from Cheesewizz recipe;
warm milk to 90 degrees.
(hit this perfectly) add CACL, Starters, Proprioni...let ripen for 60 mins
(no CACL raw milk) add rennet and multiply floc. x 2.5
(floc. 14-min= 35-min) cut curds to 1/4 inch and let heal for 10-15 mins
start to gently stir while raising temp to 100F in 40 mins
(again hit it right on) then slowly raise temp of curds to 122F in another 40 mins
(again just right) cook at 122F for approx 30 mins more....curds should be "pea - rice size".
(cook until semi-dry and semi-firm but still able to knit easily)
drain in cloth and load into mold in one piece or large chunks.
(everything went well, seemed to be as specified)From here I changed the pressure and weights to fit my press and 8-1/4" mould press under warm whey (120 degrees) for 20 mins. @ 15 lbs
flip and re-press warm @ 25 lbs for 20 mins.
flip and dry press at 25 lbs. for 1 hour.
press at 50-60 lbs for 8 hours @ room temp. (7.5 inch mold)
(I jacked this up a little more than 72-lbs. 1.36psi. At 2:00am I didn't like how it had knitted I bumped up the weight to 100-lbs, 1.87-psi. left it in the press for 5 more hour's) remove from press and brine in "medium" brine for 6 hours.
(saturated brine is too strong and will kill proprioni..).Use 1/4 cup salt to 4 cups of whey.
(this is exactly what I made)I would also suspect it may also have been way overcooked. By pressing under 120F whey for an extended period, you may have really dried out the curds and lost butterfat. After cooking, and before pressing, a handful of curds should make a nice cohesive ball when squeezed, but they should still break apart easily. Without a pH meter, it is important to learn the "feel" of your cheese at different stages.
When the cheese broke, were you being gentle or was there cheese brutality involved?
I was as gentle as I would have been with a new born baby grandchild
as for the 120-deg. just followed what was recommended.
Boofer,
Did one of your drill bits make an escape?
I knew someone was gonna drill me on that one
But, nope didn't find a spare one in the mix.