Hi Stoney- too many variables to guess. If you post your noted on the make I'm sure that you will get some specific help. We need to know things like temperatures, times, amounts, types of cultures and rennet used what was the procedure for the pressing, weight Etc. All these things are related and need to be dissected to come up with some suggestions for you.
I don't actually take notes while making the cheese - probably should. I'm more focused on using up the milk and making 'functional' cheese at this point, and don't have much in the way of specialized equipment. I mostly just follow the recipe and hope it works! I'll try to write up what I did (changes in 2nd make noted in parentheses):
1st make - 3.5 gallons of raw goat milk (2.75 gallons) heated to 90 degrees
added 1/4 tsp Flora Danica (MM100) - ripen for 15 minutes (10 minutes)
Added 1/2 tsp calcium chloride, diluted
added 1/2 tsp single-strenght veal rennet, diluted - let set for 1 hour
noted curds were quite firm (cracked some) - cut curds into 1/2-inch cubes, let set for 5 minutes to firm up
stirred for 10 minutes, let settle for 5 minutes
dipped off approx. 1/3 of whey, replaced with very warm water to raise temp to 93 degrees (I think I went a bit over 93 on both makes)
stirred for 10 minutes, let settle for 5 minutes (skipped this step)
dipped off approx. 1/3 of whey, replaced with very warm water to raise temp to 100 degrees (I went a bit over 100 on both makes, then added cool water to reach 100 degrees - not adding more than original amount of fluid)
stirred for 10 minutes, covered and held for 45 minutes (skipped this step)
drained whey thru colander, noted curds were not well matted, returned to pot and put pot in sink of very warm water to help mat curds for 10 minutes
milled curds into 1/4-inch cubes - some were still not matted together - mixed in 2 tbsp. salt, and filled cloth-lined mold
pressed at medium pressure for 20 minutes (don't have an exact weight here - I actually use a strap to create the pressure)
re-dressed and pressed for 12 hours - noted curds were still not knitted well
placed wheel in very warm water for 10 minutes (5 minutes)
re-dressed and pressed for 12 hours
at this point, the curds were knit, but there were/are lots of lines along the rind.
The first make actually came out better than the 2nd. Any ideas? I'm afraid this cheese is going to end up too hard, and I'm going to have problems with mold along all the cracks. I'd
really like to figure this one out!
D