Hi
Well, here are my make notes for fied's Cheshire cheese. Still in the 16 hour press. I flipped it this morning (had to have a peak, but also had to move it out of the way for breakfast), and the knit is looking really good. A few cracks, but hopefully with flipping the pressure will distribute a bit differently and those will fuse up.
- Jeff
Cheshire Cheese (Saturday, Oct 22, 2011) Sunny, air temp 20-21 C
10 L homebrand Standard milk
40 mls homebrand cream
1 ice cube Flora danica
2 ice cubes buttermilk
½ tsp CaCl
0.6 ml rennet (was just under the line in the small syringe)
30-32.5 ml salt
(written time: 8 hours until over night press)
1. Warm milk to 30 C (actual temp 31.0 C; removed from heat, sat on towel on stove top; over poured cream, ~100 ml this make)
2. Add starters, cover, and ripen 30 minutes. (start time 11:35 -12:05 end temp ??.? C),
3. ensure temp. 30 C
4. Add Calc. Chlor., and mix
5. Add rennet and mix. Time: 12:09 Floc time 12:25:45 floc length 16 min 45 sec
6. 3x floc.= 50 min 15 sec cut time = 12:59:15
7. Cut curd into 1.25 cm pieces. Let stand for 5 mins (start time 1:06 -1:13 end temp 29.7 C)
8.Drain whey until the curds can be seen just below the level of the whey.
9. Cook curds, raising temp. gradually to 32 C over an hour. (start time 1:13 -2:13 end temp 33.3 C) Blew the temp raise, hit 35.0 after 20 odd minutes. Removed from heat to cool down
10. Stir gently and intermittently for 50 mins. (start time 2:13 -3:03 end temp 31.6 C) (NOTE: This should be part of step 9, the heat raising)
11. Cover and blanket 40 minutes (start time 3:03 -3:43 end temp 31.7 C) (sink water 35).
12. Tip off rest of whey, keeping curd cake whole, then cut curd into equal fist-sized chunks. Return to pot, cover and keep at 32 C for 3 hours. (start time 4:00 -7:00) (had to press with a follower and 2 litre jug of water to get the curds into a cake for cutting into “fist sized”)
13. Tip off any whey in the pot and tear chunks into 1" pieces and salt in the pot.
14. Press into cheesecloth lined mould and add weight at 10kg (0.72psi) for 30 min. (7:10-7:40)
15. Turn cheese, adjust cloth and weight at 20 kgs (1.43 psi) for 30 mins. (7:50-8:20)
16. Turn cheese, adjust cloth and press at between 35.2 kg (2.53psi) for 16 hours. (8:20pm-12:20pm Sunday; flipped and redressed at 7:50 am; looking good)
17. Take off cloth, turn cheese and put back in press at the same press weights for 3 hours to get rid of cloth marks. (??:??-?:??; sunday)
18. Salt cheese all over with 1 tsp salt and dry on cheese mat/rack at room temp., under gauze, for a day. Next day wipe off brine and return to drying at room temp. for 7 to 10 days, depending on when the rind, bottom and top, feels dry to the touch and there's no more seepage of whey. Turn once a day.
19. Then either bandage cheese and age at 60F/16C for 2 months and up to a year, turning cheese daily for three months then twice a week up until time of eating, OR don't bandage, but leave to develop a natural rind with the same aging conditions as a bandaged one.
Here it is in the press: