Cheddar a la Caldwell

[scasnerkay]

Cheese # 43, Cheddar # 3
I followed the recipe in the Caldwell book, for what I assume is a traditional style cheddar to be aged out longer. Last time I made a cheddar it was targeted to ripen quickly and was yummy at 2 months. This one I aim to wait on opening for more than 6 months. The make went pretty much on target, though the coagulation may have been a bit quicker than desired. I used more CACL this time, just to see if I could notice a difference in the curd, and I did not really. So on the next make I will probably go back to the 1/4 tsp for 2 gallons. The milk I use is very consistent from one batch to the next. I was impressed with how much whey came off the curd with stirring for almost an hour, and the final weight on the cheese was quite a bit less than usual (1# 12 oz), so I expect this will be a drier cheese, even with the 3.5 multiplier.

Cheddar 3-30-13
2 gallons pasteurized cream top milk (pH 6.7)
¼ tsp MA4001
½ tsp CACL in ¼ cup water (usually I use just ¼ tsp)
1.5 ml single strength calf rennet
1.5 Tablespoon salt

Targets:
Rennet: 6.6 (actual 6.5)
Cutting: 6.5 (actual 6.5)
Drain: 6.2 to 6.3 (actual 6.2)
Milling: 5.3 to 5.4 (actual 5.3)
Flocculation multiplier: 3.5
Cooking curd: 90 degrees to 102 degrees in 30 mins

11:40 Milk to 90 degrees, added starter, waited 5 mins and stirred in. Covered and rest 30 mins.
12:30 At temp still, pH now 6.5. Stirred in calcium and waited 5 mins. Then stirred in rennet. Flocculation in 10.5 mins. Target cutting at 37 mins.
1:10 Clean break and cut curd in approx 3/8 inch size, rested 5 mins
1:20 Began heating curd, temp starting at 87, aiming for 102 in a little over 30 mins
2:00 Temp 102, pH of whey 6.5 and kept on stirring....
2:30 Temp still 102, curd firming up, pH 6.3
3:00 Temp 101, curd nice and squeaky, and sticking to my top hand after pressing a bit together to squeeze out the whey. Measured pH at 6.2 Drained whey, and gathered curd in cheesecloth to drain further, turning over after 15 mins. Kept warm over pot.
3:40 Whey pH 6.0, curd mass cut into 1 inch slices and stacked, repeating 2 more times every 15 mins.
4:00 Whey pH at 6.0, keeping temp about 85 degrees.
4:15 Whey pH 5.3, cut up curd to mill... adding salt. The chunks of curd were so firm I was afraid they would not knit together!
4:30 Into cheesecloth lined form, pressing in pot keeping temp about 75 degrees, with about 15 #.
4:45 Not formed enough to flip. Back into pot with about 27 # whey pH 5.2
5:15 Nice enough knit to flip and redress. Pressing with a heating pad nearby and towel to tent the press to maintain temp about 72. Now at about 45 # Whey pH still at 5.2.
6: 30  Redressed and pressing at 72 # No longer feeling like I need to worry about knit, I took away the heating pad.
8:00 Nicely knit, redressed and returned with 72 #
10:00 Redressed and returned to press with no weight other than that coming from the bar.
7:30 am  Very nice looking, firm, smelling lovely. Knit is very good. Weighing in at 1 #, 11 oz.
Will let rest at room temp today, then into the cave. I expect to bag this one soon to avoid more moisture loss.

[cowboycheese]

Have you cracked this open yet?

Thanks for posting - great detail. A cheese for you!

[scasnerkay]

I did open it at about 7 months. I took it to share at a class with Gianaclis Caldwell. I was nervous about what others might think about my attempt. However it was met with positive comments, including from Linuxboy.  I did make another post on it....
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,12112.msg93189.html#msg93189
But I still have not figured out how to make a nice link in a posting....
So it was titled cheddar tasting - 7 months if you cannot find it by the above copy/paste
Thank you for the checking and for the cheese!

[Spoons]

A cheese for you indeed! I always look forward to your posts. You're so thorough. As a matter of fact, I was looking for your posts in the "grana" section to see if you ever made a parm. I only saw 2 Romanos, no parm.  :P Your posts make me want to buy Caldwell's book, so far I've relied on Pav's and Dixon's recipes.

Keep on truckin' Scasnerkay, keep up the great posts!

[Geodyne]

Great job on the cheese, Scasnerkay. It looks amazing.

Spoons, I'd recommend Caldwell's book. It's become my go-to for clarifying details at a given stage of a a make.