Learning Lancashire

[MrsKK]

Sailor talked about Lancashire as being a cheddar-like cheese that develops good flavor in 4-8 weeks, yet is creamy, so I had to try the recipe.  The first wheel didn't look so good, as you can see from the next three photos:





And the top:


Based on some feedback, when I made my next Lancashire, I pressed the cheese right after milling the curd, rather than allowing it to set overnight, as the original recipe calls for.  Here are the results:



While the first Lancashire I made didn't look very good, it had a mild cheddar flavor in only 4 weeks and has a very creamy texture, just as we like it at our house.  I have larded the remaining 3/4's of it and can't wait to try it again in a few weeks.

I think I'm going to have to make this quite often!

[smilingcalico]

That second wheel looks great! Much improved. I hope mine looks and tastes asas good.

[MrsKK]

Yep, I'm really pleased with it.  I've got it in a 3 gallon pail in the coldest room in the house as a ripening container.  I need to get to the store to try to find a container that will fit in my new mini-fridge.  It has been maintaining between 52-56 degrees Fahrenheit with no external controls, so I'm hoping I don't have to add anything to it.  GE model with no freezer, 4.1 cubic feet of fridge.  Hubby made me buy a new one - sweet guy, huh?

[Sailor Con Queso]

Karen - I knew you were going to like my modified Lancashire.

[Tobiasrer]

Where did the recipe come from? Could I get a copy... 

[george]

That's fantastic, Karen, thanks for continuing the experiment!  Now I'm much more eager to open up my first one, but still have a couple of weeks to wait, at least.  I didn't get to do another one yet, 'cause I fell on ice last Monday on the way to get milk, busted my tailbone, so no cheesemaking for me for a little while.  *sigh*

I shall live vicariously through you all instead! 

[MrsKK]

Sailor - Thanks so much - even my hubby likes it, which I'm really glad of because he's still buying 5 lb blocks of cheddar at Sam's Club because I hadn't made a cheese he really liked yet.  This one fills the bill, so hopefully we won't ever buy SC cheese again.

Tobias, I will post the recipe in another thread.  It came from 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes by Debra Amrein-Boyes, with some modifications suggested by Sailor.

George - I'm so sorry to hear about your tailbone.  I can empathize with you, as I severely damaged mine about 25 years ago, went through numerous injections trying to get the pain under control and eventually had to change jobs because my job was sitting 8 hours a day.  My doctors best advice?   Take warm, relaxing baths with a glass or two of wine.  I'd add in a cheese plate...

[Sailor Con Queso]

Karen - Just one caveat. When made this way the Lancashire is a creamy, moist cheese. BUT it is best eatten fairly young like a Colby or Havarti. I do not like it nearly as much after 90 days. In the Cheddar family this is my favorite cheese, especially since I can sell it young.

[george]

Thanks, Karen.  I'm actually doing surprisingly well at this point - enough to already be fantasizing about maybe going ahead and making more cheese in a few more days (short makes, though, let's not be hasty!).  I got lucky - I'm already under the care of a homeopath, so once I stopped screaming and moaning long enough to call her, she gave me another remedy and most of the pain was totally gone 24 hours later.  Now I just have the pain from the actual break, eminently controllable (Advil is a wonderful thing, in this case).  I did a REALLY good job on the poor thing - fall to the first step snapped off the tip, and the subsequent steps slid onto pushed the tip out of position.   So now the joke is I'm all crooked, but all kindsa happy.     I DO have some cams that are just about ready to go on that cheese plate, though ...

Anyway, back to cheese -

Sailor, how does the Lancashire change, exactly, that makes you not like it after 90 days?

Thankee!!

~Mary

[Sailor Con Queso]

As Lancashire ages it becomes drier and firmer like a true cheddar. My customers (and I) really like the creaminess of a young Lancashire. Since the Lancashire is a higher pH moist make to begin with, it is not a good candidate for long aging.

[Scarlet Runner]

Thanks for this discussion and the modified Lancashire recipe.  I am inspired enough by what I've seen here, and the description including the word "creamy," to try it myself!  It's on the list, right after Asiago...

[george]

Thanks, Sailor!  I'm going to take that as a hint, also, of what'll happen to an overly-aged Havarti.

[MrsKK]

I really appreciate all of the feedback, Sailor, and info on how the ageing affects these cheeses.

I'm really liking the ripening container!  I think I will make another Gouda today - that one is okay to age for longer, isn't it?  The recipe I use (200 Easy...) says it can be aged up to several months.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Yes, Gouda is a good long-term agining cheese. HOWEVER, there are 5 year old Goudas on the market that I don't like either. The flavor is amazing, but they are just too dry for my taste.

There is one adjective that sells more cheese than any other - creamy.

I love the flavor of Italian Grana cheeses but I find that many of my wholesale buyers and chefs aren't very interested. Especially when aging for a year, I just can't compete with the flood of cheap products on the market. So, I have just started making a Creamy Romano. Full fat (4%) milk, double dose of Lipase, larger curd cut, and cooked at 112F instead of 117F. For the purist, this obviously won't be a true Romano, but I am hoping that this will be a good Italian flavored table cheese at 75-90 days.

[Hande]

Yes Sailor, I really like those kind Romano at table cheese 
Creamy, moist and still full of taste.
And you can use those with pasta until they get aged little bit more.

Hande