So after the ominous cracking/bulging of my first pressed cheese (farmhouse cheddar), I was not dissuaded and decided to try again today with the same recipe out of Ricki Carrol's Home Cheesemaking.
This time, I sanitized everything and was extremely careful, but I ran into other kinds of problems.
I think I need some in-person help to master this. Does anyone know how I can find a class or a workshop in (or nearish to) my area? Or a cheese mentor in my area?
I'm just having problems doing things at the right time, getting the temperatures right, etc, and I feel like having someone walk me through it would make it a lot easier to see what I am doing wrong.
I'm still going to press and age the mess I made today and see if it turns into cheese, but I cut the curd too soon, curds fell apart, not sure if they got hot enough or TOO hot - getting different thermometer readings in the pot. Sigh.
Yeah, I was rather uncareful at the beginning. Really, getting to the point where you have things under control takes experience more than anything. But if you tell us some of the problems you had, perhaps we can help.
Well, as for my problems on this cheese:
1) I thought I had a clean break and was ready to cut the curd after the amount of time indicated in the recipe (45 minutes) but I left it just a bit longer just to be sure. The curd was very fragile and I realized after I started cutting that I should've waited longer At this point, what can be done? Wait with the curd half cut? Is there any way to salvage things?
2) proceeding with my very fragile curd, I tried to warm from 90F to 100F no more than 2 degrees F per 5 minutes in my sink. I started with water in the sink and the curd pot both at 90. Then dumped hot water into the sink every 5 minutes or so, measuring the sink water as I wet along as well. Where should I measure the temp in the pot? I was getting wildly differet temp readings at different parts of the pot. In the whey at the bottom, very high, but in the curds at the top, not high enough. And my curds were so fragile I couldn't stir properly without shattering them. I eventually went on to drain and hang them (that's where I am now) but I honeslty don't know if I underheated or overheated them.
What happens if you make cheese out of curds that are mostly shattered?
Thanks for any help. I would still really like to take a class or something if anyone has any recommendations. Even within a few hours drive. I'm in western VA, so that means DC, Maryland, NC, WV etc.
There is a fellow in Australia who has a lot of cheese making videos on You tube. His name is Gavin. He has a blog at http://www.greeningofgavin.com/ (http://www.greeningofgavin.com/). He also offers an e-book for about $10 with recipes and links to the videos. He is an entertaining guy if not a little tedious. But, you might be able to learn a lot by watching what he is doing and then go from there. I'd suggest you try a simpler cheese until you get the hang of it. Feta is a good learning cheese. In the end nothing beats trial and error.
I would be happy to help in any way that I can, but it's a long way from Denmark to Virginia... ;-)
Are you using pasteurised milk (and perhaps also homogenized)? Are you adding Calcium Chloride to the milk? Calcium Chloride strengthens the curd quite a bit.
:-) Danbo
The milk you are using could be part of the problem----make sure it's not ultra high pasteurized---unhomogenized will work better if you can get it. Try some different brands----some brands in a given area may work better----and be aware that some P/H milk will shatter and it's not your fault, it just happens----I have had success using those milks in Alpine cheese only because of the small curd required.
Here is a link to A Gavin video for feta on Utube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvqtQV754E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvqtQV754E) from there he has a bunch of cheese videos.
Qdog
Quote from: qdog1955 on February 22, 2015, 12:56:05 PM
The milk you are using could be part of the problem----make sure it's not ultra high pasteurized---unhomogenized will work better if you can get it. Try some different brands----some brands in a given area may work better----and be aware that some P/H milk will shatter and it's not your fault, it just happens----I have had success using those milks in Alpine cheese only because of the small curd required.
Here is a link to A Gavin video for feta on Utube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvqtQV754E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvqtQV754E) from there he has a bunch of cheese videos.
Qdog
Thanks - blaming it on the milk is really appealing since then it isn't my fault :). But the milk I used has been recommended to me as a good milk for cheese making. I have made mozzerella with it before pretty successfully.
However, it is homogenized and pasteurized (but not UP). So I did some looking and found this milk in my area: http://www.mtcrawfordcreamery.com/products.html (http://www.mtcrawfordcreamery.com/products.html)
It is non-homogenized and low temp pasteurized (145F for 30 minutes). Think this milk would work for cheese making?
It would work great.
Quote from: Sarahal88 on February 23, 2015, 01:57:11 AM
Thanks - blaming it on the milk is really appealing since then it isn't my fault :). But the milk I used has been recommended to me as a good milk for cheese making. I have made mozzerella with it before pretty successfully.
However, it is homogenized and pasteurized (but not UP). So I did some looking and found this milk in my area: http://www.mtcrawfordcreamery.com/products.html (http://www.mtcrawfordcreamery.com/products.html)
It is non-homogenized and low temp pasteurized (145F for 30 minutes). Think this milk would work for cheese making?
This would be my first choice in milk. I'd add some calcium chloride since it has been pasteurized. Get the amount from the recipe you are using. :)
Hi Sarah, There are a wide range of people here and just as wide ranging experience. But the first thing is don't panic ! :). Its just cheese... Just looking at this entry and going back to basics and I've had the very same issues. So... Lets start. And sorry if this sound simplistic - you have made cheese before but I think couple of things might help.
Temperature control
There is a thing call temperature inertial - same concept as physical inertia. The tendency of a substance to stay the the same temperature until enough energy is applied to make it increase and the other is it requires something to happen to make it stop and in this case milk has a very different inertia that water. I know this might sound basic but if you remove the heat source instantly you stop adding energy and the temperature remains as is it and in a vacuum will stay the same temperature for a very long time. But it never is really removed instantly. There is aways residual heat and therefore can increase past the point you remove it at. How does this affect me making cheese ??
It has to do with the heating method. Direct heat - straight on the hob and indirect heat - like a double boiler or sitting a smaller pot in a larger one. The direct heat is fast but scorches the milk if not careful and due to the lag in instruments can be difficult to stop exactly on the required Temperature - hence moves past the required temp. Where indirect is slower but has more inertia, meaning the if you just measure the milk temperature and turn the heat off - and you leave the pot in the water - it will, depending on the size move the milk temp 2-4 degrees past whenever you turned off the heat source. Induction is the same though a lot less difference, it still occurs.
Milk quality: as you have already discovered is paramount - you can't make good cheese with bad milk :).
Milk Handling: Pasteurisation will cause damage to the milk, no matter how they do it. That said, LTLH (Low Temperature Long Hold) is the gentlest form and still be legally called pasteurised BTW the Mt Crawford milk sounds wonderful and they are using LTLH pasteurisation.
Calcium Chloride: Any milk under gone any pasteurisation should have this added as it helps with curd formation - you don't need alot 1/8 teaspoon in 8-10 Litres (sorry I'm metric) = appox 2 Gallons. It will help. If you find raw milk supplier you can ommit this.
Cultures: find out what the culture temperature ranges work at they are all different: some only have a narrow band to work in for example my Meso stops at 38 Deg C but my Thermo doesn't really start until 32- 34 deg C. This is important because cheese making doesn't happen without acid (Lactic Acid in this case)
Is this too simplistic ?? Not sure where you are at, because the 'Clean Break' is an important condition for the curd to reach.
-- Mal
So I'll keep going .... There are several distinct steps and all cheese go though it - with a heap of variations.
Heat milk
Acidify the milk
Create Curd - Coagulate the milk
Drain
Form Cheese
Mature.
and all these really depend on what is the outcome you are after.
Do you have a cheese you want to start with - apart from Mozzarella, cos I havn't made enough to pass comment
Sorry I just saw that you were making Farmhouse Cheddar. I have made that one a couple of times and is a pretty solid recipe. I do however have a few problem with the components and unless you are using culture packes and rennet tablets from New England Cheesemaking Supplies you might have a very different experience. This is where a few problem pop in. Not all rennet tablets are the same strength and the culture packets can be of varing freshness. Because I couldn't access the rennet and culture packets, I had to measure out culture and use rennet for the quantity of milk I was using. For example I use culture where a 1/16 teaspoon was sufficient to acidify 10 litres and the tablets were 1/2 a tablet for 10 litres and I know this because I used a 1/4 tablet and it too made a very soft curd.
QuoteI'm just having problems doing things at the right time
. If I might be bold here - don't rush. Plan your cheese making session but don't get too distracted by being absolutley spot on correct. If they say heat for 30 minutes to reach 32 deg, dont worry that it takes 35 or even 25 minutes - they are just making sure you don't heat the milk too quickly. Make sure you have a step by step plan written down with space to add times tempeatures and any other observations. Make notes - lots of notes - take photos. These will be invaluable in identifying issues but also recreating good cheese.
The link below with take you to a cheddar make with a control sheet
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13038.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13038.0.html)
Use this as an example and make one for your own cheese.
Not sure if this is helping or just confusing - I'll stop here ..
-- Mal
Ozzie: Your advice is very good as always! :-)
Oz
Are you a teacher?------you should be---excellent advice.
Qdog
Really good advice, thank you so much for you detailed input. I'm going to change milks and start keeping make sheets so I can at least be more methodical about learning from my mistakes. I will be back with more questions, I know. Thank you!
You will not believe how much difference the LTP non-homogenized milk will make. After using it, you will never want to go back to P&H milk again!
Unfortunately, some of us live where it is extremely difficult or expensive to get raw or LTP milk ... so dealing with less-than-perfect curds is par for the course. I almost always get some shattering of the curd with P&H milk ... but it still makes cheese in the end.
I vote for making Caerphilly cheese over and over until you feel like you have it down. Why this cheese? Because it is so versatile and you can eat it after 3 weeks and see how you did or age it for a year or so. Hard to figure out whether you're succeeding on a cheese that has to age 6-9 months or whatever.....what to you do on the next batch if you have no idea how the last make turned out. I've eaten this cheese at all ages. it's also great for doing coatings on such as smoked paprika/coconut oil and you can also do nice craggy natural rinds or keep them smooth. The guy at Little Green Cheese has good instructions for making this cheese. I think I used his photo version because the video one wasn't made yet. This is a pleasant cheese that is easy to love and you could make only this cheese in a zillion variations and be happy the rest of your life probably! ;) How is that for an endorsement?? (and no, I am not paid by ISCL - International Society of Caerphilly Lovers)
That is excellent advice - I too endorse the humble Caerphilly. It covers a range of skills especially Temperature control. You can press it light and eat it soon. There are some wonderful make recipes here - I use the one from Tim Smiths book - with a few variations. I'll create a control sheet. I'll start another thread something like 'Teaching Caephilly' and start there. BTW Jeff Hamm here is the master of Caerphilly. Maybe we could starting a 'Teaching .... ' complete thread where People can Teach others how to make a cheese, but with way more technical information.
Just my thoughts ...
-- Mal
You guys are heroes, that will be great. If I get a recipe and it looks manageable, I will do Caerphilly next.
Just to give you incentive on playing with Caerphilly I'll attach some photos. Making the same cheese over and over again does NOT have to be boring.
In order of appearance we have one smeared with smoked paprika and coconut oil.....a thick mix put on almost like icing a cake
a cheese decorated with chive leaves and flowers (the flowers are on top), a cheese adorned with Geranium macrorrhizum after smearing with raw local honey (this one took a lot of careful cleaning of the wild blue molds that wanted to colonize) and a rustic natural rind version of Caerphilly. These are all Caerphilly cheeses.
Tiarella, those cheeses are a work of art. I wish I could get natural rinds like that. Would you have the same success with a ripening box or do you need lots of ventilation?
Shane
that one was done in a ripening box. It's all possible. and I can promise that I didn't baby this rind....in fact I am guilty of cheese neglect. I've had some grow shag carpets of wild blue molds/yeasts when my cave was at 99% humidity. I left them for weeks at a time and then would brush them off. There was sitting water in the cave although no cheese sitting in the water of course. The cheeses so badly neglected are being opened now after about 14 months and although the cheese close to the rind has sone mold taste the inner part is fine....better than I could imagine possible after the neglect. I don't neglect out of malicious thought towards the poor innocent cheeses....I'm just busy with farming and flower essence production.
That is excellent to hear. I think my problem is as soon add I see a spot of mould I freak out. I need to get over that.
What type of flower essences do you produce? Sounds interesting.
Shane
What wonderful cheeses - Tiarella. I'm noway near that level - inspiring :) and I feel a cheese is necessary.
Sarahal88:
Here is a basic Caerphilly style cheese with a few notes on the different pasteurisation levels.
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10375.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10375.0.html)
The main point is the process and I dont know what cultures you have access to so where I have 1 dose of MO 030 - this is just a basic Mesophillic culture, I've included another culture chart so a comparable one is Mesophilic (Danisco) Choozit MA011/MA014/MA016/MA019 or Mesophilic (Abiasa) Type III. It mentions that it is a High to Med acidifier and is just a guide on how active the culture is. There are many thing you can do here but stick with the basics for now.
Your next challenge is Rennet and this too is a bit difficult as I don't know what you have and what strength, have a look and see if you can find a figure that says something like 190 IMCU or I think the scale in the US is different (larger number) but the intent is to show you how active it is. Some say single or double strength rennet and somewhere around the 200 IMCU is considered Single strength.
Next thing - Flocculation Time. This is where the Art comes into it.. If you don't already know the flocculation point is not the Curd cutting time but is used to calculate it. You will see a lot of recipes say "Add rennet - stir and let sit for 40 minutes and then check for a "Clean Break". The link above has a description of how to measure and use the Flocculation point to determine the optimal time to cut the curd. Not the same every time due to many reasons including seasonal difference in the milk, temperature, how much acid the culture has developed amongst others. If you don't feel comfortable using this it should be about 40 minutes.
Measuring the clean break is making a small cut in the curd surface and placing the flat of your curd knife under the cut at a 45 deg angle and slowly lifting the knife. Watching, as you lift, the behaviour of the curd as it splits and the colour of the whey that fills the cut space. if the edge is rounded and the whey is milky then leave a further 5 minutes and test again. What you are looking for is a nice sharp edge and clear to yellowish whey. What you are really checking for is that the Curd matrix has formed sufficiently to trap the fat in the protein network with minimal leakage back into the whey.
Temperature: Caerphilly has a very small cooking temerature rise about 4 Deg F sorry my measurments are in degrees C but this is a good example of thermal inertia to get the curd to to move that 2 deg C / 4 Deg F. Don't fret if it sneaks a bit past but the point is the slow rise and then keeping it there. Since I posted the make I add the cultures at about 28 degrees and ripen at 30 degrees which gives me a 3 degree rise. This actually gets the curds to a better place, in my opinion.
I'll stop here and let you get comfortable with all that info.
-- Mal
Mal: Your advice is worth gold - not only for Sarahal88 - we can all learn from it... :-)
Thanks for the cheese, Mal. :D I'll add something about Caerphilly makes (which you might get to when you get to that point anyway but I'll add my experience to it) which is that if you are concerned about getting a good knit when you are pressing your curds you can choose to press within a pot so that the heat is maintained during the pressing. I think some people press under whey or with some whey in the bottom and the mold held up off the bottom. I was doing this inadvertently when I didn't have a press and I pressed inside a bucket by putting the mold up on something to create room for draining whey, and the piling things on top of the mold....things that hopefully stayed balanced but not always and I ended up with some lopsided cheeses. The heat really helps with curd knit.
Shane: flower essences (called "flower remedies" in many parts of the world) are a form of vibrational medicine similar in some ways to homeopathy. My flower essence website is www.foxmountain.net (http://www.foxmountain.net) If you want to see cute baby milk goat photos check out the farm site (still under construction) at www.sovereignhillfarm.com (http://www.sovereignhillfarm.com) there's a few cheese photos there too.
So much great advice, wow, you all are so helpful!
I am going to try this cheese everyone is recommending so highly. I wonder if I could find it at my local cheese shop to taste so I know what I am shooting for?
Keeping the cheese warm while pressing is a big issue for me since I live in a poorly insulated old farmhouse where the temp in the kitchen is about 55 most of the time. Thanks for the tips on curd knit/keeping warm, that should help.
Let's all try to describe the taste of Caerphilly. A Caerphilly is like a cheddar taste sort of.....less sharp because it's not aged as long. It's generally salty as it was taken by Welsh miners down into the mines and they needed to keep their salt up with all he sweating they were doing. Please note it's been a while since I tasted one....... ???
I've heard it's slightly reminiscent of cheesecake. Sweet, and slightly lemony?
Quote from: Stinky on February 24, 2015, 08:20:15 PM
I've heard it's slightly reminiscent of cheesecake. Sweet, and slightly lemony?
No lemon taste that I've ever experienced....harder than cheese cake. it's salty not sweet. Hmmmmmm. where was that from? ;D
I read a post by Sailor, that Americans prefer a creamy, smoother cheese and the Brits prefer a crumblier, almost bitter cheese. Well, guess I'm an American. After making 4 Caerphillys, all slightly bitter ( I can see where a reference to lemon comes from) I ordered some on line---sure enough my makes weren't far off-----I only bring this up, because if you are a typical American, this cheese might seem a little off to you---and like me, you might start thinking you did something wrong and maybe you haven't.
I'm not sure bitter is the right word to use---maybe tangy is a better adjective.
Qdog
Quote from: qdog1955 on February 24, 2015, 09:25:58 PM
I read a post by Sailor, that Americans prefer a creamy, smoother cheese and the Brits prefer a crumblier, almost bitter cheese. Well, guess I'm an American. After making 4 Caerphillys, all slightly bitter ( I can see where a reference to lemon comes from) I ordered some on line---sure enough my makes weren't far off-----I only bring this up, because if you are a typical American, this cheese might seem a little off to you---and like me, you might start thinking you did something wrong and maybe you haven't.
I'm not sure bitter is the right word to use---maybe tangy is a better adjective.
Qdog
I think of it as tangy like a cheddar.
Quote from: Tiarella on February 24, 2015, 08:33:11 PM
Quote from: Stinky on February 24, 2015, 08:20:15 PM
I've heard it's slightly reminiscent of cheesecake. Sweet, and slightly lemony?
No lemon taste that I've ever experienced....harder than cheese cake. it's salty not sweet. Hmmmmmm. where was that from? ;D
Karlin's book, I believe.
*shrugs*
How long do you like to age it? I know how long you can, but what's your ideal ripening time?
There are two topics here. Pressing and Maturing and there is a quite a bit on both. Lets get the milk in the pot first as there is a lot happening here as well. Feel free time chime in - But I like Caerphilly because of another coulpe of methods Cheddaring and Milling. And as most here already have mentioned it's short maturing time of 3-4 weeks though, there is a bit of magic here as well. Damn I like making cheese. Let me collect my thoughts and get my day job under way and I'll continue.
-- Mal
Look, I know you can age it for 3-4 weeks, and it tastes good. I'm just trying to figure out what people here like to do. ::)
But yes I enjoy the cheddaring process as well. Once you get the hang of it, it's quite fun.
The Maturing time of 3 weeks is good but I do enjoy it out to 6 - 8 weeks. There is a wonderful Caerphilly style availble right there is in US called Landalf that I have had the great pleasure of tasting about 12 monuths ago and this is - in my opinion - a wonderful cheese.
http://landaffcreamery.com/Our_Cheese.html (http://landaffcreamery.com/Our_Cheese.html)
described as having rustic natural rind and a semi-firm past, subtle aromas of cave and grass with balanced complexity harmonizes a bright buttermilk tang and savory brown butter notes. raw holstein cow, aged 5 months.
The make in the link is also of the same style - yet there are many path ways to achieve cheese. This one is tangy and creamy and with and open texture.
The interesting part of the description from their Web site is the 'Open and buttery Texture' - and that comes about from a couple of enzymes actions and of course the beauty of raw milk. So, as you can imagine they are guarding what culture they use - though I have recently found out how the rind is developed - secrets revealed later.
-- Mal
Some things I've learnt about Cultures:
1. Although the types of bacteria are the same the ratio is not. I'm not a biologist but to me that makes duplicating cheese very difficult but take heart, this is where the 'Artisan' part comes in...
2. No two culture are measurements in a recipe are the same, this is a 'It depends' type of thing. 1/32 Teaspoon of a Sacco MO 030 is sufficient to acidify 10 litres but the same amount of Choozit MA011 is not in a reasonable timeframe. You need to learn your cultures and how they behave - more 'Artisan' stuff. Start simple, work with a couple of cultures for a while. This is also why the Flocculation method of determining the right time to cut the curd is the way to go
3. Yes you can over acidify at the riping stage and if you don't use the Flocculation method, can lead to very firm curds that makes it difficult to drain whey from.
4. Don't be afraid of mixing them - you can get some really nice combinations. For example for this cheese you can 1/2 and 1/2 a plain Meso with Flora Danica. Interesting point here is it learn which ones produce gas and those that don't because that can dictate whether you can Wax it or not. I made the mistake a while ago of making this with 100% Flora Danica and three week later the pressure of the CO2 being produced popped the wax. Yet, the same make, same culture with a Natural rind was amazing.
5. Learn where the cultures' sweet spot is - try and get their acidification profile from the manufacturer. Attached here is the chart for MO 030. There are a couple of interesting points the chart is at 25 Deg C/15 hours/pH of 4.5 PlusMinus point 1. Although I have only anecdotal observations but as the temperature increases the acidification curve moves to the left 1 hour per degree C increase - again this is dependant on quite a few variables but it's a close enough about guess - Please if any one has a better model - please chime in here. :). The slope of the curve changes slightly but if the culture is added at 27 degrees to rehydrate, they are full active at 30 DegC, the pH change down to where there is sufficient acid created occurs over a6 hour period which seems to be the time it takes to make the cheese until the long pressing period. The temperature decreases out of the vat but the Terminate pH is pretty constant depending on the culture.
The other point is that it doesn't produce CO2 - I think the word is Homofermentive - could be using this in its wrong context but the bacteria strains can't break down the proteins to create the terminal amino acids that lead to those "buttery notes" - this culture will still produce a very nice crisp, close texture cheese.
Sweet spot for this culture is 30 deg C. This also gives a nice cooking temperature rise to help expel the whey. the strains used here are Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris
- love the names.
Phew that a whole lot - I'll stop here so you all can take a breath.. :o
-- Mal
How do you change the amount of ripening by using the floc method? I thought you ripen the culture, and then add rennet?
Yeah - Sorry point three needs expanding.
If you use too much culture or the ripening temperature isn't stable AND after adding the Rennet you use the cutting time in the recipe, you can end up with very firm curds that won't drain well. The Flocculation method of determining the optimal time time to cut the curd, helps address this variance.
Sorry for the confusion, I was making a non-intuative leap to bridge to the next step.
-- Mal
Quote from: Tiarella on February 24, 2015, 12:59:18 PM
Shane: flower essences (called "flower remedies" in many parts of the world) are a form of vibrational medicine similar in some ways to homeopathy. My flower essence website is www.foxmountain.net (http://www.foxmountain.net) If you want to see cute baby milk goat photos check out the farm site (still under construction) at www.sovereignhillfarm.com (http://www.sovereignhillfarm.com) there's a few cheese photos there too.
Sounds very interesting. The goats are awesome. Are the dogs maremma's?
Shane
So. Theory is great but there is no better teacher than experience - Jeff Hamm is the Forum exponent of the Cheese so Jeff please chime in ... Lets get the Milk in the pot... As the first request was a bit around temperature control then a bit on thermometers. Four main types BTW I have yet to try an Infra red though it might be a cool gadget to use - any reader out use one ?
Here is an interesting list..
http://www.atp-instruments.co.uk/different-types-of-thermometer (http://www.atp-instruments.co.uk/different-types-of-thermometer)
For hobby cheesemaking anyway
1. Mercury Filled - would recommend not using these only for the safety reason - they are accurate though and have a great responce rate and no Hysteresis - JohnPC has a great post on that (and he makes great controllers and other wonderful equipment)
2. Red (or other coloured Dye) Alcohol - Again glass implements and cheese making - your choice :)
3. Mechanical Dial and
4. Digital.
Now this might seem weird but having recently starting to use the a Digital Thermometer I still think the mechanical Dial thermometers give a better feel for the Rate at which the temperature is changing. I will say however that there is no decimal point on my digital one. This creates an interesting discussion in itself. When the Digital one read 32 Deg what is it actually reading 31.5 32 or 32.5 and by the time you catch it the temp then clicks to 33 for example. Also what is the change over point at .5 degrees or the whole unit.... The point I'm trying to make - a bit unsuccessfully is - the difference between Sensitivity and Accuracy - and the display. I'm sure the Digital is sensitive but without a decimal point, my interpretation is not accurate. 32 degrees could be somewhere around that and I'm OK with it :). Some other may like to be a little more scientific.
Ok .. enough chatter
Milk going in ...
Milk heating to 30 Deg C. Slowly but we dont want to take all day :)
Culture added - based on the recommended dosage rate. There are a few points here that I don't have experience in is th euse of raw milk - though you can reduce the amount of culture, I don't know by how much, so again thisis a 'It depends' thing.
Interesting point on the 'over acidification' comment previously. Curd formation and the resulting sructure is very dependant on the pH of the milk and alot of recipes use pH markers to perform various stages of the cheese making adventure. One of the chemicals responsible for creating the curd is Calcium Phosphate - natually occuring in milk, and without getting into the scientific details the lower the pH (ie the more acidic the milk) the less Calcium Phospate is available to form the curd. There is a whole other topic around pH and measuring pH. Though I have a pH meter I've only made one cheese using it and this worked very well without it before.
Add Calcium Chloride stir for 1 minute - I use 1/8th teaspoon diluted in a 1/4 non-chlorinated water (boiled and cooled tap water is ok). If you have the good fortune to be able to use raw milk you can omit this as this is added to help 'repair' the milk of the damage caused by pasteurisation.
Let ripen for 30 minutes. I prefer to add the CaCl2 at this stage to endure it is evenly distributed and incorporated into the milk before adding rennet.
This is where the note taking come into its own - you can record from one cheese to another whether 30 minutes was enough, the temperatures and the times. Be honest !! If the temp slips a little or the milk ripened over 40 minutes because you just couldn't leave the 'Bold and the Beautiful' -record it and review later. If it works and the cheese turns out to your likeing you might want to repeat. There are so many varables so don't be too hung up on getting it 'Exact' - its cheese :)
For the Technially minded (from the Technology of Cheese making book) - optimum rennet enzimatic activity is at pH is 6.0 though thats in the lab.
There is no real markers for this stage of the cheese.
Ding !!!! It's Rennet time....
Up until now is all been Hot, slightly acid milk. Few microbes and a touch of chemicals added but still just milk. Though I will add - if left to it's own devices and a good temperature over 12-24 hours will actually from a curd because as the pH drops, is more acid is created, there is sufficient changes to the structure of the milk for it to agglutinate - form a mass (gotta love google). Several authors, way better than I explain it very well. Gianaclis Caldwells book "Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking" is an excellent, just technical enough book that has taught me so much. If you can find a copy of the Technology of Cheesemaking - it is a deeply scientific book covering a huge number of topics.
While maintaining 30 DegC. - Important, a contant temperature is to ensure a consistant clotting behaviour.
Add Rennet - note the time, start the stop watch - Stir for 1 minute - gently. I use a liquid rennet that is termed 'single strength' but that can vary depending on the manufacturer. The spec sheet says that mine has a performance of an average 190 IMCU (International Milk Coagulation Units) but some are double or triple strength. Again, other authors have wonderful descriptions on the types and origins of coagulation agents.
The link at the beginning will take you to where I describe the Flocculation method of determining the best time to cut the curd. And I'm sorry but even this is a guide - a better guide than just time, but still a guide. But it's not the end of the cheese if it's too early, it will just be... different.
If you don't want to use the 'Floc' method check for a 'Clean Break' as described earlier at about 40 minutes.
Curd Cutting time. Cut the curds as closely as possible into ¼ inch(6mm) cubes. There are so many ways to do this but, try to get to this size. If you are using just a curd knife on a round pot, cut as close to this as possible and use a whisk with a few 'gentle' stir and lift motions to get the curds to an even size. then let them rest for 5 minutes. This is described as letting the curds heal. it actually allows curd matrix to close around the cut surface to encapsulate the fat. The key word here is gentle as the curd is very fragile at this stage and where people first notice that the curds 'Fracture'.
This is the amazing bit, even here and if the curds turn to mush, you can whack the temp to about 80 Deg C, add about 1/4 cup of nice vinegar, stir, drain through a fine cheese cloth, hang for 2-3 hours add salt to taste and voila - 'Whole milk Ricotta'.
But this is Caerphilly.
This cheese has a very gentle cooking of the curds and a medium stirring time.
Slowly raise the temperature to 33-34 DegC over 10 minutes.
Stir gently @ 33-34 DegC for 40 minutes and let rest for 5 minutes.
How is every one going here - bored yet ?
Back soon for the fun bit..
-- Mal
Awesome Mal, I am hanging on every word awaiting the next installment. Have a cheese on me for your efforts! ;D
Also a cheese from me - great detailed descriptions, Mal! :-)
Thanks that people like this.. Up until the cooking phase, which for Caerphilly is relativly short, this could be any number of cheeses. You can even play with the previous steps to lengthen the ripening time for example - to increase the overall acid. Or larger cut the curds to retain more moisture, or increase the Cooking Temperature. Or change the stirring time. All these change the texture and moisture content of the cheese. Let's not over complicate things with too many details. After re-reading the Technology of Cheesemaking it amazes me that cheese ever occured - But it did and quite nicely without a lot of orchestration and fuss.
Ok Back to Caerphilly. And where our journey to this cheese take a different road than say a Colby...
Cheddar is a name of a cheese but it is also a process name to texture the curd mass. I'll copy from the link and hope it makes sense.
QuoteThe next step is a mini 'Cheddaring'. This helps to drain the whey and increase the ph of the curd mass.
The rig is a simple one where I use a cleaned glass board over a sink of hot water on one side of the double sink and the press setup on the other. This way I can keep the curds warm and hopefully a better knit.
Drain for 5 minutes into a colander lined with Cheese cloth, saving the whey this time for ricotta. While still in the colander maintain the 33-34 C temperature by covering the curd mass.
After draining cut the mass into 2 inch slabs and I turn them out onto the warmed glass board.
The aim of the Cheddaring processing is to maintain the curds at 33-34 C. With the lid over the curds and the hot water below the temperature is maintained pretty close to 33-34 C. Turn the slices over twice in 10 minutes. The whey should just be dribbling out at this stage.
There are again so many variations on how this is done. There are pH markers in some recipes but the main aim is to help the curds loose whey and generate acid. As a general note the more whey you remove from the curd either by washing in the previous cooking phase or pressing - the less lactose you have available in the cheese to to make lactic acid. And again, a general comment, the more acid to longer maturing time and longer storage potential.
So, this step, is bascially 'Cheddaring' the curds, but lot as long as a Cheddar. Confused ?? This step can be as long as two - three hours for a real Cheddar though for a Caerphilly is much shorter. The process "Syneresis - the expulsion of a fluid from a gel" is being helped by the weight of the curds. Believe it or not this process is a physical characteristic of the curd matrix we actually started back when we first cut the curd. Try and keep the curd mass warm 33-34 DegC would be nice, as this aids the process and continues the acid production at a good rate.
The curds and the end of this should feel firm and some have likened it to cooked chicked breast, with just a hint of whey still coming out of the curds. There is nice picture in G.C's book.
We're nearly there.....
-- Mal
Ok time for the final phase... Milling and pressing. This is a Caerphilly and trick - i feel here - is to not let the Cheddaring stage take too much time 2 flips over the 10 minute period (just firms the curds up a little) and make sure the curds don't cool down too much.
Milling is the breaking of the slabs into thumbnail size pieces. Now remember that there will be alot of whey still in the curds so while you need to break them into even pieces, dont' squeeze them too much because it is the resulting acid buildup, from the remaining whey, in the pressing phase that gives this cheese it's tang. I place my smaller cheese vat back into the larger pot as the water should still be warm - but don't reheat it as you dont want to overcook the curds. I then mill the slabs into this vat as it keeps the curds warm.
Now you can go the Brining way - I don't as I haven't learnt the art of timing how long. The timings and concentrations in recipes I have used always result in too much salt. But feel free to experiment, there are no wrong ways - just different.
Once you have completed the milling stage add 1/2 the salt evenly and mix through gently. Put the lid on for a couple of minutes to 'Mellow' - letting the salt dissolve a little into the curds. You will loose salt to the whey being expelled but that why you have kept 1/2 of it in reserve. If you are brining your cheese don't add the extra 1/2 as it will be aborbed in the brine.
Caerphilly normally has a natural rind but if your goal is to vac pak the cheese then I would add the remaining salt before placing it in the hoop to press and you will need almost double the weights listed below to get it to knit with the add internal salt added.
Otherwise I follow this Pressing and Dressing procedure
Place a clean cheescloth into the form you are going to use for pressing. The curds should still be warm so you will need to get the first two pressings while still warm. Remember the cheese is supposed to have an open texture so this pressing should nicely close the rind while incorporating the remaining salt.
1. Press for 10 minutes @ 10 lbs. Remove from the mould rub some of the remaining salt - you will need to do this three time so dont go too heavy on the salt - to the top, bottom and sides - redress and put back in the press. You will need some 'swinging room' as you will need to work quickly and the cheese will not be totally knit at the moment.
2. Press again with @10 lbs. for 10 minutes. Repeat the salting as well.
3. Repeat and re-press @ 15 lbs. for 20 minutes. Repeat the salting as well.
4. Unmould NO salt - and redress and press again @ 25 lbs. for 16 hours. The wamer your pressing area is to around the 20-23 degC mark the better the knit will be.
Remember not to overpress the cheese that is not the aim here as there needs to be sufficient moisture in the cheese to finish the final pH change.
The Secret --- don't expect a cheddar 'cos it's not.
Please ask any question if there is anything you feel needs further explanation.
-- Mal