CheeseForum.org ยป Forum

CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cheddared (Normally Stacked & Milled) => Topic started by: Cartierusm on February 22, 2009, 12:38:24 AM

Title: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: Cartierusm on February 22, 2009, 12:38:24 AM
I started a 15 gal batch of Farmhouse and now that I have all the right equipment and recipe I've decided to go full blown. This means measureing and adjusting acid along the way. So far so good. I can get my acid measurements ACCURATE down to .005 for Acid Titration. Pics coming when they come.
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: Likesspace on February 23, 2009, 02:11:38 AM
Good luck on this one Carter..
Looking forward to the pics.

Dave
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: Cartierusm on February 23, 2009, 08:12:00 AM
Acid measuring went perfect. Pressing on the other hand....not the best knit, but I know what went wrong.

I tried pressing hard right off the bat 20# instead of 5. I think you need the light pressing in the beginning to help expell the whey and I pressed real hard at the end which is not good either as it really forces the cheese in the cloth and makes it hard to remove without pulling out small chunks. All in all it went fine, but next time i'll press slow at first and not exceed what the final pressure is.

Also the biggest problem where I got a few surface defects was because I couldn't mill all the curds uniformely. So I'm going to design a home version of a curd mill.
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: chilipepper on February 23, 2009, 03:21:12 PM
Carter, that is the leaning tower of cheeza! :)

Thanks for doing some R&D on the pressing issues.  I wonder if because you pressed hard right at the beginning you actually knit the outside and trap much of the whey in the cheese.  I've often wondered if that is much of the basis behind the vacuum presses?

The mill would be a great tool to have but for us small timers it just isn't practical as you have yet another piece to clean and sanitize for about 1 minute of work.  Plus, if you use the version that is kind of like a roller mill for brewing grain except with little knives, you really have some cleaning to do.  I guess if it would all be stainless and without too many little orifices you could throw it in the dishwasher.  It will certainly be interesting to see what you come up with!

Oh by the way... that poor spotted stove in the back ground! :)  That is certainly a mess!
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: Cartierusm on February 23, 2009, 08:22:03 PM
Yeah the stove, my GF was picking at it this weekend like a scab. She made some really cool real looking roses out of the strips of wax she pulled up.

Yeah it's leaning, but I always find they tend to even out. I'll go back to my old pressure regiment. Milling is important for so many reasons one being that you get an even looking wheel and not dense pockets of curds.
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: Likesspace on February 24, 2009, 03:52:54 AM
I don't know, Carter....
Leaning and pressing issues aside that is one mighty fine looking wheel of cheese.
Once again, I'm impressed.

Dave
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: chilipepper on February 24, 2009, 03:54:06 AM
What was yoru reason for not using your custom followers?
Title: Re: 15 Gal. Farmhouse Cheddar Full Blown Batch #12
Post by: Cartierusm on February 24, 2009, 09:17:32 AM
I've got a perfect wheel with Parm last time, I need to recreate that to make myself feel as if all my experiments and notes are not going to waste. Last cheddar wheel, before this, was also perfect, and that was pressed regular and still had surface defects but during the air drying stage in the cave every thing melded together. So I have faith this one will meld together too and the lopsidedness will mellow, it always does. But this one pressed hard to begin is 1 pound heavier than the last one and that one didn't weep at all. This new one is leaking whey, not a lot but a small puddle everyday.

Ryan, I don't use custom followers on Cheddar because I wax them. I've designed a heat brand that I will use on the wax with a changeable date.