Bad Knit

[Raz21]

I have just opened this 40 days old Monetary Jack. It looks like I had quite some issues with the curd knit. The rind was dry, but the core of the cheese was very wet. So wet that if you would squish the cheese you could see drops of water/whey present. What I believe is that I have formed the cheese rind and caught whey inside. You could even see the curd parts in the centre. The taste was good (not excellent though), but the texture…disappointing.

Some of the causes that I believe promoted the bad knit:   
•   Curd too cold when start pressing
•   Pressing room too cold (it was around 13-15 deg. C)
•   Rapid rise of temp. of the curd due to washing (from 32C to 38C in just 2 mins)
•   Too much cooking

Questions:
1.   What is the room temp that you use for pressing the cheeses?
2.   How to test when the curd is ready to be presses?

Recipe used:
•   7 L (1.5 gal) of whole cow milk H&P – heat up to 32C (90 f)
•   Add 130 ml fresh mother culture meso (LL, LLC, LLD și LMC) and wait 15 mins
•   Add CaCl2 ½ tsp and wait 5 mins
•   Add 1.35 ml calf rennet (150 IMCU) with a flocculation time of 12 mins
•   Used a multiplier of 3X
•   Cut curd to 9 mm (0.35 inch), wait for 10 mins to heal
•   Rise temp to 35C (95 f) in 30 mins. It reached 35 in 5 mins and then kept at temp for 25 mins
•   Rise temp to 39C (102 f) in 15 mins
•   Keep at 39C (102 f) for 60 mins
•   Wait 10 mins for the curd to settle
•   Press all the curd at the bottom of the pot with the hand (this took about 10 mins)
•   Remove whey until you reach the curd level
•   Add water until you reach temp of 30C (86 f)
•   Mix for 5 mins
•   Remove all whey
•   Add 1.5 Tsp of salt
•   Wait for 10 mins at room temp
•   Place all the curd in the cloth
•   Let it drain for 10-15 mins at room temp (18C – 65 f)
•   Press at 20lb for 20 mins
•   Turn and press at 30 lb for 20 mins
•   Turn and press with 60 lb for 12 hours
•   Place in the cave at 12-13 C (53-54 f), 80%RH for 40 days

Any advice on good knit techniques would be highly appreciated.

[cbenner33]

Most likely,  the answer lies in the weight of your pressing. 20lbs for 20 minutes is alot for the first press. I would have started it out at 5lbs for 15-20 minutes. Are you pressing at actual PSI (ie. 20 lbs. on a cheese with diameter of 7 inches would need 269.25 lbs, surface area of 38.5 sq inches). of course I don't have any information on your press or size of mold.

I suspect that the high first press trapped the whey in the center of the cheese and this is why you are still moist in the center. Always start low just to where the whey runs clear.

I also don't see where you would have air dried it prior to putting it in the cave. should have taken 2-3 days to air dry.

I press my cheeses from 60F-70F depending on the season.

[panamamike]

Raz, Here is a link to a pressing chart that my be of some help to you. I have found it very helpful in calculating changes of form sizes.
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=6423.0;attach=11420

[Raz21]

Thanks for the answers.

cbenner33
The dimension of the cheese, in this case, was 5.1 inches diameter.
To be honest, I didn`t give enough importance to the first weight, but it makes sense.
The weights presented are the actual weights pressed on the cheese.

ie. 20 lbs. on a cheese with a diameter of 7 inches would need 269.25 lbs, surface area of 38.5 sq inches

I am not sure if I follow this. What do you mean by ‘’20 lbs. on a cheese with a diameter of 7 inches would need 269.25 lbs’’? I use SI units (m, kg…) and probably that is why it does not make sense to me. How did you arrive at 269.25 lbs?

I usually air dry my cheeses for at least one day. So that should not be an issue.

Panamamike
Thanks for the table. On the first column. Is that in lbs?
As I said, I am a bit confused by inches, pounds…

[panamamike]

Yes, the first column would be the total weight you are putting on the top of the follower. For an example, if a recipe calls for a 5" mold for a 2lb make at 20# of pressure  and you want to triple it to a 6lb make and you are going to use a 8" mold go to the mold diameter of 5" go down to 20# pressing weight and you will get 1.02 lbs per sq in.   next you would go to the 8" follower diameter, go down the vertical column until you find approxamentaly 1.02 PPSI. Go back across to the pressing weights and you will find that you need approx. 50# of pressure on top of your follower.
OK, I'm out of wind. Hope tis will help you .

[Raz21]

Thanks a lot Mike!
It`s clear now.
Probably I will create a similar table in KG and meters square in the near future. That would be easier to work with, at least for me.

I will definitely pay more attention at the weights that I will apply on the cheeses.

All the best!

[cbenner33]

The first press in my opinion is THE most important press. Always press until the whey starts to come out clear. I'm sorry for the confusing post.