Our New Cheeses During 2020 - Our First Year

[rsterne]

My wife and I started making cheese recently, and are finding it totally addicting.... I thought I might start a little photo gallery showing what we have done so far....

Our first was Cream Cheese (no pics), and then this Farmhouse Cheddar....



PS.... We have been sampling the two Farmhouse Cheddars we made at 2, 4 and 6 months, and still have 1/4 of each left to try at 8 months.... They are nearly identical in taste, although the one make with the milk/cream blend is slightly more sour and crumbly.... I guess it ended up just a bit more acidic.... While these are quite nice, they are not going to make our list of favourites.... 

We came up with the idea of using a cake decorating turntable with a puck of wood on it to allow us to turn the cheese while painting on the wax.... Our next was Halloumi, shown here on the grill with some chicken breasts....



PS.... While the Halloumi was pretty decent, and grilled and fried like a champ, once we made a Kefalotyri we decided not to repeat the Halloumi.... Just not enough flavour to bother.... 

Then we did a Parmesan, we have yet to oil the rind.... The label is written on with red food colouring on a bamboo skewer, works great....



PS.... We cracked this Parmesan at 6 months, and it exceeded all our expectations....  .... The rind was quite tough, but the paste was dry yet pliable, with only a small crack or two in the center.... It sliced beautifully, and was really tasty, definitely a Parm.... We will be using the first quarter mostly for grating, although it is actually a delightful table cheese right now.... slightly salty, delightfully nutty, with a bit of a bite on the tongue.... It is actually better than any store bought Parmesan we have ever had.... 



PPS.... We opened the Parmesan again after aging a year, and we are blown away by the quality.... It slices great, and grates easily, and the taste is a true Parm, and much stronger than a typical supermarket version.... This one definitely will be done again.... The rest is put away for another 6 & 12 months....

PPPS.... At 18 months, this Parm continues to age nicely.... The outside is drying, even though it is vacuum bagged, with the outside 1/8" or so darker in colour and dryer.... It grates beautifully, and is a delightful table cheese....

PPPPS.... Finally, our first cheese to age 2 full years!.... Very hard, strong Parm flavour, cheese darker and dryer, rind a bit tough and bitter, so we cut/scraped it off.... Otherwise wonderful!....  

We did another Farmhouse Cheddar, using a mix of skim milk and cream to get 3.8% BF (no pics), and then a Gouda....



PS.... At 2 months we sampled the Gouda, and found out it had many small eyes.... The taste was even nicer at 4 months, much more complex....
At 6 months this cheese is aging beautifully, it was tempting to finish it off, but we only ate half what was remaining and vacuum bagged the remainder and back in the cave for another 2 months....   



PPS.... At 8 months, this Gouda was awesome.... and we have already made another.... 

Our latest is a Traditional Cheddar, coloured with 3 drops of Annatto per litre.... It is just starting to air dry....



PS.... We cracked the Cheddar a few days ago, aged 6 months.... It is definitely a Cheddar, lovely aroma, and medium sharp.... Slightly crumbly and a bit dry, but delicious.... The 3/4 remaining is vacuum bagged and back in the cave to be sampled every 6 months until it is 2 years old.... 

PPS.... Our Cheddar reached 1 year old, and we sampled it on my birthday.... It seems to have lost any crumbly texture and slices well, releasing a wonderful Cheddar aroma.... How does it taste, you ask?.... SPECTACULAR !!!! .... It is very sharp, complex, and so very much a Cheddar.... I only hope we have nailed the remake we did a couple of months ago, as we could not look to improve it.... Now it sits for another 6 and 12 months to see what changes occur.... 

PPPS.... At 18 months, the Cheddar is spectacular.... everything we had hoped for and more.... 

PPPPS.... We celebrated my birthday by tasting our first 2 year old Cheddar.... It was VERY sharp, my wife's first reaction was she preferred it at 18 months.... but by the time we had finished the last quarter, she had decided, like I had, that 2 years was perfect for a great, sharp Cheddar taste....

Today we are making another Cream Cheese, and next up will be a Manchego.... Like I said, it's addicting.... 

Bob

[Marco]

Looks like
You've caught the bug alright and a good selection of cheeses! AC4U!

[rsterne]

Thanks, Marco, and thanks for the Cheese!.... 

Bob

[rsterne]

Here are the next four cheeses we have made.... The Manchego we cut a slice off before brining it (separately), and ate it Fresco (delicious at 2 weeks)....



PS.... At 3 months, the Manchego was aging well, but the Lipase flavour is becoming overpowering.... Next time we will cut it back a lot.... 

PPS.... We ate the last of our Manchego in September 2021, at a year old.... The Lipase still dominates, but the cheese has overall mellowed and smoothed out significantly.... It is a bit drier now, in fact the texture is great.... a bit pliable, slices great, with a lovely aroma, and a nice complexity of flavours.... The second one we made, with less Lipase is more to our taste, however....

Next was a Monterey Jack which slumped, but by the time it was dried looks OK....



PS.... The Monterey Jack ended up pretty sour and crumbly.... It was obviously too acidic, but we found another recipe where the curds are washed (like a Colby), and will be making another in 2021....

We the tried our hand at a Cheshire, which also slumped a bit.... Quite a bit of Annatto gave it a lovely orange colour, but I forgot to photograph it before we waxed it....



PS.... We sampled the Cheshire at 2 months, and rewaxed the remainder to age longer.... Here it is at 2 months.... 



PPS.... At 4 months, the Cheshire is quite crumbly, but still moist and creamy, with a nice, sharp cheddar taste.... a LOVELY cheese....

Just this past weekend we made a Colby in a new cut-down version of the NEC Medium mould, so a much nicer shape than the above....



PS.... The Colby ended up overly moist, and hard to cut because it stuck to the knife.... However, it was delicious and deserves another make, which we will be doing in 2021.... 

The Cheese Cave is looking pretty good, a total of 8 cheeses in it now....



We have some yellow wax for the Colby, then it can join its cousins.... 

Bob

[Bantams]

Wow!! Beautiful! When do you get to try your first wheel?

[rsterne]

I thought you would call the Colby a wheel, it's about twice the diameter of its height (5.6" D x 3.0" H).... I am somewhat limited in my choice of moulds by the press I made.... It is about 7.5" between the threaded rods, and about 7" clearance for the mould with follower.... Our pots allow us a maximum of about 9 litres of milk, and with just the two of us, that is plenty big enough.... We are more interested in trying a wide variety than making larger wheels....

Bob

[Bantams]

Sorry, I was trying to ask when you planned to sample your first aged cheese.

[rsterne]

*LOL*.... we have 2 Farmhouse Cheddars that will be 2 months old the beginning of November.... Once was 3.25% Homo milk, which gave a very poor set (took over 2 hours), so we did it again a few days later with a mix of skim and whipping cream (3.9% BF) which worked properly (45 min.).... They were the same recipe, so we get to compare them.... The plan is to slice off some to try, and then rewax them to try again at 4, 6 and 8 months.... 

The Gouda will be 2 months old on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11.... and we plan the same procedure for it.... although we have a vacuum bagger coming, which we may use for repacking for additional aging.... We have a small beverage cooler which we keep at 44*F that we are going to use for continued aging of vacuum bagged cheese because the low humidity won't matter.... Our "cave" is at 55*F and 83% RH....

Bob

[rsterne]

The Farmhouse Cheddars were awesome at 2 months.... creamy and moist and definitely cheddary....  .... We rewaxed them to check again at 4 months.... These were our first hard cheeses, and they were great.... Interestingly, the one made with Homo. milk was smoother, while the one from mixed milk and cream was more crumbly.... although they tasted identical.... 

The next one we did after the above post was a Kefalotyri.... I used a mix of 8 litres of 3.25% homogenized milk and 1 litre of 18% coffee cream, for a total BF content of 4.9%.... It turned out quite well.... We used an MA 4002 culture, and cooked the curds at 120*F....



As Gavin warned, this cheese develops mold rather easily, so after chasing it daily for a few days in the cheese cave, we vacuum bagged it....

PS.... At 6 weeks we tried some of it as Saganaki.... It worked perfectly.... 



PPS.... At 3 months it is a lovely table cheese, with a mild Lipase flavour, pliable and slices well.... and still awesome as Saganaki.... 

PPPS.... At 6 months we sampled it again, and then smoked it.... It still worked great in Saganaki, but the smoke overpowered it a bit, we like it better without....

The lastest cheese we made is an Edam.... This time we used 8 litres of 1% partly skimmed milk and 650 ml of 18% coffee cream, for a total BF content of 2.3%.... This brings the milk to the suggested standard Protein/Fat ratio of 1.50 for an Edam in the University of Guelph eBook.... Most of the recipes we found cook the boule (after the initial light pressing) for 20 min. in saved whey heated to 122 *F, so we followed that procedure.... It hardens the rind, and after brining it only took 3 days to dry enough to wax....



This is the first time we dipped in wax instead of painting it on with a brush, and we will NEVER go back to brushing.... Dipping is faster, easier, and the finished product looks a LOT nicer.... 

PS.... After 3 weeks the wax split from eye formation and we had to rewax it.... At 2 months, it had lots of small eyes and was a nice creamy, mild cheese 



PPS.... At 4 months, the Edam had quite a bit of mold under the wax and in some of the eyes, as it had split again.... It was still quite nice, but with a bit of a bitter aftertaste, particularly near the outside.... Perhaps from the mold?.... Interestingly, the bitterness seemed to lessen with sitting in the fridge as we consumed it.... 

Next up, this weekend, will be a Robiola.... 

Bob

[rsterne]

We continue to crank out a new cheese about every week, with no duplications so far.... The Robiola we attempted was pure mush, but I salvaged it by pressing the muck and ended up with a pretty good save.... quite tasty in fact.... We call it our "Robiola Pressato".... 



We then did an Emmental, using a mix of 8 litres of 2% milk and 510 ml of 18% coffee cream, so 8.5 L with a total BF content of 3.0 %.... We used a Su Casu culture and 1/4 tsp of P. Shermanii, and used a Gouda mould to avoid corners where eyes don't like to grow.... It weighed 1 lb. 14 oz. before brining, and here is what it looked like before the warm phase....



and here it is after just over 2 weeks at 75*F.... starting to bulge nicely.... 



PS.... We opened the Emmental today at 4 months, and it had a good quantity of eyes, but they were rather small.... It tastes exactly the way it should, and we look forward to trying it in French Onion Soup on Sunday (It was AWESOME).... 



PPS.... At 4 months, the Emmental was even better, made an awesome French Onion Soup.... We had some left over from the quarter, and combined it with some Fontina and smoked Edam for our first Fondue.... It was wonderful.... 

Next up was an Havarti, using 8 litres of 2% and 440 ml of 18%, which works out to 2.8 % BF.... We used the MM 100 culture, since it gave such nice small eyes in our Gouda.... The yield was 2 lb. 2 oz. before brining, and we used yellow wax....



PS.... We tried the Havarti at 6 weeks, and it was pretty much perfect.... a beautiful pale yellow with lots of small eyes....



PPS.... At 3 months, the Havarti is great.... Pliable, flavourful, slices well and thoroughly delicious.... Oh!, and it melts great!....  

Then we did a Gruyere to go with the Emmental for a Fondue.... We used 8 litres of 2% milk and 500 ml of 18% cream, so we started with 8.5 L of 2.9 % BF.... We used a Su Casu culture and just 1/32 tsp. of P. Shermanii, and ended up with a cheese weighing 1 lb. 14 oz. before brining....



PS.... We finally got a chance to try this Gruyere at 8 months....



It was absolutely delightful, a typical Swiss in taste and aroma, with many small eyes.... It was smooth and mellow, melted well, and paired with our Emmental made the best Fondue we have ever tasted....

PPS.... At 17 months, this Gruyere continues to improve.... It now has quite a strong Swiss flavour, and the eyes are closing a bit.... It is a bit drier and firmer, and darker in colour, but the biggest difference is that it is developing a distinct Caramel flavour.... It has a bit of bitterness, likely because of the vegetable rennet (Mucor) we used....

Last weekend we made an Asiago Pressato, using 8 litres of 2% and 800 ml of 18%, to get 8.8 L with 3.6 % BF.... Once again, we used the Su Casu culture, and ended up with a good yield, the weight was 2.25 lbs. before brining.... It's still drying, prior to receiving a coat of red wax....



PS.... We sampled it at 6 weeks, and it had a nice, mild flavour, quite different from a washed curd or a cheddar.... but it had quite a few mechanical holes and a large split in the center.... However, it is one of my wife's favourites, and we will be making it again, plus plan to do an aged version in 2021....



PPS.... At 3 months the Asiago continues to improve.... It is easier to slice, becoming more pliable.... and the taste is wonderful.... 

This weekend we plan to make a Double Gloucester.... Diane and I are sure enjoying this new hobby....

Bob

[rsterne]

Here are the last of our cheeses during this our first year of Cheesemaking.... First up was that Double Gloucester I mentioned, shown here before waxing....



In keeping with the "Double" cream concept, we used 8 litres of Whole P/H Milk plus 700 ml. of 18% cream, for a total BF content of 4.4%.... We more or less followed the recipe in Debra's "200 Cheese" book, but doubled the Annatto to 2 drops per liter (18 drops total) because I wanted a nice bright yellow, common to this cheese.... We used MA 11 culture, and completed our pressing at 3.5 psi overnight.... We plan to age it 6 months, with sampling at 2 & 4 months....

PS.... We sampled the Double Gloucester today at 2 months.... It was rich and creamy, and a bit crumbly, and definitely a cheddar.... We will be doing a Cotswold (same but with added Chives and Onion) in 2021.... 



PPS.... The Double Gloucester continued to improve with age.... By 6 months, it was quite sharp, and at 8 months about as sharp as the oldest storebought commercial Cheddar I have tasted.... The creaminess of the high fat milk still comes through, and it just melts in your mouth.... This one is definitely on the list to make again....

Next up was a Lancashire, again mostly following the recipe in the "200 Cheese" book, using 8 litres of 2% P/H Milk and 650 ml. of 18% cream, to give total BF of 3.2%.... We used an MA 4002 culture.... Everything I have read here on the CheeseForum indicates that leaving it sit overnight before pressing makes it almost impossible to close up the rind, so I followed the advice garnered here and was VERY pleased with the result.... I pressed at 10 lbs. for 20 min., 20 lbs. for 40 min., and 40 lbs. for 1 hr., by which time the rind was nearly completely closed.... I used 80 lbs. overnight (3.3 psi), and it was nice and tight, I think I may have my new pressing routine for cheddars.... 



We will be sampling it at 1 and 2 months before a final aging to 4 months, as we understand this "creamy Lancashire" is great young, and becomes more cheddar-like with age (time will tell)....

PS.... We tasted our Lancashire at 1 mon. and compared it with some store bought.... The taste was nearly identical, but our was a bit crumbly in the middle.... Still, compared to the rather plastic consistency of the commercial version, it was actually nicer.... 



PPS.... At 2 months, the Lancashire is now quite crumbly.... Still has a tang, which becomes a bit of a sour aftertaste, but the cheddar flavour is starting to come through more.... The jury is still out on if this will make our list of favourites, although it is still a very nice cheese....

Our last cheese for 2020 was a Red Leicester.... We pretty much followed the recipe in Ricki's book, using 8 litres of 2% P/H Milk and 900 ml of 18% Cream, which works out to 3.6% BF.... Here is what it looks like right now....



It still needs a bit more drying to get rid of the mottled appearance before waxing.... We will be aging this one for a year, sampling at 3, 6 and 9 months....

PS.... We cracked open the Red Leicester today at 3 months.... What a delight it is....  .... It has perfect moisture, not so crumbly that it doesn't slice OK, and a delightful cheddary taste, very nice considering the age.... Definitely on the "repeat" list!.... 



PPS.... At 6 months the Red Leicester is wonderful.... It is firmer, slices well, and has become a nice sharp cheddar.... It is definitely better than at 3 months, we can't wait to try it again at 9 months and a year....

PPPS.... This cheese continued to improve and become sharper as it aged.... It also became slightly more crumbly.... A repeat is definitely in order....

Well, 2020 has been quite an adventure, not only with COVID, but with our new-found hobby.... We now have a cave full of handmade cheese....



There are 18 in there now, room for only 3 more, but we will be harvesting some for New Years, and our Anniversary in January, to make more room.... In addition to what you see, we made an Halloumi and 5 batches of Cream Cheese, so that is 20 different kinds of cheese and counting.... What a GREAT new hobby.... 

Bob

[rsterne]

We have now opened 20 out of the 21 cheeses we made in 2020, our first year of cheesemaking.... Of those, only 5 were not good enough to be repeated, so we are very pleased.... We weren't crazy about the 2 Farmhouse Cheddars (the Traditional version tops it), the Halloumi (Kefalotyri is far better), the Robiola which was a problem, and the Lancashire (which is too sour and crumbly for our taste).... All of these were edible, just that there are others that are better, or at least suit our tastes better.... We haven't tasted the Gruyere yet, it still has a few months to go.... A couple need a repeat just because we now know how to improve them, but 11 of them (over half) turned out great, and we will be repeating them on merit....

Our first year of cheesemaking has been a resounding success.... We are well on our way in this exciting new hobby.... Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and advice.... 

Bob & Diane....

[Rach_]

Oh, wow!  This all looks lovely!  AC4U!!

-Rach_

[rsterne]

Thank you, much appreciated.... 

Bob

[rsterne]

For those who haven't looked in this thread for a while, I update the individual cheese posts with a PS (or PPS) in blue when we sample them.... It will give you an idea of how they turned out, which were great (most), and which we won't bother with again (only a couple so far)....

Bob