Goat Milk Cheddar

[TroyG]

Here is what I have come up with.....Please let me know if I need to make any changes.

22 Gallon Batch Raw Goat Milk Cheddar

Record Milk PH (6.4) __________
Heat Goat Milk to 87 degrees
Add 4.4 DCU MA 11 Culture = 0.9064 grams
Ripen for 60 minutes or 0.1 drop in PH -- Record PH  __________
Add 2.2ml Annatto diluted in 1/2 cup water
Add 10.5ml single strength rennet diluted in 1/2 cup water
Check Flocculation at 8 minutes Flocculation _________ cheddar multiplier 3x _________
Cut curds 3/8" with curd knife
Heat curds to 100 degrees over 45 minutes
Hold curds at 100 degrees until PH is 6.0 – 6.2 then drain -- Record PH  __________
Cut into 3-4 large slabs and flip every 15 min for 60 minutes
Mill once curds are at PH 5.4 - 5.5 -- Record PH  __________
Add 8.8oz Salt at PH 5.4 -- Record PH  __________
Press 200 pounds for 1 hour
Flip & press 200 pounds for 12  hours or until PH is 4.90 – 5.1 -- Record PH  __________
Remove from mold and air dry 2-3 days or until rind is sufficiently dry

[FarmerJd]

If I understand your annatto amount correctly, I think it will be very little color. I usually use 3/4 tablespoon (10 mL) to 24 gallons to get a basic cheddar color. I use raw cow's milk so it might be different with goat's milk. I am not critiquing, just thinking out loud. It took a while for me to get my color right.
The only other question I have is the pressure. What size hoop are you using? Is the 200 lbs directly on the cheese or do you have a dutch press? I always press cheddar by psi.
Everything else is very much in line with what i do. Do you have a way of holding the temp while cheddaring? I use a cooler to cheddar in with a light bulb in the lid. The last ph value you mentioned I am not sure about because I never check it. I can't remember what it is supposed to be but I'm sure Linuxboy, Wayne or Sailor can tell you.

[TroyG]

I posted for people to ask questions and make suggestions. Bring it on.....     Best way to learn....

My annattoo says it is double strength, so I would really be looking at 4.4ml. Think that sounds better?

This will be direct weight siting on top of two Kodova molds.

[TroyG]

Forgot to mention....

I will cheddar in the vat so the water jacket will keep things good and warm. 

[FarmerJd]

Oh yea, I forgot you are the one with the nice setup.   Very jealous. You will probably have to tinker with the color and its better to start small  rather than have a really orange cheese. I don't have kadova molds so i am not sure of the size but with cheddar the more the better. I put 1200+ lbs on my 10 inch cheddar and am trying to increase it. I start with 300 for 30 min then go to 600 for another hour or 2 and then everything I can balance overnight. With 2 molds stacked, you are probably going to be in the ballpark I would think, but you might want to consider a way to increase it for your cheddars. Here and here are a couple of my cheddars before I got a ph meter and here is my press. Good luck.

[TroyG]

HEHE....Thanks...Lots of work in that setup. We do all our own work, so things go slower than I would like, but I am very glad we are making cheese in the new facility. Now that we have been using it a few weeks I even happier. The flow of the room is perfect!

I will get a new press down the road, but for now I will work with what I got. I decided the cheese vat / pasteurizer was needed more at this time. Trust me that purchase made me cry. 

Thanks for the pictures! You should call your press "The Tank" LOL

We will see how it goes Sunday.....I will be using the PH for the first time, so I should be like a monkey doing a math problem.

[TroyG]

Does my salt look right? 8.8oz for a 22 gallon batch?

[FarmerJd]

I use 3/4 of a cup of pickling salt with 22 gallons. i have used a cup before and thought it was too much but then sometimes my solids weren't as high so I didn't have the same amount of curds. You are probably going to have to tinker with that too or the best thing is to weigh your curds before salting and add the salt by percentage. I think the University of Guelph says 2%.
There are times when my press seems as dangerous as a tank. 300+ lbs dangling precariously in the air is kind of freaky when you start hearing creaking and popping. 

[TroyG]

LOL!!!!  I hear you I have had weights stacked up and they cam crashing down.

[TroyG]

Here is the document I put together. I can change it as time goes if I adjust my set values.