New to Cheesmaking

[woollyuk]

Hi everyone, I'm new to cheesemaking but I've made home made things for quite sometime e.g. bread,chutney, jam etc. I started cheesemaking last week and made a reasonable first attempt at a cheddar. I then found your forum and read all the info on cheesemaking. it made all the difference. I have made a Lancashire cheese today from a recipe I got off this forum. I felt I should have a go at Lancashire as I live in a town called Royton near Manchester,UK that up until the Politicians got involved was in the east of Lancashire. The cheesemaking today went really well, thanks to you guys. The floc time was 10 mins cutting time 45 mins with a perfect break. It is currently in the press, I also made Ricotta from the whey. What a day, just wanted to say thanks and keep up the good work. As I progress I will keep you posted on the details. Go to go my bread needs to go into the oven.

[JeffHamm]

Hi woollyuk,

Welcome to forum!  And, congratulations on what sounds like a cheese well done.  It would be great to see a photo of your cheese when it's finished in the press, and, of course, on the day you first cut into it.  You can attach photos by first clicking on the little plus sign down below the box you type a message where it says Attachments and other options, then click the browse button and find the photo on your computer.  Anyway, I see you've found the information on the floc method.  A 10 min floc time is good, and 45 minutes to cut would be a 4.5x floc multiplier.  That should result in a very moist cheese that should age quickly.  You could try a 3.5 multipler next time, so 35 minutes to cut (from adding the rennet, not from the time it floc'd), as that seems to be the more common one on the forum.  However, don't think of these as "rules", they are more suggestions as where to start.  Then, try tweaking things until you get the cheese just how you like it.

Anyway, here's a cheese to you for your sucess!

- Jeff

[woollyuk]

Hi Jeff thanks for the response. I may have got the time slightly wrong on the cut. I used a 3.5x then added 5 mins(newby lack of confidence). So it was a little earlier I think. I will post a photo when it comes out of the press. I will take more next time but I was nervous this time and the time seemed to fly by, even though there were 30 min breaks in between some actions. Guess I'll be better next time. Thanks again any way Jeff your advice and tips on this forum really helped.

[woollyuk]

Oh by the way Jeff here's a picture of my fresh bread to be going on with.

[DeejayDebi]

Welcome Woollyuk and congrats on your new adventure into the wonderful world of making cheese! Your bread looks fantastic and I am sure your cheese will be good also. Hard not to get nervous when doing something new but I find it very relaxing to create my cheeses and fun as well. You will gain confidence with time and we are here to ask questions too as well.

[woollyuk]

Thanks for the responses, guess it's time to to introduce myself my names Nigel, I'm 60 years old but I don't feel it, well most of the time, married to Lynn and we live in one of the wettest places in England (just stopped raining a few minutes ago). This forum is really good and hopefully in time I will be able to contribute useful info as well.

[Cloversmilker]

Welcome Nigel!

It hasn't stopped raining here!  It's been pouring for a week...and we aren't supposed to be the wettest place in the continental US.  We are looking toward spring and some sunshine.

Welcome to cheesemaking; it's always good to hear of another person figuring out floc times and pressing weights.     Will you be trying another cheddar soon?

[JeffHamm]

Hi Nigel,

That is great looking bread!  A warm slice of that with some nice cheese on it would be a great treat.  I do suggest keeping careful notes with respect to amounts, time, and temperature (and if you get into taking pH readings, those too) each time you make a cheese.  I've modified a number of my makes by looking over the notes I have from previous ones and tweaking things a bit.  The idea is to get things where you like them, not necessarily to replicate someone else's cheese as they like it. 

- Jeff

[woollyuk]

Hello Cloversmilker, well that is worse than here. Our rain stopped this morning at 9 and restarted at 5 so we had a nice break at least, Yeah I will be trying another one next weekend. I've made my Lancashire, my wife comes from Derbyshire so I had better have a go at a Derby cheese. It will help to keep the peace I hope. Although she is not happy about being banned from the kitchen for about 6 hours. A bit of serious cheesmaking man time. Ha!

[woollyuk]

Hi Jeff, I did make notes but I think I should be a bit more precise. I'm sure as I get more confidence I will be able to adjust recipes to my locale and my milk supply. I have already noticed the difference that small changes can make. My first attempt was OK, but with small changes and more attention to detail the second was far superior. I hope with practice to become  better and be able to tailor my recipes to what I like. I'm sure we will be conversing much more in the future regarding our cheeses. Sorry for slow response but I was just watching the end of "The Scorpion King" and eating my burger and chips with my new bread, it's 20:30 over here in England.

[DeejayDebi]

Well Nigel while your learning and taking careful note to improve your cheeses you can always share your recipes for that great looking bread! I think most of us are also bread making junkies!

[Ptucker]

What really sucks is when you want to make bread but you are in the process of making cheese, and making cheese wins every time. Ummm maybe cheese bread.

[DeejayDebi]

I have a nice recipe for cheesey bread I can post for you in another thread.

[Ptucker]

Always open to new recipes, send me a link

[DeejayDebi]

Have you been to The Fresh Loaf Yet? Great place for bread recipes! I think I found it there several years ago.