Well, I'm so happy to be here (in this forum) that I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself....Made the Port Soaked cheddar yesterday and it is in the press for a final 24 hours now. But I wanted to share the make and the results so far!! I will post the final pics when it's out of the press tomorrow....Thanks, again, to Danbo for the inspiration! :)
I used the same notes and recipe from the one year old cheddar I enjoyed so much. They are based on Ricki Carroll's online recipe for Cheddar. I used 3 gallons of p/h milk.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/23-Cheddar.html (http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/23-Cheddar.html)
Very cool!!! I love the railroad tracks. Looks like you're well on your way to an awesome cheese. Two questions; Was there a difference in the Ph of your curds and the port? Did you do anything to make them the same? Great pictures!!! :D
GoudaGirl13:
It looks really nice! I'm really glad that you felt inspired by my Cheddar with Port. :-)
It looks like your make is right on track (just couldn't help it)... ;-) It looks so cool with the rail tracks. I'm looking forward to viewing your cheese when it is out of the press.
I feel the same about this fantastic forum. I trawl all the postings and get excited when someone has written something or posted images. I also love to post myself - I really hope that it's not annoing that I'm so active posting every day (please hint me in a message if that's the case)...
It's so fun to think about all the people in here spread all over the world having the same passion. :-)
:-) Danbo
Danbo,
Your not annoying----you're enthusiastic and great fun---you keep things interesting----I"m just envious that you can find the time to do it all---so don't worry about to much.
Qdog
:-)
Yes!! I agree!! Danbo, you are inspiring, not annoying! :) But I understand the trepidation, as I'm posting this even before the cheese is out of its final press!! (And feeling like I'm maybe posting too early)
Al Lewis - I regret to say that I have never yet used a pH meter, nor paper strips. I have been going by "feel", "look" and timing shown in recipes. I would LIKE to try monitoring the acidity, but doubt that I will ever afford a meter and paper strips aren't available around here. Perhaps "dumb luck" is serving me well so far?
I ALWAYS think about "How would it have been done way back in-the-day before the technology existed - for almost anything I do - maple syrup, ferments, clothing, building, etc! There always seems to be a way!!
And the rail weights - they actually came from the little town I'm living in - alot of grain and immigrants travelled over that rail in the last century. We grabbed a bit when it was torn up a few years ago and cut into 5 lb, 10 lb, and 20 lb sizes and finished with rust proof automobile paint.
Not at all. People post their makes on here as they are doing them all of the time. The more the merrier, and we LOVE cheese porn, pictures that is. ;D