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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cheddared (Normally Stacked & Milled) => Topic started by: tnbquilt on May 27, 2013, 01:46:06 PM

Title: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: tnbquilt on May 27, 2013, 01:46:06 PM
Last year I went to The American Festival of Cheese in North Carolina. I did not realize that it is a competition between commercial cheese makers but whatever. After the competition is over they put out mountains of cheese and charge admission. There are 1600 different cheeses to taste, and I did not make it all the way through! I had a really good cheddar with cranberries. It was the one that I remembered the most after I left, so I have been wanting to make one.

I made my regular cheddar recipe and added dried cranberries when I was salting it. Mary Karlin's book says that for a general guide line to use 1/3 as much cranberries as you have cheese curd. I had 64 oz of curd so that came out to be 20 oz for my 4 gallon cheese make. When I opened my first pack of cranberries, which was 10 oz, I knew that 20 oz was way too much. I put the 10 oz in there, and it was still too much. The cranberries should be a sprinkling inside of the cheese, not like this.

If I make it again, I will use 5 oz instead.
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: meyerandray on May 27, 2013, 02:31:24 PM
 It still looks really cool! I was thinking about making a cheese with fruit in it, cranberry cheddar sounds yummy, how long do you plan to age it?
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: bbracken677 on May 27, 2013, 02:49:58 PM
Perhaps if they were chopped up finely? I think it is a great idea!
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: tnbquilt on May 27, 2013, 07:43:09 PM
I think cheddar has to age a minimum of 6 months, so I plan on opening this at Christmas. I think I might chop them up next time, and use half as many.

I chose the cranberries because I had it at the festival, and they are acidic so I'm hoping that keeps things from molding up. I think I will serve it with chopped pecans or walnuts on top.
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: flac on May 28, 2013, 01:41:41 AM
That will make a nice Christmas Cheese. It will be interesting to see how it ages.

Did you have to do anything to the cranberries before adding them?
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: shotski on May 28, 2013, 01:54:54 AM
It does look a little heavy on the cranberries  but a very nice cheese never the less
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: Spellogue on May 28, 2013, 11:27:09 AM
It looks like you made one with and one without the cranberries, no?  Both very nice looking cheeses.  It will be interesting to see how they develop along side each other.

A cheese to you.
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: Boofer on May 28, 2013, 01:37:30 PM
they are acidic so I'm hoping that keeps things from molding up.
Looks great, Tammy. Did you treat the cranberries at all to adjust the acidity? My two experiences with blueberry acidity (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10255.0.html) has made me very cautious (gunshy) when using berries.

I'll be watching this cheese very closely. ???

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: JimSteel on May 29, 2013, 03:15:30 AM
1/3 as much cranberry as you have cheese curd?  That seems crazy.  That would make 1/4 of the wheel cranberries!  I hate it when recipes have massive errors in them that can totally bust a make.  Like when i made the "light brine" to store my first feta in.  I  thought 1 part salt to 4 parts water seemed extreme, but just go with the recipe i kept saying to myself, even if it doesn't make sense.  That was a salty cheese.

Pretty neat looking wheel though, curious to see how it turns out.
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: tnbquilt on May 30, 2013, 12:59:52 AM
I saw Boofers blueberry cheese but I saw a different post by Sailor where he said that dried cranberries had enough acidity to keep the from molding so I tried it. Way too many cranberries.

I made one with and one without so if it turns out bad I didn't waste the whole day
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: tnbquilt on July 22, 2013, 12:30:37 AM
It keeps swelling up and I have to let the air out and reseal it. I assume that the cranberries are fermenting.

I don't have much hopes of it coming out good, because it has way too many cranberries which is causing a lot of moisture, and now of course the swelling, but I'm not going to throw it out until it's time to taste it.
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on July 22, 2013, 01:25:34 PM
Drying alone does not sanitize fruit. IMHO this looks like "late blooming" from a spore forming Clostridium.
Title: Re: Cheddar with Dried Cranberries
Post by: tnbquilt on July 23, 2013, 04:14:24 PM
I figured it was going to be bad. Thanks for telling me. I had to look that up because I didn't know what it was.

I will have to try it again in a few months when I get time.

Next time I will chop it up, boil it, and use very little of it.