Ok, a kind soul on this board shared a recipe with me for this amazing melting cheese... So i will share. I haven't made this yet, but will sometime in the future and will share my experience with it.
RACLETTE RECIPE
Level: Fairly difficult (requires considerable time)
Start to Finish
1/5 hours for heating and ripening
45-60 minutes for renneting and coagulation
1 hour for cooking the curds
1 hour for draining and setting
3 days for curing
2-4 months for aging
Best Uses
Good table and excellent melting cheese
Storage
Stores well for months when tightly wrapped and refrigerated, but dries out fairly quickly if not properly sealed.
Yield
2 pounds raclette
Ingredients
2 gallons whole cow's milk
¼ cup fresh or 1 teaspoon powdered, mesophillic starter
¾ teaspoon liquid rennet mixed with ¼ cool water
Salt brine: 4 cups salt in 1 gallon water
Bacterial linens
Tip: Works best with raw milk that you pasteurize yourself. You will get a softer cheese from homogenized whole milk.
Note: It's important to refrain from heating either milk or curds too quickly here. The cheese simply won't hold together if you rush.
Warm the milk for about 30 minutes in a double boiler until the temperature reaches 88° F. Slowly stir in the mesophilic starter culture, blending it well throughout the milk. Cover and set aside to ripen for 1 hour.
Blend the rennet into the ripening milk. Allow the rennet to work undisturbed for 1 hour, or until the curds show a clean break when tested with a knife.
Cut the curds into ¼-inch cubes and allow them to settle to the bottom of the pot, as the whey rises to the surface.
FOREWORKING AND COOKING THE CURDS
Before you begin foreworking – stirring the lukewarm curds before cooking – heat about 2 quarts of water to a temperature of 140° F. Maintain the water at this temperature for washing the curds later.
Slowly stir the curds with a large ladle or spoon. (This will dispel more of the moisture and prevent the curds from sticking together.)
Skim why from the surface of the curds with a measuring cup, keeping track of the amount as you go. Replace the drained whey with an equal amount of the water you've preheated to 140° F, and gently stir the curds as you add the water, until the curds reach a temperature of 100° F. Be sure the temperature doesn't rise above 100° F, or your cheese won't solidify properly.
Continue to stir the curds for another 30—45 minutes and 100° F until they firm up. Then set the pot aside and allow the curds to rest for another 30 minutes.
Tilt the pot and carefully ladle or spoon the excess whey from the curds. Then set the curds aside to acidify for 1 more hour.
In the meantime, prepare brine by blending 4 cups of salt into 1 gallon of slightly warm water in a large pot or stainless-steel basin. Gently stir the solution for about 5 minutes before you allow the contents to settle. You should be able to see a layer of salt at the bottom, which means that the water is completely salt saturated and ready for the freshly processed raclette.
Place the raclette in the brine and allow it to float for 12 hours, turning once after 6 hours of soaking. Remove the cheese from the brine and pat dry with a clean cheesecloth or buttercloth.
Transfer the raclette to a rack or cheese mat and allow it to air dry for an hour.
CURING THE CHEESE
Add 1 teaspoon of bacterial linens to 1 quart of water, in an atomizer. Shake well. Spray all surfaced of the raclette and place it on the cheese mat or rack in the refrigerator or a cool room (55° F and 85% humidity). Allow it to rest for 2 days, turning once each day. On day 3, spray the cheese again.
You should now be able to detect a slight reddish-brown mold. Allow the raclette to age for another 2 months, as it steeps with flavor and forms a natural rind. If you prefer a cheese with a stronger flavor, give it an additional 2 months.
