Author Topic: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months  (Read 4677 times)

dthelmers

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My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« on: February 27, 2012, 09:51:06 PM »
I make a fast ripening cheddar fairly often, and the oldest it has ever gotten was 6 weeks old. Last summer at a camping event my daughter and I made that recipe, with the addition of horseradish, and aged it for six months. We just opened it last week. The texture was crumbly, the flavor was quite sharp, with a hint of lipase, like Parmesan. I found it a little dry and sharp for a table cheese, but we went through a pound of it on Saturday afternoon between six people, so I'm in the minority on that. I made a cheese sauce with it, and it's the best so far for that: full flavored, creamy melt, and just the right saltiness. Here's what it looked like when opened.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2012, 03:19:10 AM »
Ooooo I love horseradish cheddar! That is a nice looking cheese albeit crumby your got some serious recipes in your future for sure!

Threelittlepiggiescheese

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2012, 01:25:17 PM »
anyway i could talk you out of the quick ageing recipe?

dthelmers

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2012, 03:39:01 PM »
Sure, but check out the Washington Cheese Guild site recipe for fresh curd, that was my jumping off point.:
http://wacheese.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80:fresh-cheddar-curd-extended-shelf-life&catid=43:moderate-cook-temp&Itemid=66

Here's the recipe I use for these:
FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR

1 Gallon of raw Jersey milk (This will give a better flavor. Use all raw milk if you can, use all pasteurized/homogenized milk if that’s what you have to do)
3 gallons of P/H milk
¼ teaspoon MM100 or Flora Danica
¼ teaspoon of Streptococcus Thermophilus
1 teaspoon of liquid calf rennet dissolved in 1/2 cup of cold filtered water
1 teaspoon of calcium chloride (if using pasteurized homogenized milk)
2 tablespoons of kosher salt

Heat the milk to 76ºF and add MM100
Let ripen to pH 6.4, about 3 hours. It will smell buttery.
Increase temperature to 92ºF and add S. Thermophilus. Let ripen for a half hour.
Dilute the rennet and stir in for 30 seconds, about fifteen up and down strokes with a strainer.
If using the flocculation method, the multiplier is 3. Otherwise, check for a clean break at 30 minutes.
Cut the curd into 3/8” cubes and let rest for 10 minutes.
Heat to 102ºF taking 20 minutes to do it, stirring very gently at first, then more thoroughly as the curd hardens and shrinks.
Target drain is pH 6.0. If you’re not using a pH meter, this is when the curd really wants to mat and feels more solid, like well cooked scrambled eggs.
Drain through cheese cloth in a colander, lifting, turning and pressing the curd to get whey to flow out.
Gather up the corners of the cheese cloth and put in a mold and press at about 2 psi (light to medium pressure) for one hour.
Take out of the mold and tear into olive sized pieces. Toss with the salt, and place back in the mold and press at about 3.5 psi (heavy) over night.
Let air dry, turning over twice a day for several days until the surface feels like a clammy handshake.
Age in the cheese cave at 55°f. Tastes OK at one week, better at two, better texture at 3.

Susie

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2012, 03:07:17 PM »
I made this last night, and I'm a complete novice at this. It's only my 2nd hard cheese and my first time using flocculation method.
I used 2 gallons of raw cow's milk (Jersey). My flocculation time was way short, so I'm guessing too much rennet.
dthelmers - is there anything you would alter in this recipe if using all raw milk? Other than my obvious need to cut back on rennet?

Beyond that, everything looked good and it came out of the press this morning with a nice knit. We'll see how it turns out. I know short floc time can cause me some issues in the long run.

Offline Boofer

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2012, 12:35:15 AM »
Congrats, Susie. Looks good. Now we wait....  :D

What is "way short"?

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Sailor Con Queso

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2012, 09:29:36 AM »
When using raw milk, you generally need to reduce the amount of starter bacteria that you use. I would start with a 25% reduction.

jrhockey33

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2012, 05:52:35 AM »
at what stage would you add in the horseradish?

Susie

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2012, 04:38:31 AM »
Boofer - "way short" as in just under five minutes.  :o

Thanks, Sailor. Next time I'm cutting back rennet and also the starters. I think I'm going to focus on this one until I get it right. Maybe after that, I'll have a feel for what to do with other recipes when I'm using all raw milk.

Susie

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2012, 08:26:48 PM »
Ok, I went for it again with some tweaks, and made a 4 gallon batch. Getting better, but not where I want it on timing yet.

I need help with two questions. (hope it's okay to keep it going in this thread since it has the recipe I used)

First, see pic below on this 2nd one. I had hoped to try a natural rind, maybe oiling it. I haven't tried that yet. But see those mechanical defects? Am I asking for trouble if I go natural? Should I just wax it instead? Or try something else? I do have a vacuum sealer, if that's a better option.

Second, I am now switching from microbial tablet rennet to liquid animal rennet, so I can better control things with the raw cow's milk I'm getting. I have no clue how to convert things. I was using Leener's microbial tablets and now I purchased liquid animal rennet from a local store who sells the stuff from cheesemaking.com. I don't know where to start.  ???


bbracken677

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2012, 04:02:04 PM »
Not sure how to help here other than: Does your local supplier suggest a standard amount?  If so then you should be able to draw a parallel with what you were using before.
ie: if the "suggested" amounts were 1tsp per gallon for one, and 1/2 tsp with the other, you can establish a relationship and just extrapolate from there.

JeffHamm

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #11 on: August 05, 2012, 06:51:33 PM »
Hi,

It's good you're learning the flocculation method as well, as you just adjust your rennet amounts until you get a floc time in the 10 to 15 minute range.  If it flocs faster than 10, use less next time, and if it takes more than 15 use a bit more.  Only takes a couple makes and you should have it.  If you can get the IMCU strength for your rennet, then this makes it easier the next time you switch rennets (IMCU = International Milk Coagulating Units and is how rennet strength is measured and you just adjust proportionally.  Meaning, if you get a rennet that has twice the IMCU values as your old rennet, use 1/2 as much, etc).

- Jeff

Susie

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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2012, 01:11:37 AM »
Thanks for the rennet tips, you guys!

My first make at 3 weeks. Tastes good. A little dry, as I suspected from my make mistakes.  :P Fairly mild. I'm using some with tonight's dinner and I'll continue to age the rest and see where we're at in a few more weeks. But wow, this is an easy and fast way to a mild cheddar for anyone who is new to hard cheeses. Thanks again for posting this one, dthelmers.


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Re: My Fast Ripening Cheddar at 6 Months
« Reply #13 on: November 07, 2012, 09:58:09 PM »
Susie,
how did this turn out for you? I am thinking about trying it just to be makin cheese :)
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