Hi All. Just quick post. I'm sure you are all really bored of all the cheddars I've put up but to complete the circle I've now caught up to begin my 12 monthly rotation. In 2015 I started a Cheddar a month and I now have 11 in the cave - And one on the Plate - Yumm !
But here is yesterdays make and a few photos and the control sheet. I have tweaked it a little. Increased the rennet to 3.4 mls of 200IMCU vege rennet. And I've added a little MO 036R into the mix to boost some of the Adjunct Cultures. And I've also reined in the pressing pressure to a Max of 85Kg. Last months 180Kg was a bit extreme :)
I thought Id concentrate on the curds as they cook.
1. @32DegC
2. @34 Deg
3. @35 Deg
4. @37 Deg
5. @38 Deg + 15 minutes Stirring
6. @38 Deg + 45 minutes Stirring
7. @38 Deg + 60 minutes Stirring
And just so I didn't loose focus on what I was doing Here is a few photos of the one I made Feb Last year.
Cheddar Heaven..
Texturing stage.
NIce break and lovely looking curds!
Wow, that 12 month old cheddar looks amazing. It gives me something to aspire to.
It's been a bit of a journey, but now that I've got into a cycle of making at least a cheddar a month there is momentum in that... though it is sooo hard not to have a sneak cheese. It would be nice to actually do this for a living but it is so restrictive here in Oz (and N.Z) that it is almost impossible and amazing expensive. Hey, at least you can get raw milk from the farms in NZ now - more progressive than here !! I keep doing this as I know I'm actually making something way better than I can get in the supermarket.
-- Mal
@Andrew. I have found that the Flocculation method to be way superior to determine the Curd cut time. These didn't shatter at all and held together all the way through the cook.
Wow your cheddar looks amazing. I'm jealous I just made my first one and it was a flop! It didn't press correctly. You give me hope that I can get it right one day!
Looking great, as always, Mal. I need to do some cheddars so I can age them out, along with another parm. My blue is almost done so once it is out of the cave I may have to steal your recipe and knock out a 8 pounder. ;) AC4U for being a great cheese maker. ;D
hey Mal, how much annatto do you put in and do you pre-mix it with anything i.e. water, milk?
Hey Al... I didn't use the Annatto this time as I was making ricotta afterwards, The colour in this one is totally natural :). But when I do, I don't use a lot when I do, about 1 ml diluted in 1/4 cup Un-Chlorinated water added the same time as I add the Calcium Chloride. Oh if I could get Raw Jersey milk I wouldn't use Annatto at all!. That's a whole other story >:D
-- Mal
Thanks! I like the dark yellow on cheddar. If I don't color it my gang will swear it's not cheddar. They say you eat with your eyes first. :o
Al, starting with depressingly white store-bought milk, I use 10 drops of annatto in a 4-gallon make. This gives a very nice, rich yellow color but not quite as dark as the one pictured above. Like Mal, though, if only I had access to raw jersey milk ... !
Well I have access to raw milk straight from the cow so I think I may do a 4 pounder. ;D
Hey Mal,
I'm getting ready to reattempt a cheddar. You seem quite accomplished, so a few questions for you if you don't mind!
Have you experimented with cultures and if so do you have a favorite one or combination?
I believe during my last make my curds "shattered." Basically when I stirred they just fell apart and broke up into tiny pieces (it felt like i was stirring the curd when it was way too soft). I have seen some reference to shattering and I'm wondering if this is what they mean. Anyway your curds look great. Do you stir the whole time? or once every so often?
Is there a master recipe you use? I'm not great at reading make sheets!!
What is your affinage regimen? Do you bandage?
And finally (sorry for so many questions), are your pressing weights the weight after factoring mechanical advantage? Or do you know how many psi you shoot for? I'll be using a 6.5 inch mold for a 4 gallon make (or 5ish inches for 2 gallons).
Thanks!
Laura
Well with my Big Easy cut and wrapped and the cave sanitized I'm ready to try one of these. I better get it right because I plan on waxing it and aging it out quite a while. When I can find time of course. Took on another time consuming role recently that has most of my weekends tied up. Retiring next year so maybe I'll have time for all of the things I like to do then. 8)
Hey Mal,
I was just wondering... I've made cheddar before (worked for a month at Montgomery's cheddar in Somerset, UK) but only once at home. I was wondering if you did anything special to maintain the curd temp during cheddaring. When making large batches at Montgomery's the temp stayed pretty stable just because of the large mass of curds, but that isn't so with a small scale home batch.
Thanks.
Sorry for not replying for so so long.. I've been seduced by the dark side and be doing Low and Slow Barbecue. I've now retained balance in the force (food Force that us). Like Arnie "I'm Back"...
@ Max.
Yes, I still the two pot system and keep the outer pot water warm. I have a thermometer in the Cheese curd and the water. I find that I can keep the curds at a good temp for the entire process.
@Al, Mate, I'm so hearing ya! I have also had to step up for my company to pick up the slack caused by people either not doing their job or just up and leaving.
-- Mal