Finally, I have a replacement cheese cave! So, I am able to make a cheese for the cave rather than fresh cheeses. What to start back in with.... A cheddar of course! When I saw the cream level on the jars of milk, it just had to be! So 2 days milking, and 4 gallons of fresh Jersey, and a culture mix of MM100, Kazu, and LBC...
Make went well, but knitting was tough. I probably took the cloth off because of the marks it tends to make, and let it press overnight with about 120#. Next morning, insufficient knit, so I tried something I had read about as a test.... I gave the cheese a spa treatment with a 1 minute dip in 160 degree water, then back into the press, no cloth, and 160#. A few hours later there was no change in the knit. So back into the cloth, and increased the pressing weight to 180#, and 2 hours later, a good knit! I think the lesson was that the cheesecloth is necessary for helping to drain the curd mass and form the knit. Probably I would not bother with the hot dip again...
By the way, 4 gallons of milk with a 5# cheese... excellent yield!
Susan, "And it's a cheese" :D
Hi Susan,
When you say it's a bad knit, or that it didn't knit well, do you mean that it would crumble? It looks fine to me, but I still haven't had the courage to try a cheddar. 180 pounds is a lot!
Based on the pictures, I'd guess Susan is using a 7" diameter mold, or something in that vicinity. 180 / (3.5^2 * π) = 4.6 psi. (If it is an 8" diameter mold, psi is down to 3.6.) That's respectable, but certainly not excessive.
As a comparison, I have been doing the final pressing for my cheddars at 300 lbs. on a 7" diameter mold, for a psi of 7.8. This is where the compound press really comes in handy! :)
By the way, Susan, a great looking cheese ... and I'm envious of the milk!
It was an 8 inch form. My learning from this was to keep the cheesecloth on until a good knit is confirmed. The cheese would not have crumbled, it is just that I wanted a smooth finish so I could do a natural rind.
I had taken the cloth off because the form lid barely fits inside the form, and the cheesecloth makes it an even tighter fit. Really what I need to do is file the perimeter of the form lid so it is just a wee bit smaller!
Susan, sounds like we have the same 8" mold. I had to do exactly what you say, reducing the diameter of the lid by a wee bit, except that I used a drum sander to do it.
Andy, I have no access to a drum sander, do you think filing will work?
Just get some 100 grit sandpaper and do it by hand (it will take awhile)
Sure, filing will work. Or 100 grit sandpaper. Or find a local woodworker and bribe her/him with some cheese. :)