My 2nd Montasio

[Cloversmilker]

The cheese looks nice coming out of the press.  It feels very dense and rich.  It was still at 5.5 pounds, so didn't expel any additional moisture in the overnight pressing.  It is very nicely knit with good surface integrity.  I had to short cut the final cooking, so wasn't able to get it up to the target temp.  There was time for a perfunctory milling of the curds, but they were not milled very finely.  (Chunks of ~1 inch.)  They had knit in the bottom of the pot before milling.  I'm also wondering if my thermometer is on the blink.  It was stuck at 60F to begin with, and then did one of those amusing 'boing' things in moving up to 90F.  I will calibrate before my next endeavor.  Here's a quick pic before it went into the brine pot.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Cloversmilker,

That looks really good!  This is a very solid and dense cheese.  I think it really does have to age quite some time (minimum 6 months) and I think will be very good at a year plus. 

- Jeff

[Cloversmilker]

My concern is that it might have too much moisture in the center and crack while air drying before waxing.  We'll see what the next week brings.    It's looking better than I thought it would 24 hours ago.    

[Boofer]

I'm also wondering if my thermometer is on the blink.  It was stuck at 60F to begin with, and then did one of those amusing 'boing' things in moving up to 90F.  I will calibrate before my next endeavor.

You may wish to consider a digital thermometer. I was using a long-stemmed analog and it seemed to measure quite a bit different than I thought it should be. I checked with my digital thermometer and the analog was indeed lying to me. Now the analog measures the double-boiler temp and the digital serves me for milk temp. The digital is also instant-read so I know right away what it's telling me.

Looks really sweet. Nice knit.

-Boofer-

[iratherfly]

The analog should be more accurate. I had 4 digital ones put in the same cup of hot milk and they all showed me different temperatures, as much as 9°F difference! Meanwhile the 3 analog ones were all right on the same spot and they were all different brands.

For digital one I suggest to get a good quality one that is NSF certified and can be calibrated, like the Taylor 9878:


If you don't feel like spending $25, I sell now long digital thermometers that are not NSF or calibrating. have a few dozens in a box here...

[dthelmers]

I've been using both an analog and a digital with an alarm when it comes up to a pre-set temperature. The analog, from a brewing supply, is quite accurate and I have not yet had to re-calibrate it. The digital is accurate, except that it has a lag. It tends to read a given temperature until it moves by several degrees. But it's a fairly low end model.