Mutschli #1

[Smurfmacaw]

Had a day off so I decided to make a Mutschli after being inspired by Alp's treatise on the subject of Swiss Mountain Cheeses.

I decided to give raw milk a try, finally found a place that sells it.

Make consisted of:

1.5 Gal raw milk
1.5 Gal creamline pasturized milk (I decided to use this due to the price.  Once I'm a little more accomplished at making cheese I'll spend the $12 per gallon to do a fully raw milk make.)
1/4 tsp CaCi (for the pasturized milk)
1/4 tsp TA 61
1/2 tsp LH 100
38 drops of single strength liquid calf rennet

I brought the raw milk to 70 degrees separately then added the cultures.
I brought the creamline milk to 71 degrees and added the CaCl (diluted of course)
Slowly brought the raw milk to 108 degrees over 20 minutes
Added the creamline to the raw milk resulting in 90.4 degrees.
Added diluted rennet and stirred in very well.  Rennet resulted in a 17 minute flocculation time.  I let it gel for 35 minutes.
Cut into 1 inch squares vertically only.  Let it set for five minutes or so and then started pulling the long curds up using techniques in Alp's recipe.  Actually it worked pretty well.  Took me about 10 minutes to get relatively uniform 1 inch cubes.
Next used a whisk in slow figure eight stirring motion to further cut the curd for the next 10 minutes resulting in curds about the size of a kernel of corn.
Next, stirred gently for 30 min.
Next heated to 98 degrees over 30 min while gently stirring.
Into a 7.5 inch mold in cheese cloth.

Pressing schedule is:

10 Min under whey at .5 psi
20 min under whey at 1.0 psi
40 min under whey at 1.5 psi
1 hour at 1.5 psi
2 hours at 1.5 psi
4 hours at 2.0 psi
8 hours at 2.0 psi
1 hour naked at 2 psi to remove cloth marks
Brine for ??
Wash for ten days every day
wash once a week for three months

Pictures to follow.

[Smurfmacaw]

First photo is the milk.  Got it at Jimbo's.  Only place close that sells raw milk.

Second photo is the starters.  TA 61 and LH 100.  Larger pile is the LH 100.

Third photo is the floc bowl sitting in the milk.  Well sanitized of course.  I use my trusty stopwatch to time the floc.

Fourth photo is the break.  A little softer than some other makes I've done but then it was only a 2x multiplier.

Fifth photo is the curds.  You can see that they hold together in long rectangles per Alps technique.  Actually worked pretty well.

Sixth photo is the Whey.  Nice greenish yellow color.

Seventh photo is the final size of the curds after cutting with the whisk.  About the size of a grain of corn.

Eighth photo is the press.....you've seen on you've seen them all.

Last photo for now is the knit after 10 minutes at .5 psi in the press.  Subsequent presses consolidated the curd well.

Had a little sticking in the cheese cloth with the third press under whey.  Minor damage that will be trimmed off when I make the edges look nice and beveled.  It's in the press now for its two hour press at 1.5 psi.

[Smurfmacaw]

After two hours in the press at 1.5 psi it looks pretty good.  Minor defects from the cloth sticking are disappearing rapidly.  Got a new cheese cloth and soaked it with brine and no more sticking!

[Boofer]

Let me guess...you're using an iPad. 

Love to watch the progress of this make.

-Boofer-

[Smurfmacaw]

iphone.  Doesn't matter which way i rotate it the forum software insists on showing it sideways.  Guess I'll get the real camera out for next time.  Two more hours til the next flip!

[Smurfmacaw]

Ok,

12 hours in the saturated brine and it's ready to wash.  Dried it well with paper towels and then gave it its first wash with the gooey wash I've been using on the Gruyere.  Not sure whether I should cut all the little pips off or not.

Mike

[Alpkäserei]

E Guäte

Looks good

How long will you let this one go?

The coagulation time could maybe be a little longer, maybe 45 minutes. But it will still be good.

12 hours in brine should give you a good saltiness. I like these cheeses salty, if anything I often don't make mine salty enough 

[Smurfmacaw]

I'm probably going to let it go for three to four months.  I'm not sure I like the nubbins though, will it compromise the rind to cut them off?  I was surprised at how easy it was to cut the curd using your recommended technique.  I've always liked Swiss style cheeses so I see a number of these in the future.  Maybe I'll make another next week and let it coagulate 25% longer just to see how they differ.

thanks again for all the informative posts.

Mike

[Alpkäserei]

I hope this cheese turns out good for you.
This I think is a great cheese for hobby cheesemakers. It's not too hard to make, and a large number a variations are allowed. Also It is a great springboard for other cheeses, lets you master the techniques and methods you would use for a harder cheese like Gruyere, Emmentaler, etc.
Also lets you experiment and develop your own cheeses.
I am using the basic Mutschli as a model for a number of my own specialty cheeses -which is great because it gives me good cheeses that I can bring to market fast.