I have it on a raised plastic drying mat for 1 day now. The fan blows air above and below the mesh. Originally I did not use the fan. But I started it last night to encourage airflow.
The differences in the cheeses are: This Cheese: Last Cheese:
Whole Milk + CaCL pH= 6.7 2% Milk + CaCL PH = not done
86 degree Ripening x 45 min 90 degree Ripening x 45 min
Curds = 1/2" cut at 1 hr pH= 6.4 Curds = 1/2" cut at 45 min PH = not done
Cook at 102 degrees Cook at 100 degrees
Washed 3 x w/ 102 degree water over 45 min Washed 3x w/ 175 degree water over 45 min, bringing temp to 105
Final Press 1.5 hrs x 50 lbs (Under Whey) Final Press 12 hrs x 40 lb
then 1.5 hrs x 50 lbs (Out of Whey)
PH = 5.1 of final whey expression PH = not done
Brine x 10 hrs (~3" x 3hrs/ inch) Brine x 16 hrs
I used the same drying procedure on the earlier cheese but did not use a fan. The difference was that I pressed the first one (based on Ricki Carroll's recipe) for 12 or so hours at 40 lbs, This one had its final press for only 3 hrs, but used 50#. The curds were cut to the same size (1/2"), and were cut at 1 hr instead of 45'. This cheese was pressed under whey for 1.5 hrs, and 1.5 hrs out of whey to encourage knitting and heat retention, which it did nicely. The pre-brine weight was 985g, and the post-brine weight was 953g. (down 3%). I plan on weighing each day to see how much water evaporates. My Last cheese took 3.5 - 4 days to feel consistantly dry before waxing
My big questions are:
1) If I press for longer, say 12 - 16 hrs at Rm Temp, will that reduce drying time in the end due to more expressed whey?, How will that affect dryness of the cheese or is that less critical ?
2) I brined for 10 hrs, or (~3 hrs / inch x 3 inches) on this cheese, my last one was 16hrs. Which one sounds more reasonable? Again, How will that affect dryness of the cheese
3) TheStart ph of the brine was 5.1 and matched the cheese. It had salt + CaCl, No whey, It was reused from last cheese. The ph of the brine at the end was 5.4, Does this Sound ok?
