Cheddar PSI ???

[Mina]

Hello everyone!
making our first cheddar today and reviewing several reicpes from different sources....and of course...all state different weights.
So difficult to pinpoint the psi they are at so i can then figure out what to use for our size mold.
We are making a 2g batch of Irish Whiskey Cheddar from Artisan Cheesemaking at Home and using a 6" mold.
Gavin Webber uses a 6.5" mold for his basic cheddar and is pressing at a final wt of 50lb. 
Mary Karlin's book says to use an 8" tomme  :o and has a max pressure of only 15lbs.  Kinda figured the 8" tomme is way too big!

Any clarification would be MUCH appreciated!

[cheesehead94]

I don't have a specific answer to your question unfortunately,I just add weight gradually until i feel the rind will close fully, cheddar squally requires a lot (like 100lbs or so)

I am very interested in your cheese though...Irish whisky cheddar? That sounds incredible. I've been interested in making an alcohol infused cheddar lately too. Have you made one with liquor before? Do you just add it straight to the mulled curds with the salt?

[Mina]

Hi
The recipe calls for 1/4 cup whiskey milled with the salt.  Then an 8 hour soak in about 1 3/4 cups of whiskey after pressing.  This is our first cheddar so we thought we'd go ahead and try this one with the whiskey.
I can see that kind of weight for a huge wheel.  Think we may go with the 50lbs final pressing.  Hopefully it won't squeeze out too much whiskey :) 
We've just added our rennet and almost done waiting for the clean break.  Will keep you posted....in real time!

[cheesehead94]

That sounds wonderful! I'm hoping to make a beer cheddar later this month, but someday I'd love to try a cheddar with scotch using this method sometime!

[TravisNTexas]

Whiskey cheddars are probably my favorite artisan cheeses of all.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes for you!

[Mina]

-update-
First time cheddaring and didn't get the best of results.  Curds kind of crumbly and were worried they wouldn't knit when pressed.
First press at 20lb for 1 hour, second press at 40lb for 12 hours.  NO gaps and looks pretty solid!  Hopefully the same for the inside.  Now sitting in about 2c of whiskey sopping up the lovely liquor for the next 8 hours.

[rkampa]

what whiskey did you use?

[Mina]

what whiskey did you use?

Hi
We used Jamieson whiskey.  That baby soaked up about 1 cup of whiskey by the time the 8 hrs was up :) 
Set out to dry for only a day.  Dried quickly with all that alcohol I guess.  Tried to wax it but the wax would not stick for some reason.  Vacuum bagged it. Think we'll try the cream wax with inhibitors on this one.  Not sure about leaving it in the bag.

[awakephd]

Mina,

FWIW, for my 7-ish" diameter cheddars, I work my way up to a final pressing of 300 lbs. That works out to around 7.5 psi. I could probably get by with less, maybe 200 lbs., by leaving it in the press longer.

Karlin's book is, unfortunately, somewhat infamous for mis-prints. In addition, I think her book may be the one that gives pressing "weights" in terms of psi (which may just get called pounds!) ... BUT what is really meant by "psi" is the amount of air pressure used for a pneumatic press. Unfortunately, there is no way to translate the air pressure into actual psi on the cheese without knowing the diameter of BOTH the cheese AND the pneumatic cylinder ... and the latter is omitted. Very, very confusing! (Again, not absolutely sure it is Karlin's book that does this, but I think it might be ...)

I'll be very interested to get pictures and taste test on your results! I've never tried making an alcohol-infused cheese before. Sounds like it could be a whiskey thing to do ... yes, pun intended! :)

Just saw your last post as I was finishing this one - I routinely age my cheddars in a vac bag - often for > 12 months. There can be a little seepage of whey (can also happen with wax), but if it happens I open the bag, wipe it out and dry the cheese, and re-seal. (Rarely have had to do that.)