I've decided I should make a parm for next Christmas as we're going to be visiting family and I can take this with me. So, here's the make plan for tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free. I'll check before I get started to see if anyone has spotted some glaring mistakes. I got this protocol from the forum years ago, but I'm not sure who originally posted it as I seem to not have recorded that information.
A couple of things to note if you are used to making Meso cheeses. First, you will want to drop your rennet down. I normally use 1.6 ml of this rennet to get a floc in the 10-15 minute range for meso type cheeses. For this, with the higher temp and different acidity curve of thermophillic starters, your rennet will work differently. I've dropped to 1.1 ml, so just under 70% of the usual amount of rennet. I also wanted it to set a bit more slowly, and at 17 minutes when I removed the floc tester bucket it was just leaving an impression.
Second, you will expel a lot more whey, so the cheese will be shorter than others from the same volume of milk. That's fine, it's just water that you've lost. This might be an issue if you stack weights to press. I had to add some additional "lego" to my weight stack or the weights would just rest on the top of the mould.
Third, the cheesecloth will stick when you are pressing it! After the first hour in the press, remove the cheesecloth and press naked (I mean the cheese; what you do with yourself is not my business).
Parmesan (Sunday, Mar 1, 2015)
6 Litres Silver Top (cream line 4% fat, 3.1 g/100ml protein)
4 Litres Home Brand Light blue (1.5% fat, 3.7 g/100 ml protein)
1 Litre Home Brand Trim (0.5% fat, 3.9g/100ml protein; total p:f ratio = 1.22:1 – target 1.25:1; next time, 3 Light blue and 2 trim = 1.27:1)
1.1 ml 280 IMCU calf rennet (baseing on my previous Bitto makes)
4 tbls yogurt (Or strep thermo, and LH)
1/16th tsp Lacto.Halviticus
1/8th tsp calf lipase in warm water
¼ tsp CaCl2 (50% solution)
1. Add CaCl2 while setting up
2. Add starter and lipase and warm the milk to 38 C (38.0 C; 7:33)
3. allow the mixture to ripen for 45 minutes (7:33 - 8:18; 37.5 C)
4. warm back to 38.0 and add Rennet (8:21:00) floc time (8:38:00 = 17m 00s 2.5x = 42m 30s = cut time 9:03:30) (if you are used to meso cheeses, you probably will need to cut back on your rennet amount; also aim for slightly longer floc, and over 15 -20 min is ok)
5. Cut to ½ cm cubes (9:04 - 9:10)
6. Allow the curds to sit for 10 minutes to firm up. (9:10 - 9:20)
7. Slowly raise the temperature of the milk to 124 F (51.5 C). It should take as long as 45 minutes to reach this temperature. During this time, gently stir the curds every few minutes so they don't mat together. (9:30 - 10:18 C 38.0 - 51.8 C)
8. Keep the curds at this temperature for another 15-30 minutes until very small and firm. (10:18 - 10:45)
9. Drain the whey by pouring through a cheesecloth lined colander. (10:55)
10. Carefully place the drained curds into your cheesecloth lined mold.
11. Press the cheese at about 10 kg for 30 minutes. (11:00 - 11:30)
12. flip and redress, then press at 20 kg 30 minutes (11:30 – 12:07)
13. flip and REMOVE cheesecloth (it will stick), then press at 30 kg over night (12:10 – 5:30 -8:33 pm reduced to 15kg as things tilted but knit is fantastic already - 6:20; 1186g, 15.8x5.2 = 1019cm3 = 1.16g/cm3) Note, without the cheesecloth, the cheese gets stuck in the mould.
14. Float the cheese in a COLD brine solution** for 30 hours. Be certain to flip the cheese over at least three times to ensure even rind development. (??:?? - ??:??)
15. Remove and pat dry
16. Place the cheese in your cave to age for at least five months (longer for stronger flavor). You will need to flip the cheese over every day for the first two weeks and then at least once weekly or it will dry unevenly.
17. Inspect daily for mold. Should mold develop on the cheese surface, simply remove it using a paper towel dipped in white vinegar.
18. After three, six and nine months of aging, rub the surface of the cheese with olive oil. Do not wax this cheese.
I made ricotta, raised to 92.8 C, added 50/50 cider/white vinegar (ran out of cider vinegar, otherwise I just use that), and let it set for 30 minutes. Didn't seem to get a huge amount, but what I did get was very fluffy. The proteins seemed to stay in the whey rather than float up to be scooped off.
I'm going to suggest oiling it more often. I tend to oil my cheeses weekly/biweekly and they don't really get too much mold at all. Right now I have a waxed parm because someone here (can't quite remember who) was saying that with a two gallon make it dries out pretty quickly. So I waxed it at close to two months. We'll see.
Thanks for the notes Jeff. I still have to try a Parmesan.
Thanks. Yah, I'll probably oil a bit more often. I've started the make now, tweaking a few things (i.e. I added some LH, and such) and will modify notes as things go along.
Don't forget the pic's. I really like your quote.
Jeff you've really inspired me to make one of these and age it out properly. As soon as I get the stilton and cambozolas out of the cave I think I will clean it out, again, to remove any lingering molds and try a 8 gallon make. I love good parm and have yet to make any. I did do a modified part recipe trying to immulate dubliner. Still aging.
Hi shotski,
Pics will go up when the cheese is out of the brine, so won't be for a bit yet. Here's the heat rise (cooking) chart. Did pretty well. Finally got to 51.5 at 10:18. Better a bit slower than too fast. Will be going into the mound within 30 minutes. This is a pretty fast cheese to make, actually. The curds are really firm. The use of cream line milk really improves the curds, also, the high protein level relative to the fat also helps. I find homogenization seems to be the big killer in terms of curd strength when using store bought milk. I really should work out cream line and low fat milk mixes for all my cheeses rather than going with the 3.2% P/H milk most times.
Go for it Al. I've got a Romano which is about 4 years old. I've got some Montasio's that are over 2 years as well, and I use them for my grating cheese (hence the long life of the Romano). I'm taking this one to family next Christmas, so it won't make it that long.
- Jeff
It's in the press now. After an hour (2nd flip) the knit is looking fantastic, and the cloth was starting to stick to the cheese. So, from here on out I'm pressing naked, as Boofer would say. I'm expecting nubbins.
Got to love them nubbins!! They go away all on their own, or when you lay the cheese down. LOL ;D
Hi,
Ok, here it is out of the press this am getting read for it's brine bath. Currently, weighs in at 1186g, measures 15.8 x 5.2 ; well, 5.4 on one side and 5.0 on the other. The weights shifted in the day, so I flipped the cheese and lowered the weight to 15kg over night as the knit looked perfect already. Anyway, that gives us 1019 cm3, and a density of 1.16 g/cm3. I've put it in the brine and, because the cheese floats and the top emerges, I place the follower on top and that pushes it under the water a bit - but covers the top too, but at least I feel better! :) Anyway, will brine for 24 - 30 hours and then the wait begins.
- Jeff
Looking good, Jeff.
Larry
Thanks Larry. You can see that my mould has split a bit and the crack is visible on the top of the cheese. Doesn't show up so much when a cloth is used, but quite noticeable when pressing without it. Also, getting the cheese out of the mould was quite tricky without the cloth as it seals itself in. Had to use a knife to break the liquid suction seal and even then it was quite happy to remain in the mould. Fortunately, it eventually made its way out into the world.
Looks great Jeff!
Quote from: JeffHamm on February 28, 2015, 11:22:14 PM
It's in the press now. After an hour (2nd flip) the knit is looking fantastic, and the cloth was starting to stick to the cheese. So, from here on out I'm pressing naked, as Boofer would say. I'm expecting nubbins.
Ah, Jeff, you devil! :)
I had the problem with cloth (Plyban, actually) sticking to the Tomme I did yesterday. I added a little vinegar to some whey and eased the cloth away from the wheel. Ta da!
Quote from: JeffHamm on March 01, 2015, 07:46:32 PM
Thanks Larry. You can see that my mould has split a bit and the crack is visible on the top of the cheese. Doesn't show up so much when a cloth is used, but quite noticeable when pressing without it. Also, getting the cheese out of the mould was quite tricky without the cloth as it seals itself in. Had to use a knife to break the liquid suction seal and even then it was quite happy to remain in the mould. Fortunately, it eventually made its way out into the world.
I've had trouble removing a naked wheel from its mould because the nubbins acted like lots of little fingers holding it fast. The way that I got it dislodged was to carefully slam the mould against my palm. That does remove a few of the nubbins, but the wheel is otherwise okay.
-Boofer-
Hi Boofer,
Yah, I tried slapping the bottom, but it wasn't going to move, at least not as easily as I hoped. I had poured whey over the cloth before putting the curds in, but that didn't prevent the sticking. Still, got there in the end. Looking forward to this one.
- Jeff
Jeff, I had sticking problems with my last Parmesan also. I tried Sailor's straight vinegar spray idea, and was able to continue on without further sticking.
QuoteRe: Gouda troubles
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2010, 09:14:58 PM »
Quote
Dipping works well, but I find the spray REALLY handy when trying to get a cheese flipped quickly - especially on the last flip of the night when I spray the cheese itself. In a dip, I use diluted solution like LB suggests. However I use full strength vinegar in the spray because I am using a lot less. I'm sure it could still be diluted 50/50 with water, but I'm getting really good results. When cheese decides to stick to a Kadova, it's a huge mess, so I'm going for the overkill. The added CaCl2 seems to be just as important as the pH.
From this thread: https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,3718.msg29062.html#msg29062 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,3718.msg29062.html#msg29062)
HTH,
Larry
Thanks for that Larry. Will keep that in mind for the next time.
Here's the cheese out of the brine. It's 1120g, and measures 14.5 x 5.2, the brine has caused it to "compress" on itself and it's footballed out a wee bit, so the measurements are a bit woobly and I get a density of 1.36g/cm3, which is the highest density cheese I've ever had. If I use 15.5 x 5.2, closer to the original measurements pre-brine (assuming that if it were flat topped and not bowed it would be 15.5 across) then I get a density around 1.14, which is more typical. Anyway, it's looking good so now it's just a matter of aging it for 8-12 months.
- Jeff
Looks great Jeff and besides the molds they use on parms in Italy are already bowed so that's the shape you're shooting for! ;D
Looks great! :-)
Thanks Al and Danbo! I think the official moulds in Italy are just hoops, so open top and bottom. They don't get no nubbins, poor souls.
LOL! :-)
Good Parm takes a lot of patience. I have one in the cave that's 3 years old and is just now tasting right. The first couple of years it was very mild. Hope you have success.
C
Beans: A cheese for you for great patience! :-)
AC4U!
Parm! At Xmas...I like that idea.
Can't wait to see you, old bean.