CheeseForum.org ยป Forum
CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cheddared (Normally Stacked & Milled) => Topic started by: Boofer on November 18, 2012, 07:34:26 AM
-
Hope this works out okay, otherwise I'll be very sad. :'(
I have tasted garlic Gouda and horseradish Cheddar. I like both. I decided I would try to fashion the latter. In my search, I saw several versions with dried horseradish. I had decided I wanted to make mine with non-dried root. There are a number of bottled wet variations of horseradish, and a lot of them include egg and a lot of other stuff I didn't want in my cheese. I found one that I thought I could work with at the same store where I buy my raw milk. The product I bought has horseradish, vinegar, and salt (yeah, and some other natural flavorings, whatever those are).
I tested the pH of the horseradish out of the jar and confirmed that it was very acidic. I adjusted it with a little sodium bicarbonate.
I used my MA4001 mother culture cubes, melted, and added some LH100. From an earlier linuxboy guideline "diacetylactis adds a buttery richness and L. Helveticus helps to control bitter peptide formation". The ST component in the MA4001 tries to follow Hansen's suggestion.
initial pH: 6.60
renneting: 6.50
draining: 6.30
moulding: 5.80
1 gallon Dungeness Valley whole raw milk (I marked the cream line on the jug)
2 gallons Twin Brook whole creamline milk
8 cubes MA4001 MC, melted
1/16 tsp LH100
1/2 tsp CACL2 in 1/4 cup distilled water
1 tsp anatto in 1/4 cup distilled water
1/16 tsp Renco dry calf rennet in 1/4 cup chilled distilled water
3 TBS pickling salt
2 TBS horseradish
3/8 tsp baking soda (to adjust pH of horseradish)
ripened at 90F
floc'd in 11 minutes and I used a 3X factor
cooked at 102F
cheddared and then cut into cubes
mixed in pH-adjusted horseradish and salt
put curds to the mould with plastic cheesecloth
pressed in the warm pot using 80 lbs for 15 minutes to knit the rind
flipped, rewrapped, pressed in the warm pot using 80 lbs/2.6psi for 15 minutes to knit the rind
flipped, rewrapped, pressed in the warm pot using 150 lbs/4.9psi for 4 hours
flipped, rewrapped, pressed in the warm pot using 80 lbs for 3 hours
pH 5.40 -- out of the press, dried, weighed, into the minicave to airdry at room temperature
I am hoping that the amount of horseradish I added will give a nuance of the root and not be overpowering. Less is more. ;)
-Boofer-
-
VERY nice looking cheese! Is there a reason you used less weight on the first and last presses than on the middle one? And do you like your pH meter? I just know I'm going to have to get one.......sigh. Seems so complicated to use and keep accurate from the posts I read. :o
A cheese to you for making so many yummy looking cheeses and being such a gracious and helpful presence on the forum. :D
-
Thank you for the cheese and the compliments.
You know, I felt that after the second, heavier pressing that I didn't need that much pressure to finish the job. At that point I didn't need to knit the curd, but I still needed to bring the pH down.
My ExStik and I have finally come to an agreement to work together effectively, rather than fighting each other. For this make, I let it sit in cleaning solution for a bit before proceeding. It has been very helpful for me.
-Boofer-
-
I felt that the rind on this was going to try to crack so I cream-coated it. I had some initial hesitation (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10455.0.html), but resolved it and moved forward.
I put three coats on which should help it resist moisture loss but still permit it to age quietly.
-Boofer-
-
That looks nice Boofer, I may have to try the cream coat, makes em look perdy ^-^
-
Looks great! Do you follow that up with vac bag, in a mini cave or just as is in the cave?
Where are the buttons? Cream coats have buttons don't they?
-
I put three coats on which should help it resist moisture loss but still permit it to age quietly.
-Boofer-
What does it sound like when they age noisily?? Did you choose cream with natamycin? I've been wondering about using the cream on certain cheeses.
-
What does it sound like when they age noisily?? Did you choose cream with natamycin? I've been wondering about using the cream on certain cheeses.
Somehow I knew in the back of my mind that would bring a response. ;) To be honest, with the laptop cooler running in the cave, I don't hear their snide little murmurs.
Yes, with natamycin. Look here. (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9862.msg75169.html#msg75169)
Looks great! Do you follow that up with vac bag, in a mini cave or just as is in the cave?
Where are the buttons? Cream coats have buttons don't they?
I think you're trying to push my buttons. Actually, these cream coats have the wrap-around sleeves that fasten in the back. ::)
The coated cheese goes into the cave as-is. I do have to make sure that the cheese is properly supported on the rack and doesn't make rack lines from the weight of the cheese. A needlepoint disc provides the support needed.
-Boofer-
-
I tested the pH of the horseradish out of the jar and confirmed that it was very acidic. I adjusted it with a little sodium bicarbonate.
2 TBS horseradish
3/8 tsp baking soda (to adjust pH of horseradish)
-Boofer-
Awesome, I never thought to measure or adjust the pH of the things I add to cheese. Could explain why some turn out great and some not so much... a cheese to you.
-
Could explain why some turn out great and some not so much... a cheese to you.
Thanks, Beans. Here's part of that education. (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10028.msg76210.html#msg76210) :(
-Boofer-
-
Actually, these cream coats have the wrap-around sleeves that fasten in the back. ::)
Oh. I thought those were there to keep the horseradish from going ... ummm ... nuts. Oops.
-
I've seen some differences with the cream coating on this cheese as compared to my Beaufort #4 (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9862.msg80368.html#msg80368). The Beaufort was clean and had no problem. This one showed some fine white and blue molds on the coating. The coating also transformed from smooth and glossy to a dullness. I've wiped the coating down with vinegar a couple times to remove the dullness/molds and restore the luster.
It was doing the same thing again and so I wiped it down a couple days ago and today recoated the cheese.
There have been some discussions on the forum about cream coating and whether it is an impermeable seal. No, it is not. It does allow the cheese to respire (breathe) and exchange gases. I believe the cheese may have been exhausting some residual moisture through the coating which fostered the mold growth. This cream coating does have natamycin to give some protection against mold incursion, but its protective sphere is limited.
-Boofer-
-
I decided to open this yesterday. Very curious how the horseradish had flavored or otherwise affected the texture of the cheese. This was the 110-day mark.
The first cut was very hard to complete. Although the cream coating did provide some resistance to the sharp knife, the cheese itself was somewhat hard and a little dry. There was the faint flavor of horseradish. More a nuance and not overbearing at all. If I were to make this again, I would apply a little more horseradish. As it is, it is a nice little cheese with decent Cheddar character with a horseradish accent.
I'm glad that I cut it when I did because it was drying significantly even with the cream coating. You can see that the coating removes easily and leaves a clean, natural rind.
Over all, a very edible Cheddar that would incorporate well in cooking and grilled cheese sandwiches. :)
-Boofer-
-
I love horseradish cheddar Boofer. Glad you're happy with it. I won't be attempting a cheddar until I get a dutch style press. Once I get the family hooked on homemade cheese I'll play the "Hey if you guys want cheddar, I need one of these" card.
-
There are several decent Dutch presses available for purchase here on the forum. They seem to be fairly priced. I did mine (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,4026.msg30656.html#msg30656) Old School.
You'd be surprised how many cheeses get pressed with that device, ranging from as little as 11 pounds (just the weight of the lever arm and piston/ramrod) up to 500-plus pounds. Before the Dutch press, I used weights which would, on occasion, topple over. The Dutch press delivers consistent, straight, downward pressure with no danger of delivering a lopsided cheese (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5217.msg39050.html#msg39050).
Cheddar, Tomme, Maasdam, Goutaler, Gouda, and Beaufort are some of the cheese styles that have benefited from my Dutch press. So when you're pitching a Dutch press's utility to the "financial manager", underscore what different types of cheeses they could be enjoying...if you only had a Dutch press. ;)
-Boofer-
-
In a subsequent make, would you perhaps hard wax over the cream wax to help keep it from drying too much? If only I had read this post about 2 hours ago, I could have added some horseradish to my farmhouse cheddar (I was trying to think of something to add). Dang it...well next time. I will be cream waxing and hard waxing this cheddar to see if there is any difference from the first attempt with only hard wax. I love the stuff (cream wax)!
Fantastic pics by the way :-)! A cheese for your artistic trigger finger.
-
In a subsequent make, would you perhaps hard wax over the cream wax to help keep it from drying too much?
I have cream-coated and then vacuum-sealed. I prefer the vacuum-sealing to waxing. Several pounds of cheese wax are sitting unused out in my garage.
Thanks for the cheese. I take a few pics and then triage them to post the pic that best tells the story. Sometimes the pic needs to be cropped, brightened/darkened, with flash or no flash. I'm afraid that one day the camera will unceremoniously drop into a kettle of wet curds. :P I like to document a process with a cheese because it may be a long time before I make that cheese again or something unusual may be picture-worthy. Sometimes it's easier and more efficient to snap a picture rather than try to explain what is going on or how something looks. In some of my earlier cheese efforts I encountered some strange-looking foreign invaders (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,4263.msg33457.html#msg33457) and I posted to try to get some expert opinion.
-Boofer-
-
Boofer...how are you keeping your pot warm for all those hours that you are pressing in the pot? Double boiler system maintaining a steady temp maybe?
Don't think I'll try another cheddar until I figure out a way to do that effectively & efficiently. During the first traditional cheddar attempt, I had to put heating pad under the s/s whey draining plate the morning after pressing just to get the ends knitted well, and still the sides had slightly weaker knit toward the center anyway. Applied the heat for about an hour on each end. It worked well enough for appearance sake, but I just hope the process didn't compromise the cheese in any way.
Do you see any problem with doing the horseradish addition to a farmhouse cheddar (I have better success with those :-)?!
-
Wrap an electric blanket around the pot
-
Boofer...how are you keeping your pot warm for all those hours that you are pressing in the pot? Double boiler system maintaining a steady temp maybe?
I do use a double boiler which maintains the heat fairly well. I just need it for the first hour. The curds should have fused by then. I've also used a seed warming mat (a tip of the hat to Sailor for that idea.) if the ambient room temperature is really cold. I also shroud the kettle with a clean towel to hold in the heat and keep out any cold drafts.
I would think the horseradish would work well in a Farmhouse Cheddar.
-Boofer-
-
Awesome...thanks Boofer. And uuhhh, love the belt! Oh, I discovered warming belts for wine carboys recently...might work quite effectively on stainless steel pots too :-).