I've just put a new butter cheese in the brine...
The 24 liter / 6.3 gal make went as planned except that the curd was probably too soft when I started the pressing.
We'll see how it turns out...
I added a little Geo. According to a recipe from Cheesemaking.com it should help the rind to dry and be easier to maintain.
I made a mini cheese to be able to measure PH while the real cheese was in the press.
The new butter cheese will be joining 3 goudas already in the cave.
I'm planning to age it for 1 month. My earlier butter cheeses was fine after only a month.
:-) Danbo
Ps.: Sorry that the last images are not rotated correctly.
Really nice set up Danbo. I'm jealous!
Sam
Great looking cheese and cave, Danbo. I'm glad the new PH meter is working out well.
Thank you both. :-)
I've just turned the cheese in the brine. It's the middle of the night here (why is it that I don't plan my makes a little better?)...
Well... The cheese probably will turn out a bit strange... it has small pockets of whey just under the skin. I haven't tried that before but I'm sure that I drained the curd too early. It simply was not ready when I drained.
Lesson learned...
:-) Danbo
Or maybe you press it with too much weight too soon?
That was not the case... I started real slow and didn't put a lot of weight on...
I remember thinking that the curds was "raw" in the middle and I think that is the problem...
Should have followed my instinct and waited a while more before pressing...
So if you pressed too soon for the curd , was the ph correct ?
Nice cheese set up by the way
Beautiful work, as usual! AC4U my friend! ;D
Thanks Gregore and Al. :-)
The PH was fine but the curd was way too soft I guess...
It is a relatively moist cheese and I plan to age it for only a month. Maybe it will be allright after all...
Let's see around Christmas.
:-) Danbo
I ask about the ph because if the ph was correct for hooping and yet the curd was not cooked enough and all other things were correct like temp and such then there was too much culture by a little bit .
If you notice that the ph is dropping to fast for the curd readiness you can lower temps to gain some time.
That is not to say that this change would give you the same cheese as if everything went perfectly to plan , but it is better than curds that are too wet
Just expect a wetter curd to age faster than recipe calls for .
Hope this is still on topic for this thread. Danbo, what are you using for heating that water bath? Haven't seen that immersion heater before. Almost looks like lab equipment or sous vide. Are those steam table pans? Do find any problems with rectangular vats over cylibrical pots? Awesome water bath setup.
Gregore:
My aim was a fast ageing cheese but I was just surprised that the curd had pockets af whey when it was pressed.
The timing, tempetature and PH was almost perfect. I suspect that I made two "mistakes"...
I cut the curds too unevenly and perhaps the difference in curd size resulted in some of the curd not being quite ready.
I should have removed 8 liters of whey in a single step and then gradually added hot water over a period of 10 minutes (remove x liters of whey, add 1 liter of water, add 1 liter of water etc.).
Instead I removed the 8 liters of whey gradually (removed 1 liter of whey, added 1 liter of water, removed 1 liter of whey, added 1 liter if water etc.)...
The results are that the curd/whey was not raised to quite the right temperature giving a softer curd when pressing.
Also the whey acidity must have been a bit higher as the whey was not dilluted as much as usual.
Not huge differences but probably enough. The cheese still looks allright in the cave though. :-)
i too think that you left some curds larger than others possibly even a bunch clumped back together as you were stirring /cooking
I do not think the other stuff you mention will lead to a pocket of whey .
Nospahlot:
I'm very happy about my setup. It allows me to make 24 liter (6.3 gal) batches and I found the pans at a good price.
The immession cooker is in fact a sous vide thing... This is a nordic brand but I found a similar machine in the US: https://youtu.be/ZZl7EdVoEWI (https://youtu.be/ZZl7EdVoEWI)
There are advantages and disadvantages using these pans...
I have a pan inside a double size pan. The result is a lot of water to be heated. The heating element is 1500 watts but when faster temperature changes are needed I have to manually add some boiling water / use an additional heating source.
It's very easy to maintain the correct temperature. The sous vide immersion cooker is set at a temperature 1.5-2 deg C higher than the required milk temperature.
It can't be heated using a normal stove (haven't tried gas).
It's easy to cut and stir because the pan is not that deep. Aotomatic stirring on the other hand would be hard to make compared to a normal vat.
It's easy to drain the pan and you can get lots of accessories (drainpans, lids etc.) And you can even get transparent versions (plastic) if you'd like.
I have tried different vats but they all rust. The real good ones does not but they are expensive compared to these pans.
The oans aren't heavy and they are easy to handle. The smaller pans can fit in my dishwasher if I remove the top drawer and insert a spray nozzle for large items (came with the dishwasher).
The pans stack and does not require much storage space.
Sometimes I wonder if I should start using vats again and my conclusion is that it's just a matter of taste...
You will probably find this link useful:
http://www.perfect-cheese.com/rectangular-pans (http://www.perfect-cheese.com/rectangular-pans)
:-) Danbo
Gregore: I think that you're right. I really want a curd cutter from Perfect Cheese. I have asked him if he can make a custom cutter (my pan is deeper than his standard pans. Waiting for his response... It's quite expensive for me to buy because of import taxes and fees but I think that it is worth it...
Not to take business away from the perfect cheese folk , cause I love their stuff , their temp controller has been working flawlessly in my cave for more than a year now .
But if the import and shipping are going to be prohibitive why don't you search for one closer to home. Or for that matter make one . It is not rocket science ..... SS rod and wire should be easy enough from any welding supply store . You have to buy more than you need but here it was about $50 and I have enough rods and wire to last a life time
Bend into a box shape starting in the middle of the long rod the 2 end will bend up,to be wire wrapped and become the handle , then add your wires by twisting with needle nose pliers. I was lucky as I have a laser welder so,I could just tack them .
I made one about a year ago but they are not all that effective on very small makes in a round pot with good curd set( raw milk) the curds just rotate in the pot .
Since then I use the T type cutter and cut 1 layer at a time .
Now that I use a mix of raw and pasteurized I suppose it would work as the curds are much more fragile , so much so that when I first stir I am very careful not to shatter them .
I wish that I had the skills... But trust me - I don't... :-)
I spend hours searching for one here in Europe - without much luck.
If anyone would like to make one for me, then I would be happy to buy it... ;)
:-) Danbo
I plan to make one with a wooden dowels that I cut to the height of my pot, I will put some indentations on it to mark the width and also so I can tie a fishing line securely.
The only question is, if this will work with harder set curd and how well I can sanitise this thing later on.
Sounds like a good idea... :-)
Hi all,
Do you remember this butter cheese that I made about two weeks ago? The one that I thought was too moist?
The surface started to get a littlw mold and I decided to open it - mostæy because I thought that it was a total faliure and I didn't want to spend time nursing it for weeks...
Well, here it is... It turned out so nice - actually one of my best cheeses. I am amazed how fast it ripened and how good it is!
14 days?!?!?! Amazing...
I'm so happy - and even the power outlet in the back is happy... ;-)
Looking good! Have another cheese! Buttercheese is on my shortlist of makes!
I made butterkase last week because of your posts on it ;D
I will wait 2-3 more weeks until I cut mine. Nice looking cheese, Danbo! AC4U
I hope that yours turn out great. :-) Normally I give a buttercheese 1 month in the cave. I have waxed the cheese for further ageing.
Which recipe did you use?
Danbo, could you please post your recipe for this cheese along with pressing weights etc? I looked at the site but it seems to leave out a few things.
Sure Al... :-)
I deviated from the original recipe quite a bit only using it as inspiration.
I paniced a bit when I discovered how wet and uncooked the curd was. The pressing weights started out very low compared to my 20 cm mould. Earlier I have made butter cheese with very heavy pressing.
The cheese really felt like a big sponge and I decided to increase the pressing weight considerably.
I will describe the make just as it went - but it can definitely be improved...
I'm not even sure that it can be called a butter cheese - but I think that it's a nice mild everyday cheese...
I'm going to make it again soon and will try to tweak the recipe a bit...
I will post the make notes / recipe as soon that I have the time - I'm a bit busy this week.
And please give times, I don't do PH. LOL
Quote from: Danbo on December 05, 2016, 05:06:21 AM
I hope that yours turn out great. :-) Normally I give a buttercheese 1 month in the cave. I have waxed the cheese for further ageing.
Which recipe did you use?
Thanks Danbo. I think I will leave mine for at least 4 weeks.
I used recipe from cheesemaking.com, I happen to have their mysterius culture packet left (last 1 packet), it was pretty old but it seemed to be ok because the PH seems to be dropping steadyly.
Quote from: Danbo on December 04, 2016, 06:31:50 PM
14 days?!?!?! Amazing...
Wow! Yeah, amazing. Sweet-looking cheese. That gets a cheese from me.
-Boofer-
Al: I'll give you both times and PH... ;-)
AnnDee: Sounds like a good idea. The butter cheeses that I made in the past have all been around four weeks before my cravings for cheese won. ;-)
Boofer: Thanks! :-)
Thanks buddy!! Have a cheese on me!!
Al: Here are the make notes. They are a bit messy and I haven't checked for typos...
As you can see the pressing plan was a mess... ;-)
I wonder if the wash actually has a lot of effect when it happens so close to draining and pressing...
Well - here it is. Don't hessitate to ask if you have any questions or comments...
A Butter Cheese Variation by Danbo
14 days fast ripening version
THE MAKE NOTES BELOW SHOWS A MESSY PRESSING. I WAS VERY SUPRISED HOW SOFT THE CURD WAS WHEN PRESSING AND DECIDED TO INCREASE THE PRESSING SIGNIFICALLY ON THE FLY. NEXT TIME I WILL PROBABLY PRESS AS FOLLOWS:
1. press: 0.3 psi (20 cm mould: 15 kg. 10 cm mould: 4 kg)
2. press: 0.7 psi (20 cm: 35 kg. 10 cm: 9 kg)
3. press: 1.3 psi (20 cm: 65 kg. 10 cm: 16 kg)
4. press: 2.3 psi (20 cm: 115 kg. 10 cm: 29 kg)
5. press (without cloth): 2.3 psi (20 cm: 115 kg. 10 cm: 29 kg)
Remember to adjust the time in the brine if making different size cheese.
24 l of organic whole milk 4%
1.3 g Choozit TA60
0.2 g Choozit LH100
0.15 g Geotricium (optional)
2.5 ml Calcium chloride 50%
5 ml Calf rennet
8 liters of boiled water held ready at 53 C
Heavy brine (boiled cool water, CaCl, white vinegar)
20 cm mould
Milk start PH: 6.59.
CaCl added.
Slowly heat milk to 39 C
Springle cultures over cheese and let hydrate for 5 mins.
Mix cultures with milk for two minutes.
PH after 35 mins.: 6.53
PH after 50 mins.: 6.52
PH after 65 mins.: 6.49
When the PH has dropped 0.1 add rennet mixed with 200 ml of water (just 25 strokes with a skimmer).
Start timer for spinning bowl test...
Floc.time: 13.5 mins.
Floc.factor: 3.5.
Time to cut: 47 mins after adding rennet (if clean break).
Cut curd in 1.5-2 cm cubes.
Rest for 10 mins.
Stir slowly for 10 mins.
Rest for 5 mins.
PH: 6.38.
Washing cycle (total of 8 minutes):
Each minute: Remove 1 liter of whey and replace with 1 liter of 53 C water. Stir. Repeat until 8 liters of whey has been replaced with 8 liters of 53 C water. End temp. should be around 40.5 C.
Stir for 2 minutes.
Rest for 10 mins. PH 6.35.
Pour some of the whey over mould, follower and cheese cloth to heat and adjust their PH.
Drain the whey and put curd in mould. Because the curd is very moist there is a lot of volume hense it is perhaps necessary to squeze it a bit to fit in the mould (my mould is usually perfect for 24 liter makes but in this case it was barely large enough).
First press: 30 mins at 3 kg.
Second press: 30 mins at 6 kg. PH: 6.01
Third press: 1.5 hour at 15 kg. PH: 6.01. Room temp: 20 C.
Fourth press: 2 hours at 100 kg.
Fifth press: 30 min without cheese cloth at 210 kg. PH: 5.55.
Placed in heavy brine (PH 5.55) for 9.5 hours at 13 C (springle cheese with salt on side facing up).
Flip cheese in brine and leave it for 9.5 more hours (springle cheese with salt on side facing up).
Put cheese in cave at 13 C on draining mat. Turn cheese two times daily while ageing for 14 days (the second week one turn per day is OK).
Danbo, I'm surprised at the high temperature for the ripening and coagulating -- every recipe I've used has always ripened at around 30-32°. I'm curious what the effect this has on the make ...
Thanks Danbo!! AC4U!!
Awakephd:
The result is a firmer and quicker coagulation - the rennet is very effective at about 37 deg. C. The extra moisture trapped in the curd is harder to drain which gives a moist cheese that ripens very quickly.
Last time I thought that it was too moist - but the cheese turned out really great in only 14 days...
If you are having problems with soft curd on other cheeses then try to increase your temperature before adding the rennet just a bit - it helps (but can affect the rest of the make).
:-) Danbo
Very interesting - thanks!
On your advice this arrived yesterday. Hoping this solves several challenges I've had with keeping temps over a long period. Also got a 3.5 gallon polycarbonate pan to use it in. This is rated for a 5 gallon tub so it should work just fine. Should prove interesting. ???
... and then you can also make the most tender meat that you've ever tasted... :-)
I'm just making two hispanicos. They are in the presses now... When making hispanicos the temperature is increased from 30 C to 36 C in 30 mins. My sous vide circulator is just able to keep up heating the 24 liter make and surrounding water (a total of maybe 36 liters). A couple of times I've had to manually add some boiling water to help it - but only if the temperature rise should be faster.
The biiiiiig advantage is the ability to hold a specific temperature for a very long time... Maybe it is even good for making youghurt heating a water bath around a pot or square pan that has been tied down so that it does not float around (as in the picture).
I'd love to hear what you think when you have tried it in a make...
:-) Danbo
I'll be sure and let you know how it works out for me! :D
Al, price wise how is it compared to Anova?
I have been wanting to buy an Anova for my kitchen, it is pricey here as they have to import it.
This one was only $85.00 Ann.
Wow... That's a good price...