Cheddar not melting

[Tamina83]

I've had several cheddar which taste good but aren't  melting,  what am I doing wrong

[Aris]

Your cheese looks too acidic or its pH too low therefore it will be crumbly, sour and won't melt. You should monitor the pH/acidity during the make. The milled curds must have a pH of 5.2-5.4 when you dry salt it and don't press it too long because pH will still drop even if its already salted. Final pH of the cheese must be 5.0-5.3. I don't use a pH meter so what I did was taste the whey from the milled curds. When it tasted slightly sour I dry salted it and only pressed it for 5 hours because my kitchen is hot. If you don't track the pH/acidity, all you can do is guess which will give you inconsistent results. Maybe reduce the amount of starter culture or halve the pressing time.

[Tamina83]

It is very crumbly, there's no bitterness but it's too Salty. I also don't have a pH meter. Thank you for your reply I'd spoken to my teacher for cheesemaking a she also suggested PH too high

[mikekchar]

I agree with Aris.  It definitely looks like the pH is too *low* (too acidic).  If it were too high, then you would have a smooth, non-crumbly cheese (less acidic cheese knits more easily and produces a pliable paste).

Cheddars are a bit tricky.  Lots of ways to go wrong, but the place I'd start improving is when you are cheddaring, taste the whey every 15-20 minutes.  You want to stop cheddaring when it starts to get noticeably tart.  Then cut the curds, salt them with half the salt, let it mellow for 10 minutes or so, then add the rest of the salt and press.