First, please look at the Fresh Curd recipe at the Washington Cheese Guild site, wacheese.com. This is where I got the idea for this, so if you like it, thank Linuxboy, and if you don't, blame me.
Here's the make:
FAST RIPENING PRESSED CHEESE
4 gallons of whole 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)
1/8 teaspoon of lipase (optional; it will have a sharper taste with this, but you don't need it)
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. Tastes OK at one week, better at two, better texture at 3.
I've been eating, and my friends seem to enjoy it. Nothing to write home about, but it's a good serviceable house cheese.
Dave in CT
