Raw Milk Cheddar

[Digitalsmgital]

My second cheddar in as many weeks, the first one modeled on scasnerkay's Cheddar ala Caldwell thread, this one relied on our very own jwalker's successes using larger curd cuts and lighter pressing weights. My idea was to compare the drier, smaller curds (which scasnerkay reported was her best-aged cheese) with the higher-moisture of johnnie's (jwalker) makes.

The Caldwell recipe was quite firm after stacking and milling. Skas said she was afraid it wouldn't knit, even after pressing in the whey, and used a heating-pad to help warm the wheel during the second hour of pressing. I did the same!

The comparison is unfair, as this week's cheddar got my first try at raw cow's milk. This is my first make where I felt I didn't need Calcium Chloride to achieve a strong curd. It was a little surprising!

The floc time was twenty-one minutes, x 3.5= one hour-six minutes! And when cutting the 3/4 inch verticals,  my blade came out a milky-white, so I waited another ten before cutting horizontally. But it all worked out fine.

Gonna post the particulars when I get home, but it was pressed at ten pounds ala jwalker, instead of 70 lb.s ala Caldwell. The both look good!

[Spoons]

Lucky you! Glad to see you found a raw milk source.

When you say larger or smaller cut curds, are you talking about the 1/2" cut after coagulation or when milling before salting? I know (as we all should) of the impact of the cut size after coagulation, but I never considered the size of milling cuts. So far, all my hard cheeses have been cut 1/2", I only once had a dry cheese and I knew the problem when I did the first press, there was too much whey coming out indicating I didn't cook enough and didn't do the texture test. There was also a large pool of whey after the first day of air drying.

[Digitalsmgital]

Hey Eric, yes I meant the original curd cut after coagulation, I cut at a whopping 3/4 inch. And yes, after milling it was around 3/4 to one inch.

Also, as I am out on the road posting (truck driver) I see that my floc x 3.5 was actually 74.5 minutes, plus the ten I waited to cut the horizontal.

I get very little whey out of the pressing, at ten pounds only a few tablespoons. And the first cheddar was even less at seventy pounds, as it was a smaller, drier curd to begin with.

[JennyJad]

Yep, raw milk does not need calcium chloride, unless nearing the end of lactation, the only time I have used it.  I've also used it when mixing water-brine instead of whey-brine for feta, to keep feta from dissolving.

Learned that one the hard way 15 years ago: "Why is my feta all dissolved at the bottom of the jar???" LOL