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Raw Jersey Cheddar

Started by scasnerkay, August 07, 2014, 05:10:19 PM

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scasnerkay

Lovely 3.25 gallons of milk!  I helped milk the cow in the morning, drove the milk home and made the cheese!! I had a hard time deciding which starter to use since I did not have MA 4001 at hand, and I was not sure on amount to use. Flocculation was 14 mins - very nice. I have never had such a firm feeling curd. I did not test for clean break ahead of the calculated time of 49 mins (14 x 3.5) but possibly should have cut a bit earlier. The curd was sort of tearing on cutting. The time from at temp to hoop was 6 hours. The final pH a bit low at 5.0. The yield was 3# 6 oz, which is slightly more than my prior 4 gallon Holstein make!
I hope I get the opportunity for such lovely milk another time!!
Susan

Boofer

Wow, lucky you! Milk the cow...and make what looks to be the promise of an outstanding Cheddar.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

scasnerkay

I had to vacuum seal this one today, due to cracking, even though the humidity is still almost 90 % (according to the gauge). It sure smells wonderful. Is the white powdering coating geo?
Susan

H-K-J

Quote from: scasnerkay on August 16, 2014, 02:22:24 AM
Is the white powdering coating geo?
Yep, thats what it is. to bad about the crack's look's good though ^-^
Never hit a man with glasses, use a baseball bat!
http://cocker-spanial-hair-in-my-food.blogspot.com/

Boofer

Beautiful color. No annatto added, right?

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

scasnerkay

No annatto, just lovely high fat raw jersey milk! Making a gouda today with more of her milk!!
Susan

Spoons

Quote from: scasnerkay on August 16, 2014, 02:22:24 AM
I had to vacuum seal this one today, due to cracking, even though the humidity is still almost 90 % (according to the gauge).

I get that too almost every time when I make a cheddar. Even sometimes only after 2-3 days. I haven't solved it yet, but I think it has to do with not pressing with enough PSI.

scasnerkay

Eric, I think it may also be due to letting it cheddar a bit too long and the pH a little too low. The knit looked very smooth after pressing...
Susan

Spoons

I thought that too, but I milled at 5.35 on my last make and the rind was actually very smooth after pressing (there are a few pictures of it on this forum), yet I still got a tiny crack after air drying a bit.