Manchego

[zenith1]

Sailor- I was wondering if you could expand on that a little. How many pressings and for how long? I have had a feeling that I was too light in the pressing phase even though I had a good curd knit. I always am concerned about too much/too early in the pressing schedule.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I have seen no mention that commercial operations flip their cheeses or gradually increase pressure during pressing. I have also never read any mention that Old World cheesemakers in Alpine huts do this either. IMHO flipping and gradually increasing pressure makes very little difference, so I don't do either. I personally feel that trapping whey in the curd from pressing too hard, too fast is a myth. In my microcreamery, I generally press overnight, flip the next morning, and press for one more hour WITHOUT CHEESECLOTH (Plyban) to remove wrinkles.

Now, that being said, if I were pressing at home with a small hobby press, I would flip one time. And I would increase the pressure one time after the flip. Why? Because most small presses simply don't do a good job and do not give the consistent pressure that you need for a given cheese.

I know this goes against the advice of many of the "recipe" books, so this is just my opinion.

[zenith1]

Thanks Sailor. I have been working with Peter Dixon's recipes quite often and since he does not have a recipe for Manchego I thought I would open the topic for discussion. For several of his recipes he does go through a progression in his pressing for example

for Appenzeller

"Take off the whey and quickly move wheel-sized pieces of curd cake to hoops lined with cheesecloth. Press with 5 lb. weight per 1 lb. curd for 30 minutes
Remove wheels from press, remove cloths, turn, put cloths on again, and return to press
Repeat after one hour
Repeat after one hour
Leave on press overnight"

for Baby Swiss:
"Drain off the remaining whey. Cut the pack into squares that are the size of the forms. Move the curd pieces into the forms and press with twice their weight.

After one hour turn the cheeses and return to the press. Turn again after one hour and return to the press. Repeat. Press two more hours for a total of five hours. Keep the room warm during pressing"

for Gouda:
"   Press curds under the whey for 15 minutes.
     2 1/2 h Drain off the water/whey and remove weights and press plate.
Cut blocks from the pack to fit directly into cheese hoops.
Place on followers and begin pressing with 1 1/2 lb. weight per 1 lb. cheese. Use up to 3 lb. weight per 1 lb. cheese.
4 h    Remove cheeses from press, turn over, and put back in hoops.
Return to press. "
 for Havarti:
"   Drain off the water/whey and continue stirring and breaking up curds while putting directly into cheese hoops.
Place on followers and begin pressing with 1 1/2 lb. weight per
1 lb. cheese.
2 h 45 m    Remove cheeses from press, turn over, and put back in hoops.
Return to press. Repeat 2 more times every 15 min.
Repeat 3 more times every hour."

Anyway- I think that is what led to my question, along with other reading I have done. Just something else to ponder.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Yes, I know he does. You might also note that he is also using WEIGHT and not PSI, which I find very unprofessional. I just don't feel that flipping makes any difference.

Look at it this way. If you are pressing an 8" tall wheel, the pressure is coming from the top, forcing the whey downward, and outward. OK when you flip, any whey that has traveled nearly the length of the cylinder is going to have to reverse the trip and cover the same distance again. FarmerJD can probably give us a physics lesson on this.

That also means that you are going to be up all night flipping cheese and adjusting weights. For me that means that after I go home, I will have to go back to the shop and flip cheeses.

[ConnieG]

Hi all, to let you know I have made the Manchego cheese and now all I have to do is wait .  I used the recipe listed here and for cultures I used:
(LLC) Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris (LLD) Lactococccus lactis subsp. biovar diacetylactis, (LL) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, (LH) Lactobacillus helveticus, (LBL) Lactobacillus lactis, and the sheep lipase.

My only issue is that I only  have a 4 gal. stainless steel pot so I now have a pancake manchego.  I likely won't age it the full time.  I'd love a Kadova manchego mold, and I did order a 60 Qt. SS pot.