Monterey Jack: Cheddaring and Salting processes

[BigCheese]

I have access to 5 mont jack recipes (without looking online really):
Margaret Morris
Ricki Carrol
Tim Smith
Peter Dixon
the recipe on this site.

Morris, Carrol, this site, and Smith all say to do what seems to be a kind of homestyle cheddaring: letting the curds sit in whey (most of which has been removed) for 30 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent matting.

Peter Dixon describes a more traditional cheddaring of drained slabs that have been brought down to 86F.

Are these two processes really comparable?

Regarding salting: Everyone but Morris says to salt the curds prior to pressing. Because I do not have a beefy press and like the effect brine has on the rind, I prefer to brine everything. Is this a problem? I seem to recall a photo from American Farmstead Cheese with a caption that it was cheddar bricks in brine, making me think brining is a legit approach.

Ultimately, what is a desirable PH after pressing for a jack that will be brined? 5.3 perhaps? Mine are pressing right now.

[DeejayDebi]

Okay this may sound weird but I basically use Peter Dixons recipe I like it best but salting it depends ...

if I put anything in the cheese (peperoni, jalapenos etc) I salt the curds then press
if I don't put anything in the cheese (just plain curds) I brine

The reason I do this is because many of the peppers etc near the outside of the wheel fall out in the brine and it leaves nasty little spaces for mold to grow in and mold gives me a rash. I do prefer the nice slick brined wheels otherwise.

[BigCheese]

how do you practically execute the cheddaring phase? When he writes about it he assumes one has a slanted commercial vat. Oddly, in American Farmstead Cheese it says that Jack and other cheddar-like cheeses are not actually cheddared, but done in a stirred-curd style. I am simply confused!

The first Jack I made recently I salted the curds and brined for 40 mins in hope of having some nice effect on the outside. The second batch I just brined.

Any idea on the finishing PH of a jack Debi? From peter dixons recipe, you salt at PH 5.9, that seems awfully high, doesn't it?

[DeejayDebi]

Peter doesn't cheddar Monterey Jack cheese that is different - what he does is he does divides them into "packs." It's pretty simple for me because I have an 8 inch deep rectangular hotel pan for a vat. I scoop the curds towards the back of the pan with a needle point grid and tip that end up with a plastic ice cream cup so the whey drains away from the curds. Then I spit the pack into two packs to allow for more draining and flip the packs so both sides warm evenly.

Peter states that the whey should be pH 5.9-6.0 by the time the pack is formed and most of the whey is drained. I have never checked it I go by taste, touch and chew. Monterey Jacks cheese curds squeak rather loudly on your teeth and chew kind of springy like rubber bands when you bite them gently.

I could only find one picture of my pack making sorry hope it helps.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Salting is important to stop acid production at just the right time. If you brine instead, the pH of the cheese will drop even more during pressing and the finished cheese will be more acidic and crumbly.

[BigCheese]

Thanks Debi, I can totally envision that process from your description. So you also do what he says to lower the temp to 86 with cold water?

Yes, sailor, my first jack was salted at PH 5.2or 3 I believe, second one brined at 4.8. I know they will be different, but 4.8 should not make for an unpleasant cheese, right? The brine was 5.2, if that matters.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Brining does not stop acidification because the salt can't reach the interior of the cheese quickly. So the pH will continue to go down for a few days. During aging and proteolysis, the pH of all cheeses goes back up - some more than others (and at different times). So your brined cheese will be fine, but there is a huge difference in taste and texture between a salted and brined cheese.

[DeejayDebi]

Yes Nitai. The cold water is a necessary part of the process as Sailor just explained.