Author Topic: Whey Release after Waxing  (Read 3736 times)

Dennismc

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Whey Release after Waxing
« on: June 30, 2012, 04:39:09 AM »
First of all thanks everyone here for all the help so freely given on this forum. Without your help we beginners would be lost.

So far I have made about 20 hard cheeses all with reasonable success, although I seem to learn more from each one I make. However my latest has me confused.

It is a Lancashire based on the recipe from 200 cheeses. The only adjustments I made to the recipe were from my reading here on the forum ie
.      to reduce the amount of rennet by a third (Curd setting time was hardly affected)
.      to press an additional hour at the lower weight to improve the melding of the curd
.      include some thermo. starter for flavor.

The make seemed to go very well. 12 litres of really good pasteurized (but not homogenized) milk produced a cheese weighing far too much ie 2.2kg as compared to the 1.6-1.8kg that similar milk usually gives me. When the cheese came out of the press it appeared quite dry on the outside. Although the recipe in 200 cheeses does not specify drying prior to aging I dried it for 24 hours anyway and the beginnings of rind development were obvious (still quite dry on outside).

As I have had problems with mold development on my cheeses I decided to wax it, despite it being usual to age Lancashire with a natural rind. After about 48 hours the cheese bulged slightly on one side and split. Whey had been collecting under the wax and had begun to ooze out. The cheese had lost over 100 grams in weight. I removed the wax and it is back in the press in an attempt to remove more whey. The cheese smelt fine without any off tones.

Although I used more weight than I normally use for Lancashire cheeses ie (pressed for 1 hour at 10Kg then redressed and pressed at 10kg for an additional hour. Finally, pressing at 25kg for 6 hours as per the recipe). Obviously insufficient whey had been removed. Usually I get excellent melding of the curds but this time the exterior (only) was imperfect.
Can anyone suggest why insufficient whey was removed in the pressing.

Thanks in advance
Dennis Mc


Dulcelife

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2012, 04:36:31 PM »
I feel your pain Dennis and hopefully your effort will still turn out.  The fine folks on this forum with many years experience will offer you good honest advise.  I have limited experience but will venture to say that 48 hours is way too short a time for drying and rind development for a "home-built" cheddar type cheese.

JeffHamm

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2012, 06:51:06 PM »
Hi,

I tend to give my cheeses about 4 weeks aging before waxing them.  There's always moisture collecting under the wax until then (for me at least) so what you've found is not unusal.  As to why you may have had more whey retention this time, it could be that not as much whey was expelled during stirring, or that the cheese matted and held more at the drain (you can break up the curds to help release trapped whey), or you raised the temperature too quickly and cooked the outside of the curds forming a skin, which then means the curds won't expell why as readily, and I'm sure there are other possibilities (cold during pressing could do it too I suppose).  It would help to post a detailed set of make notes, then people can see what you did and maybe spot something. 

In either case, the cheese you made should be fine.  I would just remove it from the wax and let it age in the cave for a week or two more before re-waxing though.

- Jeff

Dennismc

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2012, 11:22:46 PM »
Thanks Dulcelife and Jeffham for your replies.

The make was as per the recipe in 200 cheeses with the modifications I mentioned. The more I think about it I am sure you are right that the problem was with the 10 minutes stirring. Given the type of milk I was using (for the first time) and the high levels of cream it contained, 10 minutes was too short for the stirring. The curds may have cooled a little too. Sigh there is so much more to learn about cheese making. Matting was not a problem in this make.

I have removed the wax, repressed the cheese and allowed it to dry and will wax it again. The make in the 200 cheeses recipe does not require a drying time prior to going into the cave. I did dry it overnight anyway prior to waxing and the beginning rind was quite dry. Certainly drier than any other cheese I have made. After the second pressing I dried it overnight and again it felt very dry, in fact it cracked as a result of the paste underneath being moister than dry rind. 

Anyway the cheese looks very good and the paste is already quite tasty.

Dennis Mc


avril

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2012, 08:04:00 PM »
Hello,
I'm new to this forum and to cheese making. I've made my first 2 cheddar's and have a couple of questions.
The first I made was Traditional Cheddar (06-20-12 waxed 07-03-12) and I think I over stirred the curds, thus the small stature.  :D
The second is a farmhouse Cheddar that I made 06-28-12 and is currently in my fridge in a container with a loose lid. It is forming a nice rind. I am hoping to have a wine cooler in the next week or so to use as an aging cave.
Jeff you said, "I tend to give my cheeses about 4 weeks aging before waxing them." Do you age at a certain temperature and then wax? Would you wait, even though my second cheese is forming a nice rind with no more whey expelling?

JeffHamm

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2012, 08:20:32 PM »
Hi,

I age at around 10C after 4 or 5 days air drying at room temp (which is quite cool here in Auckland at the moment, so perfect for air drying cheese).  I've waxed some after a fairly short time only to have them leak whey into the wax (so the cheese was really wet on the surface, etc).  Since then, I've increased my cave time before waxing.  I know others seem to have success waxing earlier, so it is really about finding what works well in your given environment.  If you're pretty sure you've got a decent rind, wax away and just keep an eye on it.  You could double check in two weeks and just remove the wax and see how it's holding up.  If all is well, re-wax and wait until it's aged 6 months or a year.  Waxing is not that hard to do after all, and you can re-use the wax you remove (just scrape off any cheese that has stuck to it before putting in back in the melting pot).

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2012, 12:40:25 AM »
I had already rebagged my second Cheddar a couple times, but today I found myself doing just that again. It is important to watch your cheese to ensure that it does not have moisture behind the covering, whether it's wax or plastic. That moisture will really screw up your rind.

Welcome to the forum, avril. Looking forward to reading and seeing pics of your cheese adventures.

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

snofields

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2012, 03:09:49 AM »
Ahhhh! Another cheese maker in Colorado!
While still very new to the whole process I have found that I have to wax my cheese in 2-3 days.  Our very low humidity here accelerates the drying.  I also use a wine fride and can rarely get the humidity over 45%.  I have to wax or box all my cheese to get the right humidity.  Right now I am making naturally smoked cheeses  :-\

Offline Boofer

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  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
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  • Contemplating cheese
Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2012, 04:51:25 AM »
Hey, snofields, welcome to the forum. If you search on humidifiers and solutions to low humidity situations, you might find an answer to your predicament.

Amazon has a wide assortment of humidifiers including cool mist models.

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

snofields

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Re: Whey Release after Waxing
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2012, 12:54:25 PM »
Thanks for the suggestion!    There is a TON of information on humidifiers there.  It will take me some time to wade through it all.