Author Topic: My first Traditional Cheddar.  (Read 15363 times)

Threelittlepiggiescheese

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #45 on: February 22, 2012, 01:57:51 PM »
Jeff,

what mould or hoop did you use to form your cheddar?

-Josh

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #46 on: February 22, 2012, 06:03:18 PM »
Hi Threelittlepiggiescheese,

It's a 6.25 inch diameter mould, and stands about 6 to 8 inches high.  It tapers ever so slightly (narrower at the bottom), but not noticable except that the follower won't go all the way down.  I've found this to be a really good all purpose mould for 10 litre makes, and use it for most of my hard cheeses.

- Jeff

Threelittlepiggiescheese

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #47 on: February 23, 2012, 12:24:21 AM »
awesome thank you, the reason i ask is i really wanna do cheddars and im lookin at making 1 kilo, 2.2lb, wheels so im trying to figure out what kinda moulds im going to have to make or buy

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #48 on: December 10, 2012, 10:55:07 PM »
Hi,

Well, we're just 1 week away from the 1 year mark for this one.  I plan on taking it to Canada with me to share with my family.  So, I removed it from the wax today and it still weighed 1004g (same as it went in).  I scraped off a bit of mould, which formed in one spot, and it was only on the surface but this dropped it down to about 1000g. 

Anyway, like all my cheeses when waxed, this has a fruity "white wine" aroma to it.  Obviously something is fermenting, but this smell dissipates if the cheese is left to breath for a while.  So, I'll air it out until we travel, at which point I'll vac bag it again for the trip.  By all indications I can take up to 20 kg of hard cheese into Canada.  Hmmm, what else is in the cave?

- Jeff

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #49 on: December 10, 2012, 11:03:49 PM »
Nice job!  A cheese for you for a successful Cheddar that is about to become international!   :)

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #50 on: December 11, 2012, 12:43:49 AM »
I should think you must be quite popular when you come bearing cheese!  Great job Jeff and happy holiday's! :)

Mighty Mouse

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #51 on: December 11, 2012, 01:05:48 AM »
Wow Jeff,
That looks great. Cheddar has been a bit of a challange for me- particularly getting a good knit and rind formation. I noticed in your notes that you pressed "in the pot" prior to your overnight press. What did you mean by that?

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #52 on: December 11, 2012, 01:17:05 AM »
Beautiful wheel of cheddar.  Hope to do something close when my press gets here.  Don't know if I can do this but, a cheese to you for an excellently scripted make.  Definitely a benefit to the entire forum.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2012, 01:53:55 AM by Al Lewis »
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #53 on: December 11, 2012, 01:29:18 AM »
"Pressing in the pot"... you can do your initial pressing by putting your form in the pot you used (or another one) and place in the sink surrounded by warm water so that you are pressing the curds initially at 80-90F....you put weight on top of the form in the pot in the sink  :)

Helps tremendously when it comes to getting that tight knit look. Took me a while to get it right, and it is still quite a challenge, but my cheeses look a lot better the last few months after learning the "press in the pot" trick.  Helpful is maintaining heat in the curds while milling, so I mill the curds in the pot also to prevent much loss of heat.

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #54 on: December 11, 2012, 01:54:47 AM »
I did that for the small 2 pound cheddar I made but I think I'm going to need the dutch press for one this size. :o
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Mighty Mouse

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #55 on: December 11, 2012, 07:56:19 AM »
"Pressing in the pot"... you can do your initial pressing by putting your form in the pot you used (or another one) and place in the sink surrounded by warm water so that you are pressing the curds initially at 80-90F....you put weight on top of the form in the pot in the sink  :)

Helps tremendously when it comes to getting that tight knit look. Took me a while to get it right, and it is still quite a challenge, but my cheeses look a lot better the last few months after learning the "press in the pot" trick.  Helpful is maintaining heat in the curds while milling, so I mill the curds in the pot also to prevent much loss of heat.

Ok, got it. I had wondered because he said he removed the whey from the pot prior to that step, I was wondering how the warming was taking place. I should try that next time- just did a traditional cheddar pressing with as much weight as I could but it was not enough. The rind is cracking pretty bad. I am actually trying to decide whether or not to just toss it and save the cave space. Pity because the curds themselves were perfect- the make went off almost textbook perfect. Could not have asked for a better cheddaring! Alas, the force (of gravity) was not with me this time :(

I need a bigger cheese fridge so I can afford to keep these "mistakes" around....

Offline Schnecken Slayer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Newcastle, Australia
  • Posts: 636
  • Cheeses: 22
  • Making cheese since October 2012
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #56 on: December 11, 2012, 09:32:32 AM »
"Pressing in the pot"... you can do your initial pressing by putting your form in the pot you used (or another one) and place in the sink surrounded by warm water so that you are pressing the curds initially at 80-90F....you put weight on top of the form in the pot in the sink  :)

Helps tremendously when it comes to getting that tight knit look. Took me a while to get it right, and it is still quite a challenge, but my cheeses look a lot better the last few months after learning the "press in the pot" trick.  Helpful is maintaining heat in the curds while milling, so I mill the curds in the pot also to prevent much loss of heat.

Ok, me also. I missed that in the recipe. I just pressed for a bit longer and it all came together. I will know next August.  :-\
-Bill
One day I will add something here...

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #57 on: December 11, 2012, 02:33:50 PM »
I did that for the small 2 pound cheddar I made but I think I'm going to need the dutch press for one this size. :o

Pressing in the pot in the sink is for the first and lightest press...after a flip and repress I then take it to the press for higher pressures. If you can drape a towel or blanket or something around the pot to conserve heat in the press that helps also.

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
  • Posts: 5,015
  • Cheeses: 344
  • Contemplating cheese
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #58 on: December 11, 2012, 03:22:24 PM »
I was wondering how the warming was taking place.
I've found that a big steaming pot (used for lobsters, clambakes, small military feeds) serves well as a double boiler and then transforms to a small "oven" during pressing.

Great job, Jeff. A cheese for exporting your cheese!  8)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My first Traditional Cheddar.
« Reply #59 on: December 11, 2012, 05:50:57 PM »
Thanks everyone!  Yes, pressing in the pot was Sailor's suggestion, and it's just keeping the pot warm in the sink while doing the first couple of hours of pressing.  If you havea  warm room in the house, then do your overnight press in there as well.  The seed mats are another of Sailor's ideas to keep the pot, and so the air in the pot, and hence the curds and cheese, warm.


- Jeff