I made my 1st Lancashire yesterday using JeffHamm's recipe and schedule with a few minor modifications, I also used Sailor con Queso's sugestion to press naked to get a smoother rind. I have to date had 0% success with getting cheddar type cheese to look ok . also I built a new cheese press the day before yesteday and it worked great, my old one was a spring type and did not work very well.
recipe
10 L/Q quarts jersey milk
1/2 ts calc. chloride
1/4 tsp meso 2 culture
1/2tsp + 2 drops liquid rennet (veal)
2 tbs salt
warmed milk & calc chloride to 88f degrees
added culture stirred for 1 minute after 5 minutes
let ripen 45 minutes
added rennet stirred 1 minute floated bowl
nailed the floc at 15 minutes
floc @ 3x (45 minutes total
over shot temp by 3 degrees final temp 91f
cut curd 1/2" dice
rested 5 minutes
stirred curd 10 minutes
rested 5 minutes
drained in colander kept warm in a pot in a sink of warm water
rested curd mass 1/2 hr flipping once
cut cake in 1/2, stacked in warm pot for 15 minutes
the pieces did not melt together like i thought they would they stuck together very well but stayed 2 distinct individual pieces
milled to walnut sized pieces salted and moved to press
I pot pressed for 1.5 hrs @ 24 lbs pressure in a 6" mold
redressed and flipped and pressed @ 45 lbs for 8 hrs flipping 3 times
pressed for 1 hr naked.
to date this is the best hard cheese I have made yet, the Knit looks great ( to me) it is currently air drying for a couple of days then will go into my cheese cave/pumphouse.
the photos attached are of my new cheese press and the cheese after 12 hrs of air drying
thanks everybody for all the help and info.