My first Cheeses

[krops13]

Just wanted to put my cheeses up. I'm really digging this stuff and learning very fast that i have a lot of learning to do.  which is OK helps keep my mind busy. they are both cheddar  the first one was done on 9/13/09 and is aging on the top rack of my fridge right now. ( dont have my cheese cave yet but its in the works!!!!) the second one is drying right now. i cut the first one so i can sample it at three months and let the rest continue to age. the second im going to leave whole. i wrapped the first one with plastic wrap twice then put in the gallon size bag. plan on doing the same for the second cheese. all questions and comments (good or bad) welcome.

[wharris]

looks good so far.

Do you have a recipe you are working from?

[krops13]

i have the Home cheese making book by ricki carroll so im working out of that. the recipe is called traditional cheddar and gos as follows
1. heat milk at 86*F add the starter and stir well let ripen for 45 mins.
2.add rennet stir for 1 minute let sit for 45 mins or clean break ( i only have junket rennet)
3. cut curd into 1/4 inch cubes let set for 5 mins.
4. head to 100*f by 2 degrees every 5 mins. stir to keep from mating( i mad this in the sink so i did the best i could but dont think i hit the 2 degrees every 5 min. mark)
5. once at 100*f let set for 30
6. allow the curds to set for 20 mins.
7.pour the curds and whey into a colander. place over pot and lest drain for 15 mins.
8. remove from colander cut into 3 inch slices put back in pot put pot in 100*f water in the sink
mantain 100*f water fliping the curds every 15 mins. for 2 hours
9. break curds into 1/2 cubes put back in pot stir every 10 mins. for 30 mins
10. remove from sink. add salt and stir gently( forgot to mill the curds on the second wheel)
11. line a 2 pound mold with cheesecloth press at 10 pounds for 15 mins.
12. remove cheese from mold flip reapply cheesecloth 40 pounds for 12 hours
13. remove and flip press at 50 pounds for 24 hours ( i didnt flip this time)
14. remove the cheese from mold air dry at room temp for 2-5 days or dry to the touch
15. wax cheese ( im using plastic wrap)
16. age it at 50-55*f for 3-12 months

[wharris]

Good starting point.
If I could offer some gentle advice: I would encourage you to flip your cheeses according to the recipe.  I did the same thing and ended up with uneven curd knitting in my final cheese.

[krops13]

Ok how about the junket rennet the no ph monatering and the not heating by 2 degrees every 5 mins thanx for the help

[wharris]

I would use this renent (See picture)
I would only use a pH meter, not a timer for timing when to drain and to salt.
I would definately suggest developing a technique that allows you to finely control your temperatures protocols.
More than anything, I would suggest you do two things.

Read and do.

Try to understand why you are doing the things you are asked to do in the recipes,  and then do them. The doing part will allow you to gain experience and do it better next time.

I did not want to slam you all at once, but since you asked.... 

[krops13]

No worries the hard u hit the faster ill learn to dodge thanx for the suggestion where's a competative price for rennet and another supplys

[Cheese Head]

Hi krops13, welcome to the forum. There's a list of supply stores around the world here.

There's a new Supply Store Board here with some reviews, but as it's new most posts about the stores are buried in other threads. You can find them if you search the forum from the forum homepage on their name.

Congrats on the your first cheeses! John.

[DeejayDebi]

Nice looking cheese hon. All the little techniques will get refined with time. Looks like you did good!

[zenith1]

That is a great first effort! Wayne is correct in commenting that you try to understand the process as you go along. It will help you in your future efforts. Also, in response to your question about heating the curds, that is one area that you should try to it spot on. The temps and time to heat to a target temp all have a great impact on the finished product.

[wharris]

I agree with zenith1, temp control is very important. Temperature control is why i went to the lengths I went to when designing my bigger rig. 

I wanted/needed to be able to finely control the cheesemilk temperature and it's change over time.

[krops13]

What effect will not having good temp control have.

[DeejayDebi]

You will find that you may have the exact same ingredients for multiple cheeses - the only diference is the way the curds are cut and cooked.  The temperatures controls when the acidity changes, how hard or soft the curds are, the final size of the curds when pressed, how they whey is released lot of things that will change the final cheese.