Dulcelife’s Fast Double Gloucester with Adjunct Thermo **update - Scrumptious**

[Dulcelife]

Dulcelife’s Fast Double Gloucester with Adjunct Thermo

After reading with much interest Pav’s WA guild article on the use of ST as an adjunct in fresh curd cheddar and Dthelmer’s use of the concept in his elaboration of mixed milk Farmstead cheddar, I decided to venture into an experiment of my own.

The one Cheddar style cheese I really love better than Cabot vermont aged cheddar is Ilchester’s Imported Double Gloucester.  This brand I have enjoyed so much, is to me, cheddar on high gear.  Fast on the tongue, complex, creamier than expected, tangy, buttery and lingering to the point of leaving a desire for more and then, more.

What I would like to achieve is a nice complex yet fairly early and fast yet flavorful Double Gloucester-like cheese.
What I’ve done here is take the only readily available recipe I have from 200 Easy… and adapted it with some of the features of Dthelma 1:3 raw vs. P/H milk make.  I too would like to see the P/H half of my milk benefit from an extended pre-ripening period.  I do not have a single strain ST culture at hand so I am resorting to Thermo B as the adjunct for the ST although LB will come along for the ride and maybe contribute something interesting. The DG recipe in 200 Easy… calls for a generic Meso, so I don’t know if a single strain LC would have benefited in this style cheese anyway. So, MM100/101 and Thermo B it is.

Insofar as pre-ripening time, I am opting for 1 hour at 88F – 90F versus the 3 hour @ 76F in DThelmer’s make and with a considerably low dose of MM100 initially, and another low dose of MM100 with the thermo B later on.  I am using a 1:1 ratio of raw to P/H milk; 2 gal. of each (raw=morning milk, P/H = simulated evening milk).  I speculate that the higher ripening temperature on “more” raw milk will achieve the same effect more or less, as  DThelmer’s 3 hour at 76F; with the NSLABs doing their thing on the P/H component with a little help from the low dose MM100.  Hey, its an experiment okay?.  Worst-case scenario: I’ll have something crazy different yet edible and, I pray, tasty.  This is also the first time I use P/H milk, so it will be interesting to note any difference in the outcome.

I will be using two Exsticks; PH110, so I expect to have a handle on PH targets for a typical cheddar make and be able to gauge my progress with fairly accurate PH targets.  When one clogs, I’ll use the other while I clean the former.   This is the first time I will attempt a rudimentary PH acidification curve for future use.
Regardless of the outcome, my thanks in advance to Pav and Dthelmer for the inspiration to play.

2 gal. raw Jersey Milk and 2 gal. Aldi’s Happy Farm P/H milk.
1/8th tsp. MM100
1/16th tsp. Thermo B
100 Drops Annatto in ½ cup distilled water
½ tsp. Calcium Chloride
¾ tsp. Single Strength veal rennet
3 tbs. Cheese flake salt.

July 07, 2012
12:04pm: Inoculate pH 6.71 – 86F milk with 1/16th tsp. MM100.
12:09pm: Stir down, ripen 1 hour.  Temperature up to 88F
12:36pm: PH 6.61 Temperature to 90F
01:15pm: Inoculate 90F milk with 1/16th tsp. MM100 and 1/16th tsp. Thermo B
01:29pm: Stir down, ripen 30 minutes.
01:53pm: PH 6.58
02:01pm: Add and stir down Annatto, wait 15 minutes.
02:19pm: Add and stir down Calcium Chloride, wait 5 minutes.
02:20pm: PH 6.54
02:24pm: Add ¾ tsp. rennet, start timer, float cup.
02:30pm: Flocculation in 6 minutes x 3.5 = 21 minutes = 02:45pm curd cut.
02:46pm: Check for clean break; No-Go wait a 5 minutes.
02:52pm: Clean break; start curd cut to ¼ inch cubes.
02:56pm: Finished curd cut, let rest 10 minutes.
03:06pm: Stir gently for 10 minutes.
03:16pm: Increase temperature (cook), curd to 99F over 45 minutes.
03:31pm: PH 6.51
03:59pm: PH 6.37
04:05pm: Hold at temperature until PH 6.3; approximately 20 minutes
04:25pm: PH 6.28, Drain curds into warm colander and mat.
04:35pm: Return to warmed vat and hand press to expel whey. Hold for 15 minutes.
04:50pm: Drain expelled whey, flip curd cake.  Hold for 15 minutes.
05:06pm: Cut curd mass in four and pile.  Hold for 15 minutes.
05:34pm: Flip curd pile. Holed for 15 minutes.  This flip was late: 28 vs. 15 minutes.
05:50pm: Milled curds to 1 x ½ inch, added 3 tbs. flake salt and tossed.
06:05pm: First pressing at about 50 lbs. or approximately 2 psi or 30 minutes.
06:40pm: Redress, return to pressing at about 75 lbs. or 3 psi for 60 minutes.
07:50pm: Redress, return to press at 100 lbs. or 4.34 psi until PH 5.2
08:45pm: PH 5.24
10:13pm: PH 5.14, unmolded and set out to dry, flipping twice daily.

Yield:  2 lb. 1/5 oz. and 2 lb. 2.2 oz. = 2 lb. 3.7 oz.

July 08, 2012
10:00pm: Placed into cave at 52F  and 60%rH, flipping twice daily.

July 09, 2012
5:00pm: Vacuum sealed.
July 10 thru 13, 2012:  No whey has collected in bags.

Seems like all went well.  I wanted really bright wheels like the Ilchester brand I am used to and boy, did I get bright wheels.
The whole ideas was for fast cheese so I will open and sample at 30 days.  Wish me luck folks.

Here are some pictures.  Unfortunately I neglected to get a picture of my perfectly milled curd.

[Boofer]

Nice write-up...pretty pictures! Saturated color! 

Really, 30 days? But what about the flavor? I'm no expert, but it would seem the enzymes and contributing flavors from dying bacteria would add to the flavor compounds further down the road. In a hurry? 

-Boofer-

[Dulcelife]

Nice write-up...pretty pictures! Saturated color! 

Really, 30 days? But what about the flavor? I'm no expert, but it would seem the enzymes and contributing flavors from dying bacteria would add to the flavor compounds further down the road. In a hurry? 

-Boofer-

Boof, my experiment is based on Pav's article http://www.wacheese.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80:fresh-cheddar-curd-extended-shelf-life&catid=43:moderate-cook-temp&Itemid=66

Basically a technique to make tastier fresh curds (as well as longer shelf life), that DThelmer used as the basis for his make of fast maturing farmstead cheddar:  http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,7523.0.html

Dthelmer's flavorful cheese which he opened at three weeks gave me the idea for the "Fast Double Gloucester"

Not so much a rush, more like widening the "palatable" time closer to the make date: one to three months; but definitely usable at one!

[Sailor Con Queso]

What's the rush?

[Dulcelife]

No real rush as I've got plenty of tasty cheese at eating age as well as coming of age, more than the two of us can eat.
I've got Cheddar at 104 days, Edam at 97, the creamy Leiden getting better at 90 days, Cantal, Gouda's and so on.

This is about experimentation and learning; Looking to work with a fast tasty cheese other than Caerphilly and Lancashire which I enjoy but am not crazy about in the texture department.  One I can practice what I am learning in Paul Kindstedt's book, The Dairy Processing Handbook and other sources and taste the tweaks in a shorter time period.  Kind of like learning photography in this digital age versus developing film.

Part II of this experiment will occur tomorrow whence, I will make the Double Gloucester in 200 Easy Recipes...
This will be per recipe using MM100 and the same 1:1 ratio of raw and P/H.  No pre-ripening.  No Thermo, everything else the same. I will follow the PH curve as well.

I can then follow both makes through the aging process, young through old and see what gives.

[Boofer]

Ah, the bleeding edge.... 

More power to you, sir. You are leading where others may follow. We may soon have fresh Cheddar much as we have cottage cheese...ready the day it comes from the press! 

Without experimentation we would lose out on lots of opportunity and happenstance. Good luck.

-Boofer-

[Dulcelife]

We already have that, its called fresh curd cheddar and happens to be the subject being improved with adjunct thermo in Pav's WA Guild article.

[iratherfly]

Great thread!

I actually had the pleasure of visiting Gloucester UK just a few weeks ago (incredibly green and moist, with cow and sheep roaming freely in giant pastures. I was really impressed with the general area, though the actual town of Gloucester is eh... ok, well; a shithole. Pardon my French but the locals would be the first to back me up on it).

Of course I didn't waste any time and started tasting the local Double and Single Gloucester varieties. It was good to get an understanding of the difference between them.  This isn't like French single/double creme. Single Gloucester is quite rare and is made from skimmer milk or morning milking, has no colorant and is the same size wheel but less tall. Sold younger too. This was explained to me as the inferior version that was sold in local markets to the common men but now it is prized and rare.  I loved that the premium artisan examples were naturally caved and not vacuumed or waxed. there seems to be some growth of geo or other dusting on them as well as lots of surface rind cracks which was their signature appearance.

Doubles are sold at 5-6 months age. Singles -at 3-4 months. However, single can be found at 2 months as well. In my opinion the sub-2-months versions are really "not there yet", rather acidic and brittle, unpleasant.  This was May so you can see the hand scribbled made-on-date stickers on these puppies. This was my favorite. Notice the cut wedges on top; very rustic. These are a real showcase of local grass-fed milk quality. I thought it may inspire you

[Sailor Con Queso]

IRF - there seem to be an awful lot of surface cracks, especially in the Single Glouc. I suspect these are really good traditional cheeses, but my first impression is that they were aged at too low humidity.

FYI. I MUCH prefer the natural carotene color of the Single. I hate to see fluorescent cheese.

[iratherfly]

Sailor, these are considered some of the best ones out there (they won a ton of awards and made in very small batches. Sort of "golden standard" for many other producers).

If you look closely, you will notice that the cracks are not deep, it's like this funny decoration layer of thin rind flakes on top of a thin but firm and elastic rind. (kind of like bark on tree). The bottom rind isn't cracked at all. They seems to do this on purpose by shock-drying it only at the very end of aging. The paste is properly moist, elastic, milky and un-acidic. It breaks off in the curd knottings so it's not brittle in any way as you would expect a cracked cheese to be.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Yes, I did notice that the cracks were superficial and the paste itself looks nice and moist. It's just the cracked rind that looks odd. I have never heard of anyone "shock drying" intentionally to make decorative surface cracks. Interesting technique. Did you see other creameries doing this, or was it unique to this producer? So, the bottom of the cheese wheel is "normal" without the surface cracking? I wonder if these are flash heated to produce rapid drying and surface cracks without effecting the body (or the bottom) of the cheese? Like a creme' brule.

I like the bark analogy.

[iratherfly]

Yes, it was a funny presentation and I didn't hear about this before either -until someone told me about it there. I didn't see this elsewhere so go figure if I heard the truth or not, but this is a good way to visually brand a cheese, don't you think?

[Dulcelife]

iratherfly:  Kudos to you for your observations and bringing these great images.  Sure wish I was headed to old world charm.  How did they taste?  Please do tell.
A careful look at the left slice above the single: looks like the cracks maybe more than superficial.  Is that a crack on the lower right of the cheese.  Looks like there might be some penetration of blue/green mold.

In the mean time:

As planned I completed the second Double "not so fast" Gloucester cheese make in accordance with the recipe in 200 Easy...
This will serve as comparison for this make.

The "normal" DG cheese make can be found here: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9952.0.html

Looking at those rustic cheese images makes me want to ripen one of each make with a natural rind but I am out of room in the cave.  I might opt for cream waxing a wheel of each since it is not totally impervious to the atmosphere and it might be a nice rind treatment for a cheese I'd like to breath a bit.  I currently have tests going with Goudas and Manchegos in both cream wax and vacuum for comparison sometime down the road.

Thanks for the input.

[iratherfly]

Anytime Dulcelife!
They tasted like really good cheddars. A bit more on the tangy, young and milky side. Perhaps more moist due to shorter aging. It's really a type of Cheddar if you think about it.

The crack you see on the bottom is very typical in English and cloth-bound cheddars. You can also see such cracks on American artisan cloth-bound/cave-aged cheddars and French Cantals. This usually happens in areas where the curd is cold during pressing. It's quite normal.  and can be eaten.

If you want to ripen them naturally you don't need to use Geo. It will grow on its own in 2-3 weeks.  What's cream wax? Is it made of cream?

What do you fly? I haven't been flying for a few years but used to fly C172, C182, C206 and MX-7

[Dulcelife]

Interesting.  I have never had the pleasure of natural rind cheddar.  Cream wax is what is traditionally used in Holland for locally consumed Gouda.  From what I've heard/read from a member in the town of Gouda is that red waxed cheese is not to be found there.  It must be hard waxed for export and or be a USA thing.  The cream wax I am using is from Hoegger Supply and they verified a few weeks back that theirs is from Holland.  Sailor has indicated that he has had cheeses dry out which indicates it is not airtight as hard wax and vacuum sealing are. When dry the cream wax looks hard, glassy and impervious to moisture which it is not!

In my cream wax thread: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9873.0.html the topic is discussed.  I also found that imported Gouda is in fact first coated in cream wax prior to hard wax. For me the jury is still out and I need to wait until two or three months have elapsed before I open the Goudas (no. 4) that I have both cream waxed and vacuum sealed for comparison. I am hoping for a hard natural-rind like rind below the cream wax layer with nicer paste development than vacuum.

Insofar as flying, I own a small home built Flightworks Capella XS tail dragger that I help built and wound up buying.  It is powered by an 80 hp Aerovee VW based engine that sips 4 gph so its easy on the pocket..  I fly under the Light Sport rules and just put-put around the Florida peninsula or just bore holes in the sky when I get antsy about being a ground based mammal.

Sorry for the off topic fellow cheesemiesters.