Inspired by Jeff Hamm's
entertaining post.
1st Munster (Cheesemaking.com with exceptions marked with *)Ingredients 2 gal. whole cow’s milk (low-temperature pasteurized, non-homogenized)
1/16 tsp. (pinch) MA 4001
1/32 tsp.(smidgen) b. linens
1/32 tsp. (smidgen) Geotrichum
½ tsp. CaCl diluted in ¼ cup cool non-chlorinated water*
½ tsp. single-strength calf rennet (diluted as above)
light brine (with b. linens??) for washing
Curd Prep Warm milk to 86 deg. F.
Sprinkle DVI starters & bacteria, re-hydrated 5 min. and stirred in
Let ripen 1 hr. holding 86 deg.
Increase milk temperature to 96 deg. F.
Add CaCl, gently stirring for 1 min. (See Uh-Oh #1 below)
Add rennet, gently stirring for 1 min.
Cover and maintain 90 deg. approx. 1 hr
Clean-break @ 50.
Cut curds in ½” pieces; let sit for 5 min.*
Stir 30 min.
Draining / Pressing / Aging Prepare molds and draining cloth and place into a pan large enough to retain whey.
Pour free whey into the molds to warm them.
Fill molds, allowing whey to rise 1-2” over top of curds.
Add the follower plus 2 lbs
Hold at 75-80 deg. F for 3 hrs. (See Uh-Ohhhh #2)
Allow to cool to 65 deg. F and hold for 18-24 hrs.
Flipped and redressed cheese and pressed at 10 lbs. for 12 hr.
Placed in birne for 8 hrs., flipping once
Removed cheese from brine, dried with paper towel
Air-dried for 2 hr. *(recipe calls for 24 hrs. but I prefer a softer rind).
Plan to ripened at 55F and 85%RH
and wash every other day with b Linens in salt solution for 2 weeks*
*recipe calls for allowing a natural “dry” rind but I wanted to try the wash
Plan to age for 7 weeks
#1: As soon as I stirred in the CaCl and rennet I realized I had not increased the temperature to 96. Thought it was early enough in the coagulation stage that I could go ahead in heat if I did it within 5 to 10 min. Took about 6 min. and I could tell there was some differences in curd firmness between the sides and middle but not too bad.
#2: I came back to do the first flip and saw that my 'Miracle Whip" weight had toppled over. Undressed the cheese and it looked like a vanilla
moon pie that had been sat on. I realized I couldn't correct by just pressing without fracturing it, so I did a "frontal lobotomy" and cut the high end off and set it over the short end. Had some left over that I milled and used to fill in the spaces. The problem occured because I didn't think the whey pot would fit between the arms of my toggle press, but turns out it did so I finished pressing (at slightly higher than recommended weight - about 12 lbs) using it. All things considered I was satisfied with the result but we'll see in a couple of months.