I was inspired by a post with a link to an old book on cheese making from an earlier time in history. I found the recipe for Cheshire to be interesting, and even though I did not follow the recipe exactly as described, I incorporated parts into a more recent Cheshire recipe I had.
I did not use Cheshire cat cow milk, but rather our local indigenous Texas Jersey milk. So this would be, at best, a Cheshire-like cheese make, very similar to cheddars I have recently made. My pH meter went bonkers (time for a new one) so I just winged it. It was mentioned in the "ancient text" that it should be sweet initially, so I didn't allow much time for acidification early on, but counted on that happening later in the make (during cheddaring)
Cheshire Cheese
11/21/2012
Targets:
Floc multiplier: 3.5
Rennet: 6.65
Drain: 6.4 -6.3
Mill/salt: 5.6
Ingredients:
2 gallons raw whole milk
1/16th tsp. MM100
1/8th tsp. Kazu
1/4th tsp. rennet (20 drops diluted in ¼ cup water)
Salt at 2.5% by weight
Procedure:
1. Warm milk to 94 degrees, adding cultures at 75F.
2. Add rennet and wait for floc. Floc in 14 minutes x 3.5 = 49 minutes.
3. Cut curd into ¼ inch cubes. Stir, and then let rest 15 minutes, then drain whey to top of curds. ( I cut to a larger curd size, 3/8-1/2 half inch)
4. Warm curds slowly to 94 degrees, stirring every ~15 minutes .
5. Cover pot and let sit 40 minutes. Drain when pH is 6.4 to 6.3.
6. Drain whey and pile curds to side of pot. Press with hands several times over next 30 minutes. Flip the curd mass every 10 minutes and maintain heat for 40 minutes (I let the cheddaring process last for an hour). Target pH 5.6
7. Stop cheddaring at pH 5.6. Mill the curds into small pieces, about the size of a pea. Salt curds by adding 1/3rd of salt at a time until fully incorporated. Salt at 2.5% by weight
8. Load curds into cheesecloth lined mold.
9. Press at 2 psi in the pot for 30 minutes.
Flip, rewrap and press at 4 psi in the pot for 1 hour.
Flip and press naked at 4 psi for 5 hours.
Flip and press at 8 psi overnight.