"Swiss"

[Ananke]

I'm not sure if this is technically a Swiss cheese or in fact if it will b a cheese at all, as I noticed after using it that my culture was 3yrs out of date 

Here it is before heading back into the press overnight.

Recipe:

18ltrs Whole, P&H Milk
1/4 tsp Proprionic culture disolved in 1/2 cup of milk
1/4 tsp Thermophillic TA061
1/2 tsp Rennet

Heat milk to 30°C Add Propri and stir.

Sprinkle Thermo on top of milk and leave for 5mins then stir well.

Leave to culture for 20mins, maintaining temperature.

Add rennet and stir well

This is where my usual issue with rennet kicks in and I had to wait around an hour, I think I need to up the amount of rennet in these larger wheels.  Even after an hour I wasn't overly happy with the set.

Cut the curds into 1/4cm cubes then stir with a whisk until curds are all in small pieces.

Raise the temperature to 32°C over 25mins while stirring.

Raise the temperature to 50°C while stirring.

Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 30mins.

Drain and put into the press.

I don't have a weighted press so I wing this bit by continualy tightening the press for 10 mins.

Flip and press for 15 mins.

Flip and press for 30 mins.

Flip and press for 2hrs.

Flip and press for 12hrs.

Brine for 24hrs turning a few times.

Age for 1 week in the cave then at room temperature for 2-3 weeks to form eyes.

Back into the cave for around 4 months.

[awakephd]

Hi Aanke,

Disclaimer: I've made half-a-dozen or so swiss styles, so some experience but a long way from an expert!

That said, I would say that you are using way too much Proprionic culture, too little rennet, and way too much time in the brine, assuming a saturated brine. Also, you may have it too long in the press.

To unpack all of the above: For a good bit smaller make (a little under 4 gallons, a little less than 15 liters), I use 1/4 tsp TA061 plus 1/8 tsp LH100 (not essential for development, but I think essential to get that "nutty" flavor I like in a swiss) - and only 1/16 tsp of Proprionic shermanii. Meanwhile, I use 3/4 tsp of rennet - quite a lot more, especially considering the smaller volume of milk. This is needed, in my opinion, because this make does not allow much ripening time.

Your starting and ending temperatures are similar to mine, but I start out at 90°F (32°C) and only ripen for 5-10 minutes. I also add CaCl, since I too have to use P&H milk. Then I cut, heal for 5 minutes or so, and then begin stirring and heating to 120-122°F (50°C) over 30-40 minutes; if necessary, I hold there and continue to stir for proper curd texture and pH = 6.3-6.4. Rest 5 minutes, drain, mold. This cheese needs VERY LIGHT initial pressing, slowly ramping up to medium pressure at most - the curds are quite ready to knit, being both warm and high pH.

Key issues: 1) You should remove the cheese from the brine and start salting when the pH reaches 5.3-5.4; generally, using TA061, I find that this takes 3-4 hours rather than overnight. If you leave it overnight, I predict that your cheese will be far to acidic - it will still taste good, but won't come out as a swiss. 2) You are looking for a relatively low salt level in this cheese - too much salt inhibits the proprionic bacteria. According to Caldwell (whose recipe I generally follow), you only want 1.1-1.2% final salt concentration, which, according to her, requires brining around 2-2.5 hours per pound. Not sure how that works out for your 18 liter make, but nearly certain that 24 hours is way too long - 10 hours is about right for my makes. (Lately, I've been direct salting instead of brining, but still aiming for the lower concentration.)

A couple of other notes: First, "room temperature" may or may not be warm enough. Here in the air-conditioned south, around 75°F, the cheese will not swell noticeably. But if I put it on top of the refridgerator, where it gets some additional warmth coming off the coils, it swells nicely. (If you have over-salted the cheese, it may not swell no matter what you do ... on the other hand, you did add a LOT of PS to your recipe, so maybe ... ?)

Second, I have been happiest with this make when I use a bit lower fat content - around 2.5-2.6%, rather than the 3.2% that is standard for "whole milk" in this area. I use a combination of 2.2% milk and whole milk to get what I'm aiming for.

Again, note the disclaimer - no claim to expertise. Most of the above is based on Caldwell's book, along with a bit of my own experience and experimenting and also things I have read here on the forum. I hope something of this mix is helpful!