know, not very long.     i can make good cottage cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan, but what i really really REALLY want is good cheddar.  and yet it still alludes me.  i seem to be the kind of person who has to buy everything three times before i invest in the "right" equipment.  so now i finally own a lovely dutch style press, an electric chafing dish with a 6" pan and i just got (finally) a ph meter.  so i haven't had a chance to try the cheddar with the ph meter yet, will do that this weekend, but i am hoping for some advice.

i don't even know what i am looking for really.... all of your best cheddar hints maybe??  lol i have to admit, this forum is very um... overwhelming and intimidating to me.  i have tried to read as much as i can here, but a lot of it seems to be way over my poor little newbie head....  ftr i have been using ricki carrol's traditional cheddar recipe for some of my attempts and the one on this forum the rest of the time.  i am very tired of throwing out cheese.... 
thanks in advance!

[DeejayDebi]

You will love the chaffing dish for cheddaring! So much easier with all the space. Congrats!

I think there are several cheddar recipes here but I have to say I like Peter Dixons recipe best. Nice texture and flavor.  http://www.dairyfoodsconsulting.com/recipes_cheddar.shtml

Cheddar has a really good feel to it when its ready and the curds taste great right up front so my best hint is to taste and feel the curds. Grab a spoonful they should feel springy, almost happy and not mushy. They will actually bounce. Taste them they will squeek on your teeth when you chew them.

Press light at first flip a few times at 15 minute intervals then add more weight and press long. All day if  needed. They draining whey will chill the cheese faster wipe it away when you flip. The long the cheese stays warm the better it releases whey and the better it forms.

Good luck!

I also find if you preheat you molds with the hot whey they form nicer and never stick. When you pour off or drain your whey save some for your brine. Cheddar really likes it's only whey for brine best.

[SueVT]

Cheddar might be my best cheese, except for the Raclette I have just started making (and had for dinner tonight!).
When making cheddar, just be careful at the point where you are going to salt the curds (right at the end).  Too many cheddars fail because of too much whey still left around when the salting is taking place.  The salt....washes away in the whey, and then the cheddar becomes too acid.  We've all had cheese like this.

Speaking of Peter Dixon, when he was at Shelburne Farms, back in the day, he published a paper, in which he charted batches, matching quality against salinity (I think).  He had a specific term for the absolute salinity, which I can't recall right now... but basically it looked like getting the salt right was quite a problem up there.

Sue

[mamanaturale]

thank you for the responses!  suevt, may i ask how to know when to add the salt then?  or are you saying i should make sure to drain all the whey before i salt?  bitter cheddar seems to be my problem...

[SueVT]

yep that is probably almost Definitely the problem.  You need a good recipe....
The salt is the last thing that happens, after cheddaring is finished, and after you rip up the curd into chunks about the size of a walnut.  Then you add the salt, then you press.

Now, it's important to add the Right amount of salt, compared to the amount of curd that you have.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/23.html    -- this is the kind of process I do, with cloth wrapping
Unfortunately they are not giving the recipe, (I have it though).... what size batch do you make?

Sue

[DeejayDebi]

Salinity explained
Peter Dixon & Helen Anderson (Hamilton) and David Cummings (Melbourne)
December, 1999

This One?

brianna -
Bitter cheddar can also be to much rennet.

Here is an article on bitter cheddar that might help:

[mamanaturale]

suevt, i usually make a 4 or 5 gallon batch depending on how much extra milk we have...  right now our jersey is giving 4 gallons a day... so we usually have a lot!

deejaydebi.... um wow, that article was totally over my head.  is there a specific paragraph that is in laymans terms?  eek.   

[SueVT]

Make sure your salt is 2% of the post-press curd weight.
for a 6 gal. cheddar, that is about 2 oz.
It's added just before pressing...... just make sure that the curd isn't sitting in a pool of whey when you salt it, but no need to be fanatic about it.

If you watch youtube of English cheddar factory processing, the cheddaring tables have a slant to them.  The whey is running off while the cheddaring is taking place....... draining off.  It's a constant process, and there is some left at the end, don't worry about it. 

Your cheddar should be wonderful.  And yes, too much rennet could mess it up, it's just never been an issue for me. 
And I think most of the failed cheddars I've tasted (and this is more than half that I've EVER tasted), most likely are doing the salt wrong.

Just my observation.
Sue

[mamanaturale]

so do you have an opinion on where the ph should be during the whole process? i got the idea from some other posts that acidity was causing the bitterness, but the discussion seemed more focused on the ph reading throughout and especially during the cheddaring portion.

[DeejayDebi]

Wayne has posted several cheddar recipes he's made with his pH readings at various levels. Peter Dixon also listed several pH checks in his recipe.

Getting the correct amount of salt can be very tricky. I posted an artical in the library from Wisconsin Dairy Pipeline on determining the correct level of salt. Sorry the first artical was over your head. In time it will make more sense to you.

[mamanaturale]

yes, it was wayne's posts that got me to buy a ph meter!  no worries about it being over my head, i am getting used to it!  lol 

[SueVT]

okay.. here we go.
This is for a 6 gal batch, which is what I like to make..
And I use a pH meter.
My milk is always about pH  6.8 to start. 
I heat it to 87F.
Then add 1/2 tsp. of MA4001 culture.
Wait 90 minutes., then ph should be 6.7
Rennet:  3.2 ml (2/3 tsp), mixed in 1/4. c. of cool water.  Mix into the milk quickly with smooth vertical strokes.
Wait 45 minutes.  Cut to 1/2", let rest 5 min.
Stir a couple of times over the next 15 min.
Heat to 102F over a period of 30 min.  Watch the temp, don't go over.
pH should be 6.5
Stir gently a bit over the next 30 min.  Don't let it clump up.
Cheddaring - I'll refer you to the link I sent, assuming you know how to do this...for TWO HOURS.
pH at the end of cheddaring should be 5.3
WHEN you get to this pH, do the salt at 2% by finished curd weight.  Estimate of 6.5 lb curd weight for 6 gal of milk -- 2 oz. salt
Press in cheesecloth-lined mold, gradually increasing the weight over 3 hours to 125 lbs.  Press for 24 hours, flipping after the first 12. 
Do the cloth-wrapping process, which produces a much more delicious cheese.  Use lard and cheesecloth, make a double layer, which discourages cheese mites.  Age it at least 6 months, preferably a year.
ENJOY.....

[mamanaturale]

thank you debi for the dairy pipeline articles, those are great!

suevt, thank you for posting that recipe.  i think i am using too much rennet as well.  i had been going out of my book which equaled 1 tsp for a 4 gallon batch.  another question..... 125 pounds?  i believe my recipe said either 40 or 45 pounds, i can't remember which...  i don't think my press could stand 125 pounds.  when we first got it, it didn't come with instructions and being dumb, we didn't realize that the press made the actually pressure different than the weight hanging off the end.  we put 45 pounds in a bag hanging off it and the whole thing started to come apart and then it fell over from the weight.

[SueVT]

I've had some interesting press mishaps myself 
I don't know what happens if you only apply 45 lbs.  You probably get some pretty good cheese though!!
Because, the main thing is getting the rest of it right.  The pressing affects the texture primarily.  The real guys go to 250 lbs after 3 or 4 days, which yields that really flaky English cheddar.  It's a bit much for me, and my press would self-destruct at that weight!
The other thing is that pressing gets the whey out, and that does tend to matter in terms of residual acidity..
Try a batch, why not? 

Sue

[DeejayDebi]

I have rarely used more than about 45 to 50 pounds but I press somewhat differently than most. I start light about 5 to 10 pounds for 15 minutes, flip and wipe the whey, Press again for 15 minutes, flip and wipe the whey, three to four times then add the max weight about 40 to 45 pounds and press about an hour, flips and wipe and press another hour. By then I go to bed. Next morning I flip and wipe and let it press the rest of the day. So my pressing for cheddars can be up to 24 to 36 hours depending on how it looks and feels.

I also don't use a press. Haven't gotten around to building one yet for the big moulds and this time of year my basement is about 40 degrees so that won't hapen until spring or summer. I haven't decided exactly how I want it yet and there's no rush.  I use a large cutting board and pile #10 cans of tomatoes and gallon jugs of whey on the board. Sometimes I use two plastic jugs that hold close to 3 gallons of water each.