Cheese Making Control Points, The Old Way - Texture & Tasting Curds & Whey

[fuzziebear3]

As you go through the cheese making process, at what points do you taste the results, and is there anything you can do at that point?

For example, if I make a cheddar ...  I make the curds (acidify, rennet, cook, wash) , then press them, then let the round dry for a few days, then wax and age for several months.  I am typically making 1 cheese at a time (using a '2lb' cylindrical mold, about 4 inches in diameter).

The other day, I was at a dairy, and they were selling 'cheese curds' and 'fresh cheddar'.  I have never tasted my intermediate steps, I don't get to taste them until they have aged for several months.

So the question is, do you taste the curds and whey at some point?  Do you cut part off after the press and try that?  I thought that once a cheese was cut, it stopped developing, so can you cut a bit off and then let it age some more?  Or do you make several small cheeses to try at different times of aging?  And if you dont like it, is there anything you might do?

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Hi FuzzieBear,
Cheese is a living thing; you can age them more after cut. I usually wax the remaining and age more in my wine cooler. Even the store bought young cheddars gives different flavour when they are aged a little more in correct conditions (that is 10-12°C and 85% relative humidity). French says, cheese kept in refrigerator is a dead cheese...

I taste the whey and curds till I put into the press. After pressing, I don't touch it so that the outer skin is intact and one piece. This makes it harder for bacteria to get in and grow to.

Adjusting can only be done in the next making of that same cheese with a meticulous recording of the steps (from previous making) so that you can understand the variances of small changes (time, temp, acidity, volumes, etc) and how they affect the end product.

[DeejayDebi]

I taste the curds for semi hard and hard cheeses quite regularly during the make. It let's me know when they are ready to drain. I know by then if it going to be a good cheese or a great cheese as long as I don't mess up the during the aging process. I have lost  smaller cheeses and they got dried out.