Author Topic: My 3rd Dunlop  (Read 6304 times)

JeffHamm

  • Guest
My 3rd Dunlop
« on: January 21, 2012, 05:49:53 AM »
Hi,

Well, today I decided to make another Dunlop.  I've made this twice now, and both times the taste was good, and both turned out very similar.  The first I made in a 6.25" mould, the 2nd in an 8.5" strainer.  The 2nd was to get a flat disk of a cheese, which is the traditional shape for Dunlop.  However, that may work for a 10 kg cheese, but you lose more cheese to rind on a 1 kg cheese.  Still, even the 2nd one was very good.  So, it's back to the 6.25" mold again.

Anyway, this one has a long pressing schedule (over 2 days) and involves putting the cheese in hot water (66 C) for a minute to warm it up part way through the press.  I think this would also wash off the lactic acid and salt from the outter surface, which might help prepare it for developing some sort of natural rind?  Anyway, it usually picks up some wild geo and other stuff.  I'll probably try and brush this all down and just toughen up the rind. 

Here are my notes.  The knit, after the opening couple of press and flips is really good already.  It was the first time I made it too.  So, things are progressing well.


Dunlop : Saturday Jan 21, 2012.  Cloudy, with sun, 24/25 C.

10 litres homebrand standard
3 ice cubes ripened buttermilk
0.6 ml microbial rennet IMCU 750
½  tsp Calcium chloride 50%
2-2.5 tbls salt

1) Warm milk to 30.0C. (reached at 10:54 am; 30.5 C)
2) Add the starter (Time: 10:54   : temp: 30.5 0C)
3) Ripen 1 hour (target time 11:54)
4) add ½ tsp calcium chloride in egg cup of water (11:54; 29.9 c; raise back to 30)
5) add 0.6 ml rennet in egg cup of water (time: 11:58 : temp: 30.6 0C)
   Floc time = 13m 0sec.
6) floc 3.5x = 45 m 30 sec = cut time: 12:43:30
7) Cut into broad bean size cubes (1 cm?) & stir (12:43; heal 10 minutes; 12:57)
8) raise temperate to 360C over 20 minutes (start time: 1:00   end time:1:19; temp : 36.6 0C; rise started at too slow a rate, then rose quickly.  But, curds seem really good all the same).
9) cook 20 minutes  (start time: 1:19   end time: 1:47 ooops)
10) drain whey
11) put curds in cheesecloth in collandar, pressed with 2 l whey 15 minutes (1:58-2:13)
11) cut into several (6) broad slabs
12) stack, & change slabs several times over 30 minutes  (start time: 2:13   end time: 2:43 ; in pot placed in sink of warm water; around 40 C; flipped every 10 minutes)
13) Mill into small pieces (thumbnail size)
14) sprinkle with salt (amount not stated in recipe; I used 2.5 tbls)
15) wrap, place in mold in pot, press lightly (5 kg 0.36 PSI) for 15 minutes  (start time: 3:00   end time: 3:13)
16) press heavier (25kg; 1.79 PSI) for 3 hours  (start time: 3:15   end time: 6:15) ; knit exceptionally good at this point; better than some others after all night.  Still emitting whey.
17) flip & redress, press overnight (35.2 kg; 2.53 PSI)  (start time:  6:15   end time: ?:?? am)
18) remove from cheesecloth, and dip in 660C water for 1 minutes  (?:??am – ?:?? am)
19) redress and press for 24 hours  (35.2 KG; 2.53 PSI start time: ?:??am   end time: ?:?? am; ????g)
20) air dry until dry to touch (moved to box on , Jan ??th)
21) Ripen 10-150C, 85% humidity.  Ready in 6-8 weeks (can age longer; bandaged or waxed)
« Last Edit: February 01, 2014, 07:17:29 AM by JeffHamm »

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2012, 06:37:40 PM »
Hi,

Ok, just before it goes for a spa treatment, I weighed and measured it to see how it's going.  It weighed in at 1370g, and is 15.5 cm across and 5.5 cm tall, for a density of 1.32g/ccm.  The knit is superb all the way round.  This was the case with the first Dunlop I made as well, although that one ended up having the weights shift during the 2nd, post-hottub, phase of the pressing.  Most cheeses that I've made would be finished now and on to the air drying phase.  I'm not sure what more the extra day of pressing will do for the internal knit, but as it does get a flip when it goes back into the press, it may help reduce mechanical openings.  With pressing in the pot it's not like it's hard to get a good knit with this one.

Anyway, barring any futher weight stacking disasters, this one appears to be on the road to producing a nice result.  Fingers crossed.

- Jeff

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2012, 10:14:37 PM »
Looks great!  How long will you age it?  I read that it develops a wonderful flavor if you let it age 6 - 12 months.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2012, 10:29:47 PM »
Hi anut,

I'm not sure.  The other two I had around 6-8 weeks and it was quite good.  I'm building up quite a supply, so I might be able to stretch it.  Will see how it goes, but not real plans on this one.  Hmmm, with a cheddar, cheshire, and derby all aging away, I could add this to that collection for a cheddar type fest at some point. 

- Jeff

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2012, 11:54:44 PM »
Hi Jeff,

I'm now limiting myself to only long term cheeses as my refrigerator is starting to fill up with cheese that's done.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's enough cheese in my cave for the year! 

A cheddar fest is a great idea!  I'll try to put aside a wedge of each cheese until I have a nice sampling gathered up.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2012, 04:52:12 PM »
Ok, it's now out of the press weighing in at 1272g, and a more careful measurement puts it at 15.5 x 5.8 cm, so a density of 1.16 g/ccm.  It expelled an additional 100 g of moisture over the past 24 hours in the press, so it was still doing it's job.  The knit is fantastic all round (unfortunately the camera is hiding somewhere, but it looks like above), and no "Tam O'Slanter" this time, so I'm quite pleased.  Of all the cheddar-types that I've made I've found this to produce the best knit.  I don't have a press so I'm limited to stacking weights.  Anyone who is also without a decent Dutch press for cheddar types might want to give this one a go to see how it works for them.

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the result.  Hopefully the taste result is consistent with the previous makes of it.

- Jeff

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2012, 09:17:45 PM »
The can't find the camera excuse...  ;)  I'm sure it will be wonderful!  You careful note taking, as always, impresses me... You're even measuring for density!  You deserve a whole wheel, but I don't want you to get fat... so here's a wedge.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2012, 09:26:34 PM »
LOL!  Thanks anut!  I admit it, I like to measure stuff (other than my own weight and volume, and lets not even start on how dense I am!  LOL).  What I should start doing is a daily weight, and plot out the change in weight as the cheeses air dry.  This would give me an idea of the moisture loss, etc.  My first couple of cheeses seemed to come out around 1g/ccm.  Now that I can increase my pressing weights, density has gone up (fewer mechanical openings, which increase volume with little contribution to weight; as the cheese dries out, the whey that might be trapped in them evaporates, and density should drop).

- Jeff

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2012, 09:37:06 PM »
How did you know what I was going to ask about next?  >:D  You bring a question to mind that I had not thought about.  Does the moisture that remains in the cheese eventually become evenly distributed, or do pockets of moisture persist?

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2012, 10:59:56 PM »
Hi anut,

I would think there would be a moisture gradient, as the rind is obviously drier than the interior, although the distribution probably becomes more "smooth" in it's distribution (less pockets and dry patches) as it should work to even those out over time. 

- Jeff

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2012, 06:26:33 PM »
Hi,

Well, here's some interesting data for those who like to measure stuff.  I decided to make a study of this cheese, in terms of the moisture loss as it air dries and while in the cave.  I took the first measurement when it was flipped during the pressing (after 2the first overnight press, it's put in hot water for a minute, then pressed for another 24 hours).  That is "day -1", with "day 0" being the weight after the full press schedule.  Then, each morning I weighed the cheese and recorded it.  Basically, the weight loss is fairly constant around 20g per day.  Once you shift to the cave, it slows down to around 4 g per day.  My scale only seems to measure in 2 g steps, so most days are 4, with a couple of 2 and 6's. 

As we approach the 2 week mark, the 4 g/day loss is maintaining itself, but I assume at some point this will slow down even more as the rind firms up even more and as the moisture drops.  Of course, everyone's cave will operate differently.  But, having measured a couple other cheeses as well (just not for as long), these amounts seem consistent between different cheeses (a Lancashire and the Wensleydale that I've removed from wax).  Of course, all these cheeses have been made in the same mould so a different shape would produce a different surface area and affect moisture loss.

Taking these measurements might help with tweaking your cave humidity levels.  If your cheeses are cracking, that would probably occur in a cave that's too dry, which would have a more rapid moisture loss, etc.

- Jeff

P.S. the zeros on day 13 and 14 for "daily loss" are because it's only day 12 today!  Ignore them.

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2012, 01:32:29 AM »
That will be interesting to follow.  I'm curious to see what amount of weight is lost daily after a rind has developed, say 4 weeks or more?

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #12 on: March 02, 2012, 06:22:05 PM »
Hi all,

Well, I've decided to wax this one for long term storage.  I've eaten my first two Dunlops early, and they were very good, but I would like to see how the flavour developes after 8 months or a year.  It's pretty much steadily lost about 4 g / day since moved into the cave.  It's now 1010g, and the rind is looking very nice.  It's developed a bit of geo, which I've kept brushed back to just a dusting.  One or two black spots, but these are very small compared to previous makes.  They are also only surface blemishes as they do not penetrate the rind nor do they seem to affect flavour.

Anyway, here's the cheese before it's waxing.  And also the daily measurements of it's mass.

- Jeff


anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #13 on: March 03, 2012, 05:04:00 AM »
The line is different than I imagined it would be.  I thought that after first few weeks, and the formation of a good rind, the daily loss would be less, and the line on the graph going down more gradually.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 3rd Dunlop
« Reply #14 on: March 03, 2012, 06:14:13 AM »
Hi anut,

There's a very slight tendency towards that.  Early on the moisture loss tended to be 4 or 6 grams on any given day (with one 2 thrown in for good measure; my scale only measures in 2 g steps ; if it flickers between two numbers, like 4 and 6, I put 5).  By the last week or so, it was 4 or 2 grams, so there was a wee shift.  It's very subtle though, and isn't visible in the above graph. 

- Jeff