OK, so after I got to read up on the cheese in the book I referenced in this thread, the ebook will no longer open for me. I'm asking Google to see about the fix, but in the meantime I'll report what I did and what I can remember.
The recipes I saw on the site here were quite different from the recipe I found from 1909, so I decided to give the older one a try.
THE STORY
The book noted that the farmers sold so much of their milk that the wives never had enough to make a wheel of cheese, so the wives made curds on 3 succeeding days, then combined the curds on the third day to make one full wheel.
THE MAKE
According to the book, after making the curds, you simply cut them, heal for a short time, then pitch the curds (in more simple terms let them sink to the bottom) and remove the whey. Leave them in a pot covered with cloth, at room temperature, sitting in whatever whey they release, until ready to combine. The second day gets the same treatment, and those curds get their own pot. Finally on the third day, make the curds in the same way, only this time, combine all three batches. As you are milling the curd you'll release a lot of whey which you'll need to remove before salting. After salting, press the curds.
WHAT I DID
2 gallons milk heated to 85°f.
Added 1/8 teaspoon of meso and 1/8 teaspoon of thermo cultures
Allowed milk to ripen at same temperature for 30 minutes.
I then added 1ml of double strength rennet diluted in water. Let sit for 30 minutes before cutting.
I cut in 1 inch cubes, though book said the horizontal cut was optional.
Allowed to heal for 5 minutes, followed by a 5 minute stir.
I then pitched the curds and drained the whey.
THE THIRD DAY
I did the standard make, then mixed the three batches together while milling by hand. I added 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound, estimated curds to be 6 pounds.
Lined molds with cheese cloth, filled with curds, began light press of 5 pounds for 15 minutes. I was going to redress curds and flip, but found the first one to be a bit crumbly, so I said forget it and left the cloth on, merely flipping.
Increased weight to 15 pounds for 15 minutes, then flipped and pressed at 30 pounds for an hour. I flipped once more and pressed for 12 hours at 100 pounds.
I decided to skip redressing with dry cloth as the pressing really sealed the cloth on nicely, and it was relatively dry, so I melted butter and sealed the cloth bound cheeses with it.
SIDE NOTES
I did cook the first nights curds because I didn't know better at the time.
The first curds are pretty rank and acidic by the third day, but the idea is that the third days curds really evens out the acidity of the first two days. The cheese was traditionally bandage wrapped and sealed with butter, and I really wanted to see how well that works. I think it went well overall. The sour smell of the first days curd was gone by the end of pressing, and I hope the butter provides a touch of flavor. Oh, the molds were two 7 inch tomme molds.
