Garlic Jack

[anutcanfly]

After studying several recipes for Jack I finally decided to do a Garlic Jack, mostly based on the recipe in Home Cheese Making.  I will post the make with pH markers in a few months if it comes out well.  Sure is nice to smell! 

[JeffHamm]

That looks very nice!  Well done.

- Jeff

[anutcanfly]

Eureka!  This is a keeper!  Great texture and taste.  Melts beautifully.  I like this recipe exactly as it is!  As promised, here is the make with pH markers.

Garlic Jack – 2nd try, #32

4 gallons Swiss Brown cow milk 4%, pH 6.4
3/8 tsp MM100
1/8 tsp TA
¼ tsp x3 rennet
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons crushed garlic and water used to boil garlic.

Warmed milk to 86 degrees, added cultures and let sit 5 minutes.  Stir cultures in and let ripen 30 minutes. Don't forget to add water from garlic.

Added rennet and let sit for 40 minutes and checked for clean break (goofed the floc test).  Cut curds into ½ inch cubes and let rest 10 minutes.

Raised temp to 100 degrees over 40 minutes, on target. ☺ pH 6.3

Stir 30 minutes at 100 degrees. Let settle 5 minutes and drain to level of curds when pH is 6.2 (took 20 minutes to reach 6.2).

Stir another 30 minutes or until whey pH is 6.0 (took 15 minutes). 

Drained and stirred in salt and crushed garlic

Hooped and pressed at 50 pounds for 1 hour.  Redressed and pressed at 90 pounds for 4 hours, pH 5.5

Ripen in cheese cave for 2 -3 months

[ellenspn]

OOOhhh, now I wanna make MJ! 

[Tomer1]

How does the garlic taste evolves over time?

Boiled garlic usually doesnt taste very good.

I can suggest you try to roast a whole head in a hot oven, It will soften the garlic into puree and add a sweet nutty charecter to it.  just use push the cloves and the puree comes out.   
This is how you make the base for french garlic soup. (soup a' lail) 

[anutcanfly]

Hi ellenspn!  Hi Tomer1! Happy New Year! 

I find that any type of cooking diminishes the flavor of garlic, boiled or roasted.  I totally prefer raw!  For my tastes I need to find a way to sanitize it with very minimal heating.  The garlic flavor did come out good and would have been better if I had remembered to put the water from boiling the garlic into the milk before setting curd.  I'll remember next time, as it makes a difference in the final intensity.  The last garlic jack I made, the garlic was more pronounced and held up fine, but the texture and flavor of the cheese was totally wrong.  I don't think I'll ever find out how the garlic taste evolves over time.  I only age Garlic Jack cheese 2 -3 months.  I don't normally flavor cheeses that age a long time.  I would hazard a guess that garlic could become bitter or off flavored in some other nasty way!

If anyone has any bright ideas about how to sanitize garlic without cooking... I'm all ears!

Here's a thought... If I boil the equipment ( knife, garlic press) and briefly the garlic before crushing it, so the interior of the garlic is not cooked, would that be sanitized enough??

Now that I have a good recipe for Jack, I am quite excited about doing a Dry Jack, or Pepper Jack! 

[dthelmers]

If anyone has any bright ideas about how to sanitize garlic without cooking... I'm all ears!

I've used pickled garlic in pesto that was bottled. Not tried it in cheese, but in other recipes where it needed something sanitized, pickling worked for both garlic and ginger.

[anutcanfly]

I've had the bottled garlic and ginger and I used to use it all the time, but there's an off flavor that I've become sensitive to... not in a good way!  I think I will just take a chance at parboiling it whole next time.  I think my taste buds are changing.  There are a lot of things I use to love that I can't abide these days.  Processed foods, fast foods, beer  , and worse yet, frequently wine!

[margaretsmall]

Ah Anut, surely not wine??

[anutcanfly]

Yes, looks like wine too... somedays it's still good and some days it's bad.  Hard cider is still great, and expresso... knock on wood! 

[anutcanfly]

What a idiot I am!  A strong solution of absorbic or citric acid should do quite well and not impart any off flavors! 

[scasnerkay]

What are you going to do with the absorbic or citric acid?

[anutcanfly]

Hi scasnerkay,

I'm trying to think of a way to sanitize garlic without cooking or using vinager, so that the flavor is as close to raw as it can be.  Like any top notch foodie, good is never enough!  I want perfection! 

I been rumaging around since the question came up and I read that if you combine hydrogen peroxide with the citric acid, you get 10x the effect of either by itself.  I tasted hydrogen peroxide and I don't think it will leave a bad flavor.  I'll have to do some tinkering and see whats works...

[scasnerkay]

What is the TA that you put in 1/8 tsp of?

[anutcanfly]

Hi Scasnerkay,

I used Choozit Thermophilic starter TA 61-62 series.  When I want to use MA4001/4002 (which I don't have) I just use MM100 and TA061.  Same cultures though the amounts of each are likely different.