OKay here's a few pictures - it's almost 3 am here.
I tried to get a shot of the cut curds but I couldn't get a good focus with the camera. I may have to get a new one. SOmetimes it just refuses to focus...
I took a picture of the cheeses after the first hour. I'll add more weight tomorrow. I will say that this is only my second try with Raw milk and it seems to be a heck of alot better all the way around.
Wow, really nice. Wish I could get raw milk.
Those really look good. Can I ask a couple of question?
It looks yellow, how much Annatto do you use?
Also, how much salt do you ad and when do you add it?
Looking good, Debi. I can't wait to get back to cheesemaking!
I still add a bit of coloring to my cheddars, as my family can't get past the non-colored cheese. Silly folks!
Thanks Guys! I love these little moulds they look so pretty.
BTW I order moulds from Dary Connection they sell them in grams the 450 gram unit for $60 is the same one I got from Ullmers for $25 - better jump in there before they're gone!
Zinger -
I am convinced that raw milk makes the difference in the knit. These are the smoothest cheddars I've ever made and I didn't use my press because I was afraid to hurt the moulds even though I think I could probably step on them without fear.
Wayne -
I used a product from Dairy Connections called "DCI Cheese Color DS" which contains ammatto. I put in 10 drops and didn't see a change so I put in 10 more. I just mixed it in bottled water. It never did look like it changed until I started cheddaring.
Weird. I never used color in the past because it seemed strange to me to add something that adds nothing but I just found out my family has been giving away my cheeses all these years because they are white. All that money for nothing! Grrrrr!
I can only fit 4.5 gallons in my chaffing dish setup so I used 3 tablespoons of kosher salt at the begining of the cheedaring process. I think it's Diamond Crystal Salt. Dark blue box about 1.5 pounds I think.
The Cheese curds were yummy! I was going to press them but didn't quite have enough to fill the third mould and it didn't seem to squish enough so I just decide to eat them.
I really have to make another press soon I almost broke a toe when the tomatoes fell off the mould! Ouch!
I still don't get the annato deal I don't care if the cheese is blue, yellow, black, or Fuchsia. although I know some people is affected by the color of food.
thouse curds look fantastic they have a smoothness that I haven't seen with store milk
How long are you going to age them for?
THe milk has made great curds both times - it has to be the milk. The curds from my store bought milk are never this firm warm right out of the pot.
I think I'll TRY it save the little one for 6 months and the bigger one for a year.
Your cheese looks great!!! The curds look really large. Do you stir while heating/waiting or do you try and keep them this size right after you cut them? What is meant by "cheddaring" vs. "milling"? Sorry questions, but I'm trying to catch on.
Also, what kind of heat source do you use for the chafing pan? I need more capacity as my one good stainless pot will only work for about a gallon and a half.
Curtis.
Some of the curds are about 1/2" some smaller. That's a cerial bowl. Yes I do stir while heating. I used a variation on Peter Dixons recipe scaled down to 4.5 gallons.
Cheddar
For 37.50 lb. (4.5 gallons) pasteurized or raw milk.
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon of MA011 starter culture
1/2 teaspoon double strength vegetable rennet
25 drops Annatto
3 tablespoons flaked salt
Heat milk to 88° F
21 ? drops Annatto maybe 25?
Add 1/2 teaspoon Choozit MA11 starter culture
Ripen with culture for 1 1/2 hours
Add 1/2 teaspoon double strength vegetable rennet
Calculate Check for the curdling time and multiply this times 3 to get the time from adding rennet to cutting the curd, e.g. 12 min. x 3 = 36 min.
Cut into 3/8" cubes (pea-sized particles)
Settle curds after cutting for 5 minutes
Stir and heat curds to 95 °F in 30 minutes ( 1° F every 4 minutes)
Continue stirring and heating to 102° F in 15 minutes (1° F every 2 minutes)
Cook at 102° F for 45-60 minutes until the curds bounce off your hand and feel like pellets and are springy when squeezed. Whey pH 6.1-6.2
Settle curds under the whey for 15 minutes.
Move curds slowly to the back of the vat to form a pack that is 8 inches deep.
Drain off the whey and form a trench in the middle of the pack to let the whey escape from the curds. When you are finished draining, there should be two packs of curds on either side of the back of the vat with an 8-10 inch wide trench down the middle. The pack should be about 4 inches deep.
Whey pH 5.9-6.0 by the time the pack is formed and most of the whey is drained.
Cheddaring Process:
Wait ten minutes and cut the pack into slabs that are 6 inches wide.
Turn the slabs over after 15 minutes. Turn again after 15 minutes.
Cut the slabs to half their length and pile them 2 high.
Turn the slabs over and pile 3 high after 15 minutes,
Continue to turn and pile the slabs every 15 minutes up to 7 high if you need to keep moisture in the curds or 4-5 high if you need less moisture.
Maintain the temperature at 95-100° F during the cheddaring process. This can be checked by sticking a thermometer into the slabs of curd.
When the whey is pH 5.3-5.4 (acidity of 55-75 degrees), mill the slabs of curd into pieces 1 inch x 2 inches.
Time from adding culture to milling is around 6-6 1/2 hours.
Wait ten minutes and add salt. Use coarse flake salt (like Kosher salt) Salt amount will vary with cheese yield.
Add the salt in 3 portions and wait 5-10 minutes between each addition. The idea is to let enough salt dissolve into the curds before hooping the curds and pressing them into blocks or wheels. However for smaller batches, two applications will be enough.
Gather the curds into the forms (blocks or hoops) lined with cheese cloth and move to the press.
Press with enough pressure to create a smooth rind by the next morning. This is 25 p.s.i. to start. After 30 minutes take of the pressure and tighten the cheese cloths around the cheese. Increase the pressure to 40 p.s.i. for the rest of the time.
Remove from the press and take the cheese out of the forms. The cheeses can be vacuum sealed or waxed. If muslin cheese cloth is used, it can be left on the rind and waxed over.
Medium Cheddar is at least 6 months aged
Sharp Cheddar is one year
Extra Sharp is 18 months
Vermont, Canadian, and English Cheddars have higher acidity (55-100 degrees).
Midwest Cheddar has moderate acidity (45-55 degrees).
Note:
The cheese can also be bandaged in 2 layers of cheese cloth dipped in melted lard. After pasting the cheese cloth onto the cheese, the wheel should be returned to the press for another half day or overnight pressing. The bandaged cheeses are drier after aging than the waxed or vac-sealed counterparts. The molds must be scrubbed off of the bandage, especially during the first month and after that only occasionally. An SOS scrubber sponge works well if dipped in a 5% salt brine.
The process explains cheddaring pretty well. Cheedering is kind of draining the whey in the heated pan by first draining the whey then cutting a trench through the cheese curds. Then you split the curd bundles and turn them. Each time they stretch out more and drain more whey. It's amazing how much more whey is drained by doing this. I think (my guess) that becuase the curds are still being heated they expell more whey. I believe this also aids in the knitting process becuase you end up pressing warm curds not cold ones as with draining them in a corlander.
I know somewhere on the forum there are videos YouTube maybe? I am never successful at searching for threads or I go find it. This is the first time I tried cheddaring because of the chaffing dish setup vs a pot. It's make it very much like the way commercial cheese makes do it but on a tiny scale. I'm going to pop a drain spout in the pan to make draining easier as soon as I find the appropriate bulkhead fittings.
The chaffing dish was an idea I got from a post by Gregore. Man it works great and much easier to deal with. You are limited to about 4.5 gallons with a 6 inch pan but they do have 8 inch pan if you need more.
This is where I got mine - it's electric and very steady on temperatures.
http://www.kitchensupplydirect.com/370-ECFRWP.html (http://www.kitchensupplydirect.com/370-ECFRWP.html)
Thanks again Gregore!
Thanks for the info. I think I might like the chafer setup. I've searched the web and about the biggest chafing pan I have been able to find is an 8qt. Are you using a regular chafing pan with that heater or some other type of pan?
Quote from: Dukester on April 13, 2009, 03:36:53 AM
Thanks for the info. I think I might like the chafer setup. I've searched the web and about the biggest chafing pan I have been able to find is an 8qt. Are you using a regular chafing pan with that heater or some other type of pan?
Thanks for the post, very interesting!
I'm wondering the same thing - is the chafing pan setup in a double boiler configuration? I can't imagine what would fit a chafing pan (other than a larger chafing pan ;)), but maybe I'm missing something!
great looking cheese! Are these the moulds that you used? Kadova Cheese Mold CM114
The smaller cheese was the mold from Ullemers. Sorry it took so long to get back to you - having a family emergecy. Just winding down with a cold one before bed.
I think I have found a local source for whole fresh milk. Can you tell me if you pastuerize it before you begin the cheese making process? If so, can you tell me how that is done?
I used an adaptation from Peter Dixons recipe so I didn't other may.
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon of MA011 starter culture
1/2 teaspoon double strength vegetable rennet
25 drops Annatto
3 tablespoons flaked salt
Procedure:
Heat milk to 88° F
25 drops Annatto
Add 1/2 teaspoon Choozit MA11 starter culture
Ripen with culture for 1 1/2 hours
Add 1/2 teaspoon double strength vegetable rennet
Calculate Check for the curdling time and multiply this times 3 to get the time from adding rennet to cutting the curd, e.g. 12 min. x 3 = 36 min.
Cut into 3/8" cubes (pea-sized particles)
Settle curds after cutting for 5 minutes
Stir and heat curds to 95 °F in 30 minutes ( 1° F every 4 minutes)
Continue stirring and heating to 102° F in 15 minutes (1° F every 2 minutes)
Cook at 102° F for 45-60 minutes until the curds bounce off your hand and feel like pellets and are springy when squeezed. Whey pH 6.1-6.2
Settle curds under the whey for 15 minutes.
Move curds slowly to the back of the vat to form a pack that is 8 inches deep.
Drain off the whey and form a trench in the middle of the pack to let the whey escape from the curds. When you are finished draining, there should be two packs of curds on either side of the back of the vat with an 8-10 inch wide trench down the middle. The pack should be about 4 inches deep.
Whey pH 5.9-6.0 by the time the pack is formed and most of the whey is drained.
Cheddaring Process:
Wait ten minutes and cut the pack into slabs.
Turn the slabs over after 15 minutes. Turn again after 15 minutes.
Cut the slabs to half their length and pile them 2 high.
Turn the slabs over and pile 3 high after 15 minutes,
Continue to turn and pile the slabs every 15 minutes up to 7 high if you need to keep moisture in the curds or 4-5 high if you need less moisture.
Maintain the temperature at 95-100° F during the cheddaring process. This can be checked by sticking a thermometer into the slabs of curd.
When the whey is pH 5.3-5.4 (acidity of 55-75 degrees), mill the slabs of curd into pieces 1 inch x 2 inches.
Time from adding culture to milling is around 6-6 1/2 hours.
Wait ten minutes and add salt. Use coarse flake salt (like Kosher salt) Salt amount will vary with cheese yield.
Add the salt in 3 portions and wait 5-10 minutes between each addition. The idea is to let enough salt dissolve into the curds before hooping the curds and pressing them into blocks or wheels. However for smaller batches, two applications will be enough.
Gather the curds into the forms (blocks or hoops) lined with cheese cloth and move to the press.
Press with enough pressure to create a smooth rind by the next morning. This is 25 p.s.i. to start. After 30 minutes take of the pressure and tighten the cheese cloths around the cheese. Increase the pressure to 40 p.s.i. for the rest of the time.
Remove from the press and take the cheese out of the forms. The cheeses can be vacuum sealed or waxed. If muslin cheese cloth is used, it can be left on the rind and waxed over.
Medium Cheddar is at least 6 months aged
Sharp Cheddar is one year
Extra Sharp is 18 months
Vermont, Canadian, and English Cheddars have higher acidity (55-100 degrees).
Midwest Cheddar has moderate acidity (45-55 degrees).
Note:
The cheese can also be bandaged in 2 layers of cheese cloth dipped in melted lard. After pasting the cheese cloth onto the cheese, the wheel should be returned to the press for another half day or overnight pressing. The bandaged cheeses are drier after aging than the waxed or vac-sealed counterparts. The molds must be scrubbed off of the bandage, especially during the first month and after that only occasionally. An SOS scrubber sponge works well if dipped in a 5% salt brine.
DeeJay, the anatto won't show like you think, so for a 5 gallon batch 10 drops or so should be plenty. It won't show until the curds starts forming and the whey gets drained away.
I have upped my anatto usage from about 4 drops to about 9 drops per gallon. That gives me the shade of color i expect and the shade of std cheddar that you get at the store.
shoelessone-
the chafing pan setup is a double boiler configuration. The bottom has an electric heater in it to keep the food or in my case the curds warm. You just put water in the bottom, set a chaffin dish in it and adjust the temperature to what you want.
Dukester
I this recipe I did not pasterize the milk.
Pastuerizing is just bringing the milk up to about 167F degrees for about 30 seconds to kill the bad buggies that might be lurking in the milk. Then you have to cool the milk down before continuing or you'll kill your cultures and rennet.
Carter -
For the cheddar I wanted a bright orange color and the 25 drops seemed to do it. For other cheeses just a tint will do.
Quote from: DeejayDebi on April 11, 2009, 05:00:35 PM
BTW I order moulds from Dary Connection they sell them in grams the 450 gram unit for $60 is the same one I got from Ullmers for $25 - better jump in there before they're gone!
I am trying to order some of these from ullmers, but the site says they are "8oz"(250 gram model) with 4" diameter and 3" height. Other sites say 4" diameter and 3" height is 1lb(450 gram model) so I do not know who is correct. Was this typo present when you bought yours and you can say whether or not it is the 450gram?
Thanks
Nitai
Oh well, I took the risk and ordered two of them anyway. I am so excited. At the risk of therm bumping up their prices I asked how he was able to sell them so incredibly cheap. He said he got them from a friend who's dairy never took off. Good for us.
Hey Debi, I know what you mean about raw milk! I have only been attempting making cheddar for about 7 weeks now, and in no way claim to be experienced as you. I have my own goats, and use my own milk, in the 7 weeks, I have made 10 batches of cheese, 9 of which were from pasteuried milk, today, after reading threads on the site I used un pasteurised milk WHAT A DIFFERENCE!.My curds turned out like the pictures in my book, they were squeeky, when I bit them, they did what they should, I couldnt ask for more. I have to thank linuxboy for this and his lessons on the organic chemistry of milk and cheesemaking. I was sent a thread saying you know the Ph values of cheddar, as I plan to sell what I produce, I want to be consistant, can you enlighten me on my path to be an artisan. all the best Quentin
Quote from: Nitai on April 12, 2010, 05:29:52 PM
Oh well, I took the risk and ordered two of them anyway. I am so excited. At the risk of therm bumping up their prices I asked how he was able to sell them so incredibly cheap. He said he got them from a friend who's dairy never took off. Good for us.
I ordered two also! I figured that since my cave is narrow in width, these little moulds should produce just the right sized cheeses for me! Can't wait to try them out!
Holly crap, these Ullmer's (http://www.ullmers-dairyequipment.com) guys has got a lot of staff. I am ordering an 8 inch ss mold and 2 kadova ASAP.
I ordered 10 of those molds a good while back and I can assure you they are the 1 pound molds.
I now have some 4 pound molds and will be getting 10 pound molds this year as we make more cheese.
Quote from: TroyG on April 15, 2010, 01:29:31 PM
I ordered 10 of those molds a good while back and I can assure you they are the 1 pound molds.
I now have some 4 pound molds and will be getting 10 pound molds this year as we make more cheese.
Good to know! Thanks. I envy your 4 pound molds. If you ever want to sell, shoot me a message.
the ones that are listed as 450 grams are about 1 pound molds. I've never seen any 250 gram molds but maybe they do have them. One thing about these smaller molds you have to fill them or they won't press nice. The follower stops about 3/4 of the way down. They make great little cheeses though.
Don't buy the edam molds though they are really hard to balance and get a good press. Round balls don't stand up well. I thing you'd have to put them in a tube to keep them from tipping over to press right. I 've been thinking about getting a PVC tube to put them in to press.
QuoteI 've been thinking about getting a PVC tube to put them in to press.
That's an efficient idea 8)
The trick is finding one they fit in fairly closely.
Deb,
Just cut a 2 inch tall ring out of 4"-6" PVC pipe to rest your Edam mold in.
Thanks Sailor - I tried the white plumbing PVC and the 6 inch is too small to fit the mold into and 8 inch is to big. I am wondering if the blue pipe has a bigger ID? I may tried slicing the 6 inch and wrapping it around the mold then putting it into the 8 inch pipe. That might make it tighter. I have lot of the white stuff I use it to hold my 4 and 6 inch sausage casings as I stuff them by hand.
You could try a coupling for a 6". That will be larger than the 6" pipe itself.
Hmmm I will look into that. I wonder if it will be tall enough ....
Yay! My kadovas arrived today! Now....what should I make?? I have been wanting to try something triple cream....any ideas? Recipes? ;D
~Cheers
Geez, I didn't want to miss out...I ordered 4 of the little Kadova moulds today. When I had asked whether they were the 450g size, the guy I spoke with at Ullmer's thought they were 8 ounce capacity. They're $28 each today. Of course that means I'd better get my high-psi press built. Whether the moulds are 8oz or 16oz, I'll be filling all four moulds and pressing with a spreader plate on top. Let's see, I take my normal psi and divide it by four, carry the two.... ???
Gotta be better than my hokey PVC end cap idea for a mould. ::)
I'm looking to take advantage of sweet Spring grass raw milk. We've been getting lots of rain over the past couple months in the Pacific Northwest. It will be my first raw milk effort. I have it on good authority (Debi) that there is a decided difference in curd set going into the mould with raw milk versus pasteurized.
-Boofer-
I have 6 of the 450 gram molds and I pressed them like this:
Ok, Debi...after seeing your moulds, I am pretty sure the guy at Ullmers is confused...the ones I got look just like yours and was told they were 8oz moulds...I don't believe it! they have to be the 450gms!! (I am actually happy they are bigger than expected-perfect size for my cave!!) ;D
If they are the same ones they will hold about 1 pound of cheese and they are 450 grams. I haven't even seen 250 gram molds anywhere but they would make cute little snack goudas.
So, scubagirl, what's it gonna be? Any decision yet?
-Boofer-
I find small hard cheeses VERY hard to age properly. They leave little margin for error.
I am selling some of the 1 pound molds, but will be keeping the 4 pound molds.
Quote from: Nitai on April 15, 2010, 04:50:08 PM
Quote from: TroyG on April 15, 2010, 01:29:31 PM
I ordered 10 of those molds a good while back and I can assure you they are the 1 pound molds.
I now have some 4 pound molds and will be getting 10 pound molds this year as we make more cheese.
Good to know! Thanks. I envy your 4 pound molds. If you ever want to sell, shoot me a message.
Hi Boofer!
I am thinking of a gouda...I can't seem to find any triple cream recipes (other than mold ripened, and I haven't explored those yet!), so I was thinking about trying out a Gouda with added cream. What I'd really like to do is figure out a recipe that clones Yancy's Fancy Brand Bergenost...they claim it's a "Norwegian Style Triple Cream" It's delicious!!
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on April 23, 2010, 11:47:55 AM
I find small hard cheeses VERY hard to age properly. They leave little margin for error.
Sailor - Can you give a little more info for why this should be? It seems like if the culture and process is good, sealing (wax, bagging, lard&cloth, etc.) is right, and aging is optimal then the cheese quality, whatever size, should follow accordingly. There are some very good small (4 oz, 6 oz, 8 oz) Goudas, Edams, etc., available in the retail world.
Are you referring to a particular cheese style?
-Boofer-
I can give you a few reasons:
1) if you are short a few curds they press funny and look like brains becuase you can't get them pressureized. The top only goes down so far and stops. I thought about sanding them but then I might loose the netting on the lid.
2) they dry up really fast. A vacuum sealer is amlost a necessity unless to tend to them constantly
3) You loose alot of cheese if you do a natural rind because they are so tiny
on the positive side they are great for:
1) handing out to friends and family
2) making multiple flavors of perfect little cheeses (adding herbs and such)
3) you can get two nice cheeses from a 2 gallon batch of milk
4) they are cute!
What about doing little blues in kadovas? not pressing obviously, but to get the nice shape?
Hopefully Sailor can help you with that one. I am alergic to blue/green mold so I haven't tried it. I do want to try the white stilton someday though. From what I have seem I think blues are typically flat sided cheeses.
At the Beverage People I did a short Blue Cheese class and they did like 1/2 lb blues. I guess I was just curious if anyone else has done it.
I use simple 7-1/2" Tomme molds for my Blues. I prefer the traditional flat shape, but there are also some technical reasons.
I keep my Stiltons in the molds for 3 or 4 days until they firm up. Would NOT want to tie up my Kadovas for that long.
I turn a couple of times a day by just flipping the entire mold over onto a Sushi mat. That would be really problematic with a Kadova - actually darn near impossible. You can NOT take the soft cheese out and turn it.
The rounded edges of the Kadova shape would not be "structurally" very sound. Stiltons are soft and the cheese would sag big time.
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on April 24, 2010, 04:33:04 AM
I use simple 7-1/2" Tomme molds for my Blues. I prefer the traditional flat shape, but there are also some technical reasons.
I keep my Stiltons in the molds for 3 or 4 days until they firm up. Would NOT want to tie up my Kadovas for that long.
I turn a couple of times a day by just flipping the entire mold over onto a Sushi mat. That would be really problematic with a Kadova - actually darn near impossible. You can NOT take the soft cheese out and turn it.
The rounded edges of the Kadova shape would not be "structurally" very sound. Stiltons are soft and the cheese would sag big time.
got it, thanks for the info. I guess the only blue I will do in a Kadova is if (when) I try a blue gouda.
My four little Kadova moulds were delivered yesterday. I measured them to be 16-20oz. Filled up they're 20oz.
Can they be washed in a dishwasher or is the heat too much for the netting?
Work is proceeding on my new & improved high-psi cheese press. Photos coming soon. 8)
-Boofer-
Congrats Boofer! I don't see why they couldn't go in the dishwasher pretty heavy duty - but I don't have a dishwasher so I haven't tried it.
I put mine in the dishwasher 3 times a week.
Quote from: DeejayDebi on April 13, 2009, 02:45:14 AM
Press with enough pressure to create a smooth rind by the next morning. This is 25 p.s.i. to start. After 30 minutes take of the pressure and tighten the cheese cloths around the cheese. Increase the pressure to 40 p.s.i. for the rest of the time.
Looking at the picture of your six little moulds with the cans pressing down on them, I can't help but wonder where the 25psi or 40psi comes in.
Using this calculation:
(weight applied) x (mechanical advantage) divided by 3.14 x (mould radius squared) x 6 moulds
...the closest I can come is 16.6psi using:
- a weight of 75 pounds
- a lever advantage of 5
- a pulley advantage of 4...(4 pulleys, yeegads!
- a mould diameter of 4 3/8 inches
- a total of six moulds
-Boofer-
Boofer I have never pressed anything even my 2 kg moulds with more than 45 to 50 pounds of weight and I don't have a problem getting a good press.