Lovely 3.25 gallons of milk! I helped milk the cow in the morning, drove the milk home and made the cheese!! I had a hard time deciding which starter to use since I did not have MA 4001 at hand, and I was not sure on amount to use. Flocculation was 14 mins - very nice. I have never had such a firm feeling curd. I did not test for clean break ahead of the calculated time of 49 mins (14 x 3.5) but possibly should have cut a bit earlier. The curd was sort of tearing on cutting. The time from at temp to hoop was 6 hours. The final pH a bit low at 5.0. The yield was 3# 6 oz, which is slightly more than my prior 4 gallon Holstein make!
I hope I get the opportunity for such lovely milk another time!!
Wow, lucky you! Milk the cow...and make what looks to be the promise of an outstanding Cheddar.
-Boofer-
I had to vacuum seal this one today, due to cracking, even though the humidity is still almost 90 % (according to the gauge). It sure smells wonderful. Is the white powdering coating geo?
Quote from: scasnerkay on August 16, 2014, 02:22:24 AM
Is the white powdering coating geo?
Yep, thats what it is. to bad about the crack's look's good though ^-^
Beautiful color. No annatto added, right?
-Boofer-
No annatto, just lovely high fat raw jersey milk! Making a gouda today with more of her milk!!
Quote from: scasnerkay on August 16, 2014, 02:22:24 AM
I had to vacuum seal this one today, due to cracking, even though the humidity is still almost 90 % (according to the gauge).
I get that too almost every time when I make a cheddar. Even sometimes only after 2-3 days. I haven't solved it yet, but I think it has to do with not pressing with enough PSI.
Eric, I think it may also be due to letting it cheddar a bit too long and the pH a little too low. The knit looked very smooth after pressing...
I thought that too, but I milled at 5.35 on my last make and the rind was actually very smooth after pressing (there are a few pictures of it on this forum), yet I still got a tiny crack after air drying a bit.