Just made my first hard cheese! (Cheddar)

[moodock]

Hi everyone! I'm new here, and just recently made my first cheese press. I have made some really basic fresh cheeses before, but never attempted a hard cheese. Well, I had some free time this weekend and decided to make cheddar. I was really worried I was going to screw it up, but I think everything went well. The wheel looks good to me, but then again, I am new to this. Today is the second day on the mat, and so far no cracks.

Before I made the cheese, I read many threads about problems and also recipes, heating protocols, etc. I pressed the cheese at 2 PSI for 15 minutes, 5 PSI for 30 minutes, 8 PSI for 2 hours, and 10 PSI for 24 hours. It is also dry to the touch now, so I am guessing tomorrow night the wheel will be heading off the the cave to age.

Let me know what you think of how the wheel turned out. Thanks!

[Jason M]

moodock,

Nice looking cheese!  I'm new to this too and I'm on my second wheel (Swiss).  Are you going to brine or wax?

[moodock]

Thanks! I plan to wax this cheese, but I want to make sure that the surface is very well dried to prevent mold from forming underneath the wax. I was also thinking to rubbing the outer layer with a towel dampened with vinegar a few hours before waxing to kill any mold spores on the surface.

[Jason M]

I wiped mine down with a cheese cloth soaked in a brine solution and put it in the fridge 12 hours before I waxed.  I also made sure the wax was at 230 degrees F.  The fridge cooled it so the wax stuck and hardened quickly.  I think with the brine wipe and the temp of the wax it should have eliminated the chance of mold between the wax and surface of the cheese.  It's been 6 weeks and so far I can't see anything forming through the wax. 

I room dried mine for 5 days on a wood cutting board before waxing.  I was a little worried about the rind since it looked dried yet oily.  I know, that doesn't make sense!  My Swiss is looking the same way now.  Post some pics of it before waxing.  I'm curious to see what it looks like.

[FarmerJd]

Congrats to both of you. The cheese looks great. Sounds like you're off to a great start. Much better than my first cheeses.

[justsocat]

Very good looking wheel! Wish you enough  patience to age

[moodock]

I wiped mine down with a cheese cloth soaked in a brine solution and put it in the fridge 12 hours before I waxed.  I also made sure the wax was at 230 degrees F.  The fridge cooled it so the wax stuck and hardened quickly.  I think with the brine wipe and the temp of the wax it should have eliminated the chance of mold between the wax and surface of the cheese.  It's been 6 weeks and so far I can't see anything forming through the wax. 

Thanks for your input. The only reason I was considering a wipe down with 5% vinegar is that I read a lot of posts on this forum of cheese going bad inside the wax due to mold. Vinegar is excellent for killing mold spores, and I do not think it would penetrate the rind and effect the cheese itself, as once the rind is try it has low moisture but high fat content (hence the dry but oily look). I will post pics of my wheel in a few more days after it has dried further.

Congrats to both of you. The cheese looks great. Sounds like you're off to a great start. Much better than my first cheeses.

Thanks! I have read many threads on this forum while doing research, including many of your comments/suggestions. You were actually a great help! 

Very good looking wheel! Wish you enough  patience to age

Thanks! I will be patient. I started a cheese log, and will be coding all my cheeses to correspond to the log. My log is actually a lab notebook, which seems fitting and most functional. My goal is a wheel of cheese per week. I am working on making a schedule to make various cheeses most efficiently given different lengths to maturity.

On a side note, I am working on an new press.  This time it will have guides for the plunger and fully capable of 10 PSI on a 7.5" mold. When it is done, I will make a complete schematic in AutoCAD and post it for any other newbies who want to make a functional press on a budget.

[yeri]

Hi guys, i'm new also on cheese making, i have not produce any cheese yet lol. But i will soon, guys since there no cheese making class in my country i dont know how the cheese look like when it's ready to get wax, can you guys suggest me how to determine if the cheese is ready for waxing or ready to be vacuum
Guys i also wonder why a hard cheese like chedar have to be pressed in a different pressure  in a different time interval, can we just press it directly at 10 psi ?Sorry i ask a lot. Thanks before

[ConnieG]

That's a beautiful Cheese!  
You'll have to let us know at what age you taste it first. 

Yeri, I think someone more experienced will have to answer your questions about different weights.