My first traditional cheddar

[tina]

So, I googled around for some homemade cheesepress ideas and decided to make one using iron pipes. Got a hold of more goat milk and tried out a traditional cheddar. It turned out to be an all day process, and a bit challenging. The final curd matting might have been a bit warm, because the curds melted into a very hard, rubbery, solid mass. I'd been advised to use a french fry cutter to cut those curds, which turned out to be difficult, even with a new, sharp cutter!

After finally cutting those curds and salting them, I put them into my mold and into the press. I managed to put 80 lbs. of bricks and weights on top and let them sit for 24 hours, turning twice. The plastic follower I had in my ring mold actually bent down in the middle from all the weight, making an oddly shaped cheese; low in the middle with raised sides. I've been slicing little bits off to make the sides more level and so far, it tastes pretty good. It would have been good to turn the cheese one more time to prevent that from happening.

The cheese knit very well and is extremely dry. A hard rind is developing, so I'll wax it in another day or two.

So far, so good, but it does strike me as odd that I'd go to all that trouble and expense to make something that I could buy (already aged for 2 years) for less than the cost of the milk........

[MarkShelton]

Nice cheese! It knit very well, unlike my first traditional cheddar.
I don't know what cheese you are comparing the cost to, hopefully not the supermarket "pasteurized processed cheese food", because I'm sure the quality of handmade cheese is much better (I cringe at things that have to be labeled as "food" on the package).
And yes, it's an all-day affair. You could cut down the time by making a "stirred curd" cheddar, but it would still be quite a few hours from start to finish.

[FarmerJd]

Tina, be encouraged, it does get easier. It may always take all day but you get to a point where you aren't engaged in it all day. It gets second nature and you can do other stuff while it curdles or cheddars. Of course you have to be careful not to forget about it but it does get easier.
If I didn't produce my own milk I would probably be very hesitant to make cheese on a regular basis, too. When I see Wayne's truck bed full of milk I am very thankful for my cow and don't mind milking so much. It is a lot easier to throw 15 gallons at a wannabe stilton when my wife is trying to find room in the frig for an egg because there are 25 gallons of milk in there.


In regards to your follower warping, you can take a thick board and put between your ram and the follower to distribute the weight better. If you can cut it a little smaller than the follower, it will work great. Good luck.

[MrsKK]

Great job!  It looks good, especially in comparison to some of my first cheddars, which were very lopsided because I couldn't figure out how to keep the weights balanced.  Keep up the good work.

[DeejayDebi]

Very nice Tina Great job!

[tina]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments! Mark, the cheese I was referring to is made locally and is pretty good. Tillamook Dairy makes this cheese: http://store.tillamookcheese.com/Vintage-White-Extra-Sharp-Cheddar-Baby-Loaf-2-lbs-P113.aspx and even a 3 year aged cheese: http://store.tillamookcheese.com/3-Year-Vintage-White-Extra-Sharp-Wedge-P160.aspx with better prices locally. It's good stuff; I buy a 2 pound block and it will last me for months.

Farmer- thanks for the suggestion of adding a stronger piece to the follower. I know just the thing I can use; the plastics shop that made my follower (out of the too thin plastic) also had a pre-made round piece of acrylic that was just a little bit too small to use as a follower by itself, but if I put it on top of the thin plastic piece I have, it should work just fine. Thanks for the Ah-ha moment!

The beauty of the new press is that I didn't have any of the falling down problems that I had from my first cheese pressing. I could've probably stacked even more weight on there if I wanted. Less than $20 in materials saved buying an expensive press or building a wooden one. I'm very encouraged with the results.

Thanks everyone!