Trying a Manchego today

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I'm trying the manchego from the forum today.  Half way through raising the temp to 40 before getting ready to go into the mold.  So far, all seems to be going well.  Fingers crossed.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Ok, it's now in the press, and is about to be flipped the 2nd time.  (so going into the 3rd 15 minute press, before entering the longer one).  I've made a 10 L (2+ gallon) batch, but the recipe is for a 1 gallon batch.  Do I double the press and brine time as well?

- Jeff

[zenith1]

length of press time will remain the same however if you are going to a larger diameter cheese hoop then you will need to increase the PSI. The amount of brine time will be slightly longer. Figure the total time as 1hr X weight of wheel X depth of wheel as a guide to start. You will adjust from there based on your finished product.

[JeffHamm]

Thanks Zenith1

I went with keeping the press time the same, and figured on increased brine time.  The cheese, out of the press, was 1756 grams (3.86 pounds).  And the height is about 10 cm heigh (3.9 inches).  I assume the formula works on pounds and inches, so that would be roughly 15 hours in the brine?

here's the cheese out of the mold and before the brine:  I'm pleased with the outcome.  This is the biggest cheese I've gotten yet from 10 litres.  I usually use 10 litres of a "farm fresh full cream" (pasturized milk), but the store was out so I used 9 litres of standard milk and 1 litre of full cream, although that probably over corrects.

oh, "Farm Fresh Full Cream" doesn't mean direct from farmer here, it's the "branding" of the milk.  It's store bought full cream milk.

- Jeff

[Boofer]

Very nice. I tasted a 12-month-old Manchego today. Will you be targeting 12 months or less for tasting?

-Boofer-

[Scarlet Runner]

Very inspiring cheese!  Can you post a link to the recipe?  I may have to try one of those next... 

[JeffHamm]

Thanks Boofer and Scarlet Runner.

Boofer, I was thinking around 4 months.  I've got a gouda aging with a target of 9 months, and a caerphilly that should be ready next week.  It's only 3 weeks, but it's supposed to be good quick and 3 weeks has been reported as being tasty.  We'll see.  I also have a Sage Wensleydale that I'm thinking of agine 3 months, and it was just made a week ago.  So, this will leap frog a couple.  And, these 4 cheeses is the size capacity of my cheese cave (a fairly small chilly bin, but I can keep it at a fairly constant 10 C, and the humidity seems good enough that none of them have cracked.

S.Runner,

I got the recipe from the forum here.  I've copied it, so here it is:

Manchego
This is a generic recipe for making Manchego. Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese that originates from the La Mancha plains region south of Madrid in central Spain made famous for its windmills, as the setting for the novel Don Quixote de La Mancha and for Manchego cheese! This recipe uses more readily available but milder cow's milk, to compensate, Lipase is added to produce a stronger aroma and flavour.
Ingredients
•   3.8 liters/1 US gallon whole Cow's Milk.
•   Optional: 2.5 ml/1/2 teaspoon Calcium Chloride.
•   1.25 ml/1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic 2 Culture.
•   1.25 ml/1/4 teaspoon Thermophilic B Culture.
•   1.25 ml/1/4 teaspoon Lipase Powder.
•   Rennet diluted in 1/4 cup/50 ml water, amount depending on package directions and your experience with that brand.
•   Salt for brine.
•   Optional: Olive oil or wax or vacuum bag for aging.
Directions
1.   Warm milk to 30 C/86 F and place in stockpot on stove.
2.   Dissolve or dilute the calcium chloride in ~50 ml/1/4 cup, stir in.
3.   Dissolve the Mesophilic culture in ~50 ml/1/4 cup water, stir, add Thermophilic culture, stir.
4.   Add culture water to milk, stir gently, cover and set aside to ripen for 45 minutes.
5.   In advance, dissolve the lipase powder in ~50 ml/1/4 cup water, let stand for 20 minutes, then add to milk after ripened and stir gently for 1 minute.
6.   Dissolve or dilute the rennet in ~50 ml/1/4 cup water, add to milk and stir gently for 1 minute, cover and let rest at 30 C/86 F.
7.   After ~1 hour, when curd is formed and have clean break, cut curds as normal.
8.   Cut the curds into rice-size pieces by stirring with a whisk.
9.   Gently heat the curds to 40 C/104 F at a rate of ~1 C/2 F every five minutes, this will take ~45 minutes, stir occasionally & gently with ladle while heating to keep curds from matting.
10.   Let the curds settle for 5 minutes, then pour off excess whey.
11.   Moisten a piece of nylon netting or cheesecloth large enough to double line your mold/hoop. Hand wring dryish then double line the mold/hoop.
12.   Ladle curds into the mold/hoop, and press at light ~7 kg/15 lb pressure for 15 minutes.
13.   Remove the cheese from the press, flip and replace and press at same ~7 kg/15 lb pressure for second 15 minutes
14.   Repeat above step for 3rd 15 minutes.
15.   Repeat and press with ~15 kg/33 lbs for 6 hours.
16.   Unwrap and float cheese in saturated brine for 6 hours at 10-12 C/50-55 F, turn every 1-2 hours to ensure even rind development.
17.   Remove cheese, pat dry, place on mat and age at 10-12 C/50-55 F and ~80-85% humidity "cheese cave" for ~1 week, turn once per day. If mould spots appear, scrub off with brush and brine or white vinegar.
18.   When surface is dry, rub with olive oil or coat with wax or seal in vacuum bag and replace in "cheese cave" to age.
19.   Cheese is ready after 1 month or longer.


- Jeff

[Sailor Con Queso]

Caerphilly is a Welsh miners cheese. The wives made these for the men and dusted them (the cheese, not the men) with flour to cut down on contamination in the mines. They ate them young (the cheese, not the men) because of time and resources. It is very tart when young and changes dramatically if aged.

Manchego on the other hand is NOT ready after a month. It needs 3 or 4 months before it's any good.

Patience grasshopper.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Sailor,

Thanks for the information.  I had heard that caerphilly was a miner's cheese, with some suggesting it was a supply of salt for them (necessary because they would lose so much salt through persperation while working).   I would like to try this one young, then I'll probably make another and age it longer. 

The Manchego is described somewhere as being eatable any time after 5 days, so at first I was thnking this was perfect as it could be ready between the finishing of the caerphilly and before the wensleydale.  However, half way through making it, I read on the board here someone's post (perhaps one of yours even) where they pointed out it's a lot of effort to make a cheese just to eat it when it's not very good.  That Manchego really has to age 3, and better, 4 months.  That's why I've decided to hold my breath on this one, and wait until at least 4 months before trying it.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Well, the manchego has been in the cave for over a week now and it's still looking good.  I'll probably wax it this weekend or next, which will be the 2 or 3 week mark, depending upon when I do it.  I'm curious, with a relatively small cheese (this is only a 10 litre batch), would coating it in olive oil just leave me with mostly rind if I'm aging this for 4-6 months?  Boofer, the 12 month cheese you sampled above, how large was it, and how was it stored? 

- Jeff

[Boofer]

Boofer, the 12 month cheese you sampled above, how large was it, and how was it stored? 

I'm afraid that particular cheese was the real McCoy from Spain...not one of mine. I have some vacuum-sealed that is approaching 12 months, but it won't be anywhere near the genuine article. I had developed the rind and rubbed it with EVOO prior to sealing it.

-Boofer-

[Sailor Con Queso]

Boof - 12 months can produce a really nice Manchego, so why don't you think it will be anywhere near the "genuine" article? Yes, true Manchego is made with sheep's milk, which has a MUCH higher butterfat content. But you can add a little cream and lipase to cow's milk and get a nice cheese. My actual Spanish (not Latin American) customers love my Manchegos and tell me they're as good as "back home".

[JeffHamm]

I've just been washing it with brine, to firm up the rind;otherwise it's clean (no mold developing).  I'll wax it to seal in the moisture though.  I doubt I'll be able to wait a year.  My cave only holds about 4 to 6 cheeses of this size, and even then they have to stack on each other in two piles of 2 or 3.  So, until I get a bigger cave, I'm trying to get to the point where I can make a replacement cheese as we eat them.

I made this with 9 L "standard milk", and 1 L full cream, and added 1/4 tsp calf lipase.  From Sailor's comment above I'm hoping that I lucked out and will get a good one.

- Jeff

[Boofer]

Boof - 12 months can produce a really nice Manchego, so why don't you think it will be anywhere near the "genuine" article? Yes, true Manchego is made with sheep's milk, which has a MUCH higher butterfat content. But you can add a little cream and lipase to cow's milk and get a nice cheese. My actual Spanish (not Latin American) customers love my Manchegos and tell me they're as good as "back home".

As with all of the cheeses in my cave, time will tell....

I am very optimistic about quite a few candidates in there. My Manchego unfortunately is pre-epiphany. What I mean by that is, there seems to have been a point sometime last summer when the light bulb lit above my head. Cheeses made after that seemed to instill more confidence in me and seem to possess higher quality. To a point, "I got it."

With the image of what a true Manchego should be, I will have another go at it and feel more confident that I can develop a cheese with good character.

-Boofer-

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Well, it's been 2 weeks in the cave, so today I've waxed it.  I weighed this one before applying the wax, and it was now at 1446 g, so it's lost about 310g of moisture over 2 weeks.  Does that indicate the cave is not humid enough?  I don't have a hygrometer yet, but so far none of the rinds have cracked.  Anyway, it had a great aroma and seems good.  I'll be leaving this until June, so fingers crossed.

- Jeff