So, since I made a dissertation cheddar, I thought as a way to ring in my new postdoc to make a Postdoc Parmesan. Since my postdoc is for two years, I'll age this guy for two years and then share it with my coworkers when I leave. I followed Caldwell's book on this one. It was a little interesting, since I had to make my own thermophillic blend. But so far it looks like everything is okay.
(http://i.imgur.com/YFFolnH.jpg)
Starting with local milk. They have a buy 10 gallons get one free so I forsee myself buying a lot of milk here especially as I'm making my longer aged cheeses.
(http://i.imgur.com/Idfs4Zd.jpg)
Finally got my tray for my setup. I can put in up to five gallons of milk at a time which is nice. The sous vide setup has been swell so far. The only problem is that sometimes it's slow to heat the milk up to a certain temperature over a period of time. I might have to supplement the sous vide heater with some hot water. But we'll see.
(http://i.imgur.com/rtZLkaZ.jpg)
Cutting curds.
(http://i.imgur.com/eIYE0YA.jpg)
In the press
(http://i.imgur.com/L42wAXj.jpg)
Briny Depths
(http://i.imgur.com/jYjSrux.jpg)
About to go on the shelf to airdry
I'm happy with this cheese; things went very smoothly in the making process. I was a little worried about the sous vide heating. It as heating a bit slow so before draining the curds the pH was a little lower than I'd like (6.31 instead of 6.4). However after pressing and before brining, the pH was right on target with Caldwell's recipe. It could also be because I added lipase for a little bit of that taste, but we'll see how it all went in two years!
I really like your press set up! I just use bricks and dumbbells! :)
I WILL be here in 2 years for the result! Your wheel looks amazing!
Thanks! The press is truly wonderful! It was the first thing I saved up to buy for cheesemaking. The only thing is, the shelf that it's on isn't very sturdy so I need to find another place to move it where my curious puppy won't be tempted to be naughty.
Good looking cheese. I am sure it will age nicely. AC4U
LOL @Justifiedgaines, they will ALWAYS find a way to be naughty lol, you should see what I go through to "catify" when the cheese is pressing overnight...we have 3 cats and 3 dogs and they are VERY curious...when I press the cheese, it goes behind the microwave, barricaded like this:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aNgDQeCEHGY/WZoX42WX9qI/AAAAAAAA9R4/dgMgEXYc03wJToKDngXL3nbQF_PMHxxsQCLcBGAs/s320/20170803_223003.jpg)
I'm excited to hear about your Parm adventure. That's one cheese I would like to try as well!
I love this concept of the Postdoc Parmesan! Hope the cheese and your postdoc are fabulous.
Finally time to open this guy after 22 months old. My postdoc is done and i'm moving to Mississippi to start a faculty position.
(https://i.imgur.com/j7ftqvf.jpg)
I vacuum sealed this guy and the bars from my wine fridge really left a mark, but that's alright.
(https://i.imgur.com/EHYtona.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GpkwLc3.jpg)
That cheese flake! Came right off while I was cutting it. Here's a closeup!
(https://i.imgur.com/N3avzS5.jpg)
Here's another close up of the knit.
(https://i.imgur.com/LrDkQtI.jpg)
The cheese currently has an ammonia smell and taste, which makes sense as it was vacuum sealed. I will let it air out a bit then come back and taste! The texture is amazing though!
First: congratulations on the faculty position!
Second: congratulations on the parmesan. I just gave you a cheese for the cheddar, so can't give you another one for an hour - so I'll save it for the taste test report!
Congrats on the parm and on the faculty position. Is an Assistant Professor Asiago in your future? :)