Cheshire rind closure

[B e n]

I have been struggling to get this rind to close. It's my 4th cheese, first cheddar. Recipe is from Caldwell's book, only change is use of Kazu instead of MM4000. Worked pressure up slowly as prescribed, finished with with 197lbs overnight, rind didn't look closed. Hot water bath (160°f) for 3 minutes, repress, 12 hours pressing. 12 more hours to smooth. Still doesn't look fully closed to me.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kkpORHzxnIftm0kFS3wOsYzcYy2fyaIo/view?usp=share_link

I will probably end up bandaging it. I will need to build an actual press to increase weight for next cheddar, this is the max of my available weight stack.

Not real happy with how sloppy my follower is on this mold.

[rsterne]

How much weight you need depends on the diameter of your mould.... It is pressure (in psi) you need to consider.... For example, an 8" diameter will need 4 times the weight to get the same pressure as a 4"....

Bob

[B e n]

I meant to post that as well. 7" mold so PSI is ≈ 5.1.

[mikekchar]

I think bandaging it is not necessarily a good idea.  If you have the option, I would vacuum pack it.  IMHO Bandaging is *more* difficult than doing a normal natural rind.  The extra moisture you'll seal in will just make it more prone to having mold get in those cracks.

But, yeah...  Cheddared cheeses are difficult to press.  8 PSI is what I've heard of as being the lowest reliable pressure.  I tend to make Caerphilly for that reason.  You do less cheddaring, then only salt the curds with half the salt and finish salting after pressing (or even in the press).  This lets you press at a higher pH (lower acidity), which makes it *much* easier.

[paulabob]

I would definitely get a smaller diameter mold.  My 6 inch closes things up around 120 pounds for cheddar types.

[B e n]

Thanks all.

Smaller mold is on my radar, this gives me another excuse to buy one. I can build a press, I just haven't gotten to it yet. I was trying to get away with as few molds and little equipment as possible, but this one is just too big for most of what I do. I usually do 2-2.5 gallon makes and the cheeses end up thin, I am single guy so no need to make huge cheeses, at least not until I get the affinage part under control.

I will see if I have large enough bags for my vac sealer.

[rsterne]

Most of my Cheddar "types" (moister and shorter aging) close up at 3.5-4 psi.... for a true "long aging" Cheddar where I cheddar it longer, I use 7 psi, and that works great!....

Bob

[mikekchar]

Also *highly* recommend doing a Caerphilly (Caldwell's recipe).  Those are basically perfect cheeses to learn affinage.

[B e n]

Ill make that next. Turns out the mold I have maxes out at 200lbs (5 psi) so there won't be any long age cheeses in it

I had vac bags big enough for that cheese, so I sealed it up and stuck it in the cheese fridge. On to the next.

[mikekchar]

You can do long aged cheese, just not cheddars.  Cheese curds knit *very* easily when the acidity is low (pH is high).  The problem with cheddar is that you wait until you hit a pH of 5.3 before you start to press it.  It's also fully drained.  This means you need a crazy amount of pressure on it.  A full 45 kg wheel of Parmesan typically only has 25 kg of weight on it.  That's because the form the cheese *in the vat* and then press it at very high pH (often starting at 6.0 or over).  I routinely over press my alpines for the same reason -- they need *way* less pressure than you would ever think.  It's just cheddar that's crazy.