2nd Cheshire

[anutcanfly]

I just tried the Cheshire I made 6 months ago with store bought milk.  I really loved the amount of flavor and tang it developed.  Unfortunately it was slightly bitter, so will mostly be used for cooking.  I am running this recipe again, but with raw milk and no calcium chloride.

Also, I noticed that the pH plummeted during milling and salting.  From 5.5 to 4.9 - yikes!  This seems to happen a lot.  Suspicious, I checked the pH again in 5 minutes and it was 5.0.  Very interesting... I checked again in 30 minutes and it was 5.1!  To check further would have been difficult, but I can see that measurements after hooping are affected by... the initial flood of salt???  It's also possible the whey pH during cheddaring lags further and further behind the actual curd pH.  Between the two possibilities I can see why the pH would appear to plummet! 

If anyone has info on this, I'm all ears! 


2nd Cheshire #57            3/9/12

Floc 3.5
Drain pH 6.3 to 6.2
Mill pH 5.6 to 5.5
Yeild:

4 gallons Raw Brown Swiss Cow milk 4%, pH 6.5
½ tsp MA11
¼ tsp rennet (x3)
3-½ tbsp salt

Warmed milk to 86 degrees, added culture, let sit 5 minutes, then stirred it in.  Let ripen for 40 minutes.  Temp 86%, pH 6.5

Added diluted rennet, stir in and wait for floc.  Floc in 8 minutes, so 3.5(=28 minutes.  Checked for clean break in 28 minutes and then cut the curd into ¼ inch cubes.  Let rest for 5 minutes. Temp 85 degrees

Drained off 1/3rd of whey, then raise heat to 88% taking 1 hour to do so.  Thermometer needs to be re-calibrated! Temp 86%, pH 6.4 to 6.3

Hold for 40 minutes at 88%, temp 88% pH 6.3

Drain whey and push curds to one side of the pot.  Press down with hand several times during the next 30 minutes. 

Drain whey and cut slab into 4-5 pieces.  Place in bottom of pot and keep warm.  Turning occasionally for the next 2 hours, or until pH is 5.6 to 5.5.

pH reached 5.5 after 1 hour of cheddaring.  Milled and salted, pH 4.9??
Checked pH again in 5 minutes after hooping and pH was 5.0???  Checked pH again 30 minutes after hooping and pH was 5.1? Interesting…

Pressed with 36 pounds for 30 minutes.   Redressed and pressed at 112 pounds for one hour.  Redressed and press overnight at 204 pounds.

[JeffHamm]

Hi anut,

Glad to hear it's tasty, though a shame about the bitterness.  I've got a cheshire that will be 6 months in April.  I followed fied's recipe.  I've not yet made another, but probably should.  I'm making a Wensleydale right now.  Must go flip the curds.

- Jeff

[Ptucker]

I wonder if the whey during milling is an accurate reading as the curd changes at a different rate then the whey being  expelled.  The whey starts as one PH level (same as the curd) and then becomes diluted or altered over the cheddaring time , another words the curd and whey are at two different PH levels at the end of cheddaring. Salt will stop or at least slow the PH change and sometimes show a reserve of PH on a meter (which I think is an inaccurate reading). When making anything in the cheddar family the PH should never drop below 5.2 during milling or the cheese has an acidic flavor. Ph is a bit low but I think it will be fine. Just my opinion. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

[anutcanfly]

Hi Jeff,

Good luck with your make! I'm impatient to cut into my own Wensleydale in 4 months or so.  I think it's going to be great!  I try not to make a 2nd of anything until I verify that the first one was good! 

Hi Devon,

Yes, that's my question.  Knowing which readings are skewed and why.  I had wondered if the lag between curd pH and whey pH became greater as time goes on.  I try to drain free whey frequently so I'm testing fresh whey each time, but I was thinking the difference between the two does increase and I don't know what that increase is.  At what whey pH should I begin milling and salting?  Which readings after hooping are accurate, if any?

The more recent cheddar style cheese's I've cut into have varied, some smooth and some a little crumbly, but all are melting fine.   But I can't control what I don't understand!  I don't know how to interpret the readings I'm getting?

[Ptucker]

I am sure there are more folks better qualified then I but think an accurate reading would be a temp/Ph reading taken from the curd its self during cheddaring. I have a PH meter but they do not make a tip to read solid mass so I cannot back up my hypothesis. Everything plays a role, liquid, solid, temp, time, ingredients, and types used etc. I make a lot of hard cheese and always stop no matter the time on cheddaring when the whey reaches 5.3 – 5.4 and prepare it for the press, I have also learned to press light at first, then firm and finial very firm over 24 hours. You received a fast set using only ¼ tsp for 4 gals, nice, I use ½ tsp liquid calf. for the same amount and run 30 to 40 mins. maybe I need to try less. 

[anutcanfly]

Hi Devon,

Thanks for your reply. I'll figure it out eventually.  I stop cheddaring at 5.6 to 5.5 and begin milling.  This cheese was at 5.5 pH when I began milling/salting, and I pressed light, firm, and very firm.   I think will get a pH meter that can test the curd before long!  I'm not fond of guessing games.   

The rennet I use is triple strength and I should decrease it a bit, but I hate always having to count drops! 

[DeejayDebi]

Bitter flavor could be as simple as needing more salt ... or old cultures. I suspect the salt.

[anutcanfly]

I haven't had a single cheese show up bitter since I switched to raw milk, so I'm pretty sure it's the milk or as someone mentioned earlier, the calcium chloride as I don't use that anymore either.  My salting levels haven't changed.  It can be difficult to problem solve with there are so many variables!

I'm not fond of guess games so I sucked it up and bought Extech 110.  Not nearly as nice as I would like, but affordable and hopefully it will resolve some of my pet peeves with the Hanna I have!  I hear good things about the customer service, so if I get a lemon it won't be too painful to fix, and I can always use my Hanna as a back up.