I'm pretty new to cheese making. I've been making it for 2 months and have made farmhouse cheddar about 6 of them and a few other very simple ones.
OK I might as well post my question also. I have a heck of time cutting them into the 1" squares. What is the secret? I just use a regular sharp knife. It's very long and does go to the bottom of the pan.
I have a few others I'm wanting to try next. I do enjoy it goes well with the bread I make and so on.
Thank you for letting me go on.
Jane in St. Louis
Hi Jane!
Welcome to the boards.
To answer your question, I have found that it takes patience. I want to zip zip zip zip but I really have to hold myself back and cut slow. Takes me alot longer to cut my curds, but I think it works out better in the end.
Also, once you get your top to bottom curd cuts you have really long square curds. To cut those, I do diagonal cuts (45 degree) that start at the sides untill I hit the wall on the other end... Then flip and start on the opposite side and cut to the other side... That seems to work for me. Once I go to the soft stir phase I will cut larger curds that didn't get hit with my 45 degree cuts.
Good luck!
Welcome Jane! Slow and steady with your curds and you'll be okay.
Hi Jane and welcome to this forum! There is already a Geographic Board > USA > Missouri (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/board,86.0.html) so you are not the first!
I use a long thin bread knife to cut my curds and I built an info page on cutting curds (https://cheeseforum.org/Making/Best_Practice_Cutting_Curd.htm) to help visualize this step.
Most recipes call for smaller than 1" cut curds, most common is 1 cm / 1/2".
Thank you all for the help. Yes, I know it will be a while before I get "good" (maybe I should say, better) at cutting the curd. I don't have a problem cutting them where I can see them. It's the part I can't see.
John thank you for the page on cutting curds, yes I agree about they need to be 1/2".
This is a very neat site and thanks for starting it.
Jane in St. Louis
Good morning Jane and welcome to the forum.
Welcome, Jane!
I, too, was kind of confused/conflicted about curd cutting at first. Then I realized that people have been doing this for centuries and making fabulous cheese, so I was probably making more of it than I needed to.
Once I am stirring the curd (usually with my hand - well-washed, of course), I cut the bigger pieces up. It works fine.
I also use a bread knife for cutting my curd. I really need to find something just a bit longer, though.
Welcome, most people have problems cutting curds consistently so don't feel bad ;).
Thank you everyone for the warm welcom and for the information on cutting curds. I've been looking on line and what I've been doing it pretty much what everyone else has been doing. I guess I'm one of those who want everything the "best" it can be. I just got through making hot pepper cheddar and I just going the brie mold in the mail. Can't wait. I should be making that one in the 2 weeks.....maybe. I'm working OT.
Jane in St. Louis