CheeseForum.org » Forum
CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cheddared (Normally Stacked & Milled) => Topic started by: JeffHamm on October 22, 2012, 03:14:20 AM
-
Hi,
My 3rd Wensleydale was my best cheddary type cheese, so I had to try this make again. I used Dairy Dale milk, and this is supposed to be the same stuff as Anchor Brand, but sold as a budge milk (both put out by Fontera, just one in the expensive bottle, and the other in the cheaper bottle). However, I had major curd shatter this time, which is unusual. I do get a bit of soft curds from the budget store brand milk I usually use, but never complete disintegration. Anyway, in the end, the cheese is now complete and the knit is really good. Will see how it turns out. It has good colour as well, so it should be ok. Only time will tell.
- Jeff
Wensleydale Cheese: Sunday, Oct 21, 2012 (overcast, 22.5 C)
10 litres Dairy Dale whole milk + 1 Litre Nosh Blue
2 ice cube flora danica
3 ice cubes buttermilk
¼ tsp CaCl¬2 (50% solution)
1.77 ml 280 IMCU calf rennet
Mould: 6.25” diameter
2 tbs salt
1) Warm milk to 32 C (time 7:30 temp 32.0 C)
2) Add starter and ripen 1 hour 20 minutes (time 7:30 - 8:50 finish temp: ??.? C)
3) Add CaCl (time 8:42)
4) Add Rennet (time 8:53:00 – floc time 9:08:00)
5) 3.25x floc (time to floc 15 m 00 sec = wait 48 m 45 sec = cut time 9:41:45)
6) Cut to 1 cm cubes (942:9:51)
7) Rest 5 minutes (time 9:51 – 10:01; waited 10 )
8) Hold temperature, stir gently for 1 hour 30 minutes (wait for acidity target; temp 30.0 C time 10:00 - 11:30; curd shattered. Don’t use Dairy Dale again)
9) Drain whey (they take 15-20 minutes to do this; for home maker, add 15 minutes to step 8? 11:30-11:45)
10) Form a curd cake, and cut into blocks (time 11:45-12:00 2l of whey as press cut at 12)
11) Turn every 10 minutes for 30 minutes (3 turns; as it raises to an acidity target if you have them; flip times 12:10 - 12:20 - 12:30)
12) Cut into 5 cm cubes and keep curds warm 30 minutes (wait for acidity target if you have them) (time 12:55 – 1:30).
13) Add salt
14) mill into fine crumb (I went thumbnail size, and added salt after milling)
15) Press in the pot 30 minutes (15 kg; 1.08 PSI 1:52 – 2:30)
16) flip redress press in the pot 30 minutes (20 kg; 1.43 PSI 2:30 - 3:45)
17) flip redress press in the pot 1 hour (35.2 kg 2.53 PSI ?.?? - ?:??; skipped)
18) flip redress press 24 hours (officially they build up to 40 psi! So press as heavy as you can; 35.2 kg; 2.53 PSI; 3:45pm – 6:30 am flipped ????g – flipped ?:?? pm – out of press 3:45 pm 1624g dimensions 15.6cm x 7.0 cm = 1337 cm3 = 1.21g/cm3) Fantastic Knit. Nice colour
19) air dry
20) cave and age (minimum 4 weeks)
Made ricotta (got 256g, from approx 7 litres of whey – didn’t use a 2 litre jug of it; raised to 92.2C and added ¼ cup white vinegar).
-
That's one sweet-looking wheel. Very pristine compared to the knobby things I keep turning out. ::)
-Boofer-
-
Thanks. That's because you press naked. The full dressed press isn't so nobbly. (Please remember, this is a family friendly site).
- Jeff
-
(Please remember, this is a family friendly site).
- Jeff
LOL hmm....I have been wearing shorts and t-shirt while pressing cheeses this summer. Has that been my problem? ;D
-
Hi,
This one was put in a vac. bag today. It's weighed in at 1352g, with a density of 1.07g/cm3. It's down 272g since brining, but the density has dropped from 1.21, so it's probably lost moisture but not shrunk in size. I have a lot of cheddar types reaching the 1 year mark, so this may end up aging out for some time. Nice.
- Jeff
P.S. this is not brined, I should have said "It's down 272g since pressing, ..." but I was updating this at the same time as a butterkase make, and butterkase is brined.
-
That is nice, Jeff. There's just something about that cheese "look". Kind of draws you in. Maybe it's the promise of future gustatory pleasure.
-Boofer-
-
Jeff, what would "Nosh Blue" compare to in stateside milk? I can get raw full cream milk from a nearby farm and anything else in the store pasteurized but when you guys use brands it throws me off.
-
I can get raw full cream milk from a nearby farm and anything else int eh store pasteurized but when you guys use brands it throws me off.
What is the name of the creamery, Al? Or is it just a local farm?
-Boofer-
-
Local farm, Blackjack Valley Farm in Port Orchard, WA. http://blackjackvalleyfarm.com/ (http://blackjackvalleyfarm.com/)
-
The milks are pasturized and homogenized, with about 3.3% fat and 3.3g protien (in 100 ml). Nosh is a store, and they have set up their own brand of milk to sell near cost. They are taking a stand against the supermarkets, who put a much higher mark up on milk then they do on soft drinks. Dairy Dale is the budget brand put out by Fontera (who do most of the milk in New Zealand and onsell to brands). But it may be that this milk is pasturized more harshly as I've not had curd shatter like this before when using other Fontera milk.
- Jeff
-
Thanks Jeff! ;D
-
I should add, most of the milk I use is 3.3% fat and 3.3g/100ml, sometimes 3.4g/100ml of protein. There is a cream line milk available (Silvertop), and it does make the best curds. I should use it a bit more often. It's got a higher fat content (over 4% as I recall) too.
- Jeff
-
The raw milk I buy is just as it comes out of the cow. Soon to be Guernsy cows. ;D I can, and do, however buy whole pateurized/homoginized milk from the store and add heavy cream to it.
-
Soon to be Guernsy cows. ;D
hmm...so...what are they now? Is this some evolutionary thing?
muahahaha! :P
-
LOL BB No the lady that owns it is getting some Guernsy cows in. Not sure what she has right now, Holstiens I believe.
-
Hi,
This one was put in a vac. bag today. It's weighed in at 1352g, with a density of 1.07g/cm3. It's down 272g since brining, but the density has dropped from 1.21, so it's probably lost moisture but not shrunk in size. I have a lot of cheddar types reaching the 1 year mark, so this may end up aging out for some time. Nice.
- Jeff
Jeff, Did you brine this cheese? Confused?? :-\
-
Ooops, no, didn't brine. I should have just said since out of the mold. I was updating the information for a butterkase at the same time, and that one is brined, and conflated the processes. Sorry for the confusion - welcome to my world! :)
- Jeff
-
Okay, thanks for clearing that up Jeff. I want to make one of these tomorrow and was reviewing your make when I saw that. :o
-
Hi Al,
I'll be interested to hear how this goes for you. When I returned from our trip, this one had blued up, and had a massive b.linens atach on the facees. I've washed it right down under the tap, and am drying it off now. HOpefully, it's still ok. It should be, but the flavour will probably be unique, for lack of a better word. I know that this can produce a really nice cheese at around the 4 to 5 month mark.
- Jeff
-
Will do! Hopefully it won't pick up anything local here. Thought I would dry it a bit and wax it. ::)
-
Has anyone tried making Blue Wensleydale? Apparently it was the original Wensleydale and has not been made in over 100 years.
Wensleydale cheese was first made by French Cistercian monks from the Roquefort region, who had settled in Wensleydale. They built a monastery at Fors, but some years later the monks moved to Jervaulx in Lower Wensleydale. They brought with them a recipe for making cheese from sheep's milk. During the 14th century cows' milk began to be used instead, and the character of the cheese began to change. A little ewes' milk was still mixed in since it gave a more open texture, and allowed the development of the blue mould. At that time, Wensleydale was almost always blue with the white variety almost unknown. Nowadays, the opposite is true, with blue Wensleydale rarely seen. When the monastery was dissolved in 1540 the local farmers continued making the cheese right up until the Second World War, during which most milk in the country was used for the making of "Government Cheddar". Even after rationing ceased in 1954, cheese making did not return to pre-war levels.
Okay, did a little research and found this is still made at the Wensleydale Creamery. Appears to be a lightly pressed stilton but I can't find a recipe anywhere. Also found a Shropshire which is a Stilton made in Scotland with annatto in it. Again no recipe but that one is easy to work out.
-
Jeff, where do you get your recipes from? I'm trying to pinpoint floc multipliers, and I see you have 3.25.
-
Hi Tom,
I found this one on the net. It was published by a small dairy (they make wensleydale 1000 L a go). From their description I was able to put this recipe together. I posted a link to their web page in one of my previous make (Wensleydale #3). Others, like the butterkase, I found by searching for, and combining, different procedures (most posted here in the forum somewhere). I have a couple books as well, which I use. For floc multipliers, I tweak those a bit to get what I like. I start by converting the times in a recipe to a floc multipler by assuming the recipe has a 10-15 floc time. So, if they say "cut after 60 minutes" I take that to mean a 4x-6x. You can then compare to other cheeses of a similar style, and base it on that, then tweak as you see fit.
Searching this forum is, however, the best way to find a lot of recipes. The difficult thing is finding the time to make them all! :)
- Jeff
-
Hi,
Well, this is just shy of 4 months by a couple days and as it is a holiday here today, I figured it was time. It was 1150g, which is a pretty good result. The curd is very very sticky and moist. As this was left alone over the holidays while we were away, and in a vac bag that doesn't really seal well, it ended up covered in wild b.linens and various white/blue molds (you can see where the mould invaded the cheese). I washed those off, but the three weeks has definately impacted upon the flavour. The unusual paste may also have to do with the fact that the curd shattered during the make and perhaps that is also partly why it doesn't have either the texture or flavour of a cheddar type. Rather, it's more semi-soft (poor curd), washed rind (wild b.linens). The molds and linens may also have contributed to softening the paste. Regardless, this is all fine by me as I quite enjoy it, but it's not the target result. Still, it's not going in the bin as everyone likes it. Nice when the errors turn out ok!
- Jeff
-
Love a cheese that makes yuh smile when it's opened ^-^
Sounds great a cheese to you Jeff ;D
-
Thanks H-K-J! Just made grilled cheese with this. Melts really well, and tastes great in a sandwhich.
- Jeff
-
it's not the target result. Still, it's not going in the bin as everyone likes it. Nice when the errors turn out ok!
The Miracle Cheese!
Kudos, Jeff! A cheese to you for dragging that Phoenix from the ashes. ;)
-Boofer-
-
Nice when the errors turn out ok!
- Jeff
Awesome, Jeff!
My short term experimental cheddar is exactly like that (an error that turned out great). I tasted it after about 3 weeks and was very unsatisfied, so I tossed it in the back of the cave and then totally forgot about it.... I had intended on bagging it, but placed it in a container for the "short term" which turned out to be a couple of months. The other day I was trying to get caught up on my cheese maintenance and spotted it behind stuff and, well, "yikes" was an understatement.
I should have taken a picture of it pre-wash. I scrubbed and washed it and got it all cleaned up (it had EVERYTHING growing on it...) and noticed it felt a bit softish. Much softer than I would expect from a cheddar. So I chopped a piece off and tasted it and it tasted kinda like a cross between a muenster and a swiss. Very tasty. My daughter didnt like it, she called it a "stinky cheese" but that would not have been quite my characterization. Her husband, however, thought it was outstanding as did my wife. I think I have a small section of the wheel left which I will photograph and post when I get a chance. Have been incredibly busy and as a result my cheese time has been compromised.
I also have a couple of cheddars that had sprouted some blue on them. Oh well...que sera'!