OK OK....I'll admit it. I know everyone just LOVES Cheddar, but I find it only just a 6.5/10 on my favorite cheese scale.
(You may feel free to block me now for this heresy)
BUT I read many times that if you like Cheddar you'll LOVE Beaufort. Well, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Beaufort.
If you haven't made one...please do! You won't regret it.
I've only got half of a 7 pound wheel left, so I'm making another one today--since it will be at least 6 months before it'll be ready.
Do you have a favorite recepie? I haven't tried one myself yet
It looks delicious! I looked at the NEC recipe and it calls for 12.5 gallons of milk! I can't even make beer at that volume. Any idea if the recipe can be scaled down, or at least cut in half without ill effects? I'm a long way from making Beaufort, but it is definitely on my list since it's a style that I'm sure my wife will love! Echoing River, what's your favorite recipe?
I'll post my recipe a little later
Here it is.
As with all my recipes, I remind you that I'm using raw goat milk, so they are adjusted for that. Pasteurized cow milk will not react the same, and generally speaking you will need to either double the rennet and the culture or cut the milk quantity in half.
Gort's Beaufort
3 gal + 3 quart raw goat milk
1 pint heavy cream
1/3 packet of NEC C101 meso culture
1/4 tsp Thermo B
1/8 tsp P shermanii
1/16 FLAV 54
1/16 tsp PLA
Heat milk to 88F (Cultures add when milk is in the mid 70 degree range)
Ripen until 0.1 drop in pH (usually about 35 min)
Add 1.5 cc rennet
Floc Factor of 3 (Total actual time about 36 min)
Cut curd into 1 inch cubes. Wait 5 min
Cut again to 1/4 inch. Wait 10 min
Raise temp to 117 F over 40 min
Hold till pH at 6.45
Remove 2 gallon of whey
Replace with 2 gallon of what at 126F (Goal is to achieve 120F curd/whey temp in the vat)
Cook at this temp for about 30 min--goal pH 6.35
Mold in cloth line 7 1/2" tomme mold
Press with 5# weight x 15 min
Turn, redress and press with 10# x 30 min
Turn, redress and press with 10# x 45 min
Turn, redress and press with 15# till pH reaches 5.3-5.35 Turn every couple of hours
Brine at 3 hours per pound
Dry
Age at 50F / 85% RH x 3 weeks. Wash with a PLA light brine twice weekly x 1 month
Final aging at 55F / 85-90% RH x 5 months more
That's Gort I'll give it a go sometime soon. AC4 your recipe!
Here's the latest one. Fresh out of the brine yesterday and ready for the cave.
Thanks so much for the recipe. Have you started a thread for the cheese pictured? I'm curious to see it progress. AC4U for the recipe and for the cheese!
Thanks Travis