Im not sure what is up with the formatting of the first post, maybe pics are too big?
Let me point out some of my mistakes that I made.
First, I used the wrong type of pot, lol. I realized right when I was about to start cutting the curd. I have a vertical walled stainless steel pot, but it had leftovers in it in the fridge, and it didn't cross my mind that I needed vertical at the time.
Second, when I cut the curd, for some reason I was thinking that I only needed to cut through the top 2 inches-ish and underneath is all whey. Since I had never made cheese before I never realized that the WHOLE thing sets up. So I ended up with inconsistent sizes for the curd.
The recipe called for a 12-15% brine and I made a 14% and it is way too salty after 2 days of sitting in the brine.
I added vinegar and CaCl to the brine, but the cheese ended up a little slimey
and the cheese is too soft also. I'm thinking its because of my poor attempt at cutting the curd. I'm thinking I will pull the curds out of the brine, rinse it off, and throw it into a tubberware container. Will they help to stiffen it up a bit?
All in all, I made quite a few mistakes, and the end product isn't very amazing, but I don't intend on making those mistakes ever again in my life
- such as poor timing resulting in me having to wake up at 3am to cut up my cheese to put it in the brine, lol. I think my next attempt at a cheese will be Gouda.
P.S. I know people complain that everyone starts snoring when talking about cheese, and so on, but has anyone ever experienced people suddenly thinking they have the solution to all your cheese making problems? My parents were both born and raised in Romania and apparently after they got all their, 'oohs and ahhhs and whats that and whats that and why are you doing that' out they have suddenly become cheese experts. o.O What the heck!?