Parmesan made today.

[Cartierusm]

Here's the 5 gallon batch I made of Parmesan. The vat system I built is a little to small to work with that many gallons. It fit it just was hard to move without losing liquid onto the floor. I'm going to build a new one that can handle about 50-60 gallons just in case I get the urge to make huge wheels. I will be selling my current setup after I make the new one.

This one came out pretty. I've finally decided to make a couple of Raw milk 2 pounders and Raw but Pastuerized 2 Pounds and that's it. I will age evertying for 6 months at least and do a taste test between the store bought and the others. If I find a taste difference I will switch otherwise I'm sticking with store bought milk. I will continue to make cheese of course but just store bought, it works out even better, $22 for a 5 gallon batch, easy to find and with adding Calcium Chloride it works fine. Enjoy the pics.

[Tea]

That Cartierusm, looks excellent!!  Did you standardise the milk?  Also what size if that basket?  I haven't seen them that size before.

So how are you going to age it.  Wrapped, waxed or ??

This is one cheese that I definately want to make, but as it is going to take so long to age, I too wanted to make a large wheel.  Will be watching this one.

[Cartierusm]

Tea, what do you mean by standardize the milk?

Parmesan has a brine rind, it won't age properly if you wax it. I just notice that some of the cheese stores sell special aging paper to pull moisture away from the surface.

The mold is the standard large one most of the sites carry. It's a closed bottom and comes with a follower. 8" in diameter and 6" high. This one is 5 gallons of milk and it's 3" high by 8" in diameter. Parmesan is made with 2% milk so there are not that many curds compared to whole milk. If I was using whole milk it would be about 1" higher. For the next parmesan I'll use 7 gallons. You should try parmesan it's really easy compared to cheddar.

Here is a link to the mold http://www.dairyconnection.com/cheesemolds.htm it's the second one from the bottom. I did the leg work and this place has the best price, plus it's not tapered, becareful looking at others that might taper, unless that's what you're looking for. If you need help purchasing things in the US let me know and we'll see what I can work out, if it's cheaper because you mentioned the exchange rate other vat stuff.

Here are some pics of the parmesan brining.

[Cartierusm]

P.S. That white bar is food grade HDPE and it has two little nubs, that you can't see, that holds the cheese below the water.

[Tea]

Standardising is the process whereby you reduce the fat content of the cheese.
Parmesan/romano etc are usually standardised at 50% of more of their original fat comtent, or a mix is made of half and half full cream/skim milk.

That special paper just might come in handy.  I am noting that it is almost imperative for making a sucessful brie/camembert.

Anyway keep updated.

[Cartierusm]

So if I used 2% milk then I didn't need to standardize it? Correct?

[Likesspace]

Cartierusm,
First of all, the Parmesan looks fantastic. This is a cheese that intimidates me, but I do plan on giving one a try in the near future.
Secondly....
I just purchased one of the exact same molds from New England Cheesemaking Supply and have a question as to how you use yours.
As I'm sure you've noticed, the follower fits VERY tightly in this particular mold. In the past I have always used a cheese cloth with the follower setting directly on the curd and the cheese cloth folded over the top of the follower.
Since this particular follower fits so tightly, this simply won't work since there is not enough room between the follower and the sides of the mold.
My question is this: Do you fold your cheese cloth over the top of the cheese and then rest the follower on top of the cloth? Or, do you simply not use a cheese cloth with this mold? I"m planning on doing a 5 gallon batch of something tomorrow so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I do feel that I got a pretty good deal on this particular mold. They had it for $28.00 and I had it in hand within two days. It really looks to be high quality and I'm dying to give it a try.
Up to this point I've only been able to do two gallon batches (except for swiss which I do in a three gallon batch due to the small curd size) so a five gallon batch will be totally new to me. I'm both excited and a little nervous about jumping up the size.
Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Dave

[Cartierusm]

Tomorrow, or should I say today, are you going to be making Parmesan? If so don't worry Parmesan is one of the easiest. It's not like cheddar where you take all day.

For most molds the follower is supposed to fit tightly, so most molds the cheese cloth is on the underside of the follower, but that leaves a dent on top of the cheese. So for me I don't use cheese cloth. This leaves little nubs that come through the holes in the mold. But don't be afraid it doesn't come out like a playdough extruder. So go ahead and don't use cheese cloth.

Don't worry 5 gallon batches are not that different except it's hard if your vat is not big enough, you should have extra room so nothing spills.

[Likesspace]

Okay, thanks for the information and the encouragment. I'm really not sure what type I'll be doing today but I was thinking either a stirred curd cheddar or a parmesan.
I do know that if I don't get my butt in gear and get started I'll end up having to do a 30 minute Mozzerella right before bedtime.
That's the hard part about staying up late with the kids and playing with their Christmas gifts. :-)
Thanks again for the info.
Dave

[Cartierusm]

That's why I'm jewish and not married....I'm dedicated to the cheese...LOL

[Likesspace]

Cartierusm,
First of all, LOL@ being dedicated to the cheese. The only problem I see with that is that my middle daughter and my wife are both a great help when I'm flipping and draining.
As for the larger batch.....
I ended up doing a swiss and posted my thoughts on the subject in another thread. It was quite an experience but all in all I'm happy with the results.
Thanks again for the advice and help and Happy Chanuka (did I spell that right?).

Dave

[Cartierusm]

There is no correct spelling, we've (Jews) have created this conspiracy just to confuse you Gentiles. We don't rule the world like everyone thinks so we settles for incorrect grammer...LOL...

Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanza (this last sentence is not supposed to be funny - I belive in equality)

[Cheese Head]

Shalom Cartier, happy Hanukkah (spelling from daughter's friend over here playing Wii right now), no wonder you have all that time to build presses and cheese and stuff!

[Cartierusm]

NO!, the reason I have time is because my girlfriend's mother's house is cat infested and I'm highly allergic to cats...so there ya go. If I take claritin all week I'll only last about 1 hour. Let me clarify, no my girlfriend doesn't live with her mother at that age...jeez. What I meant was for their Christmas they have it over the mother's house and I can't go.