I learn lots of new things with each new make, and, among other things, I learned this time around that if you make Manchego with cow's milk, then it's called Hispanico. During this make, I pressed under whey for the first time, used my new cheese vat setup and also got to use my new cheese press. Fun stuff!
Ingredients:
2 gallons milk (Lucerne)
1/4 tsp MA4002
1/2 tsp CaCL
1/2 tsp Rennet
Process:
Heat milk to 72F
Sprinkle culture, hydrate for 2 minutes, stir, acidify for 15-20 minutes
Heat milk to 86F (quickly) while stirring, hold this temp for 30 minutes
Add CaCL, stir 2 minutes, add Rennet, stir 1 minute, sit quietly for 30 minutes
Cut vertical cuts only at about 1", let rest 5 minutes
Cut curds to 3/8", let rest 5 minutes
Raise heat 3F every 5 minutes to 98F, stir gently, about 40-50 minutes
Remove whey to 2" above curds, consolidate curd into circular mass, press with plate/8lbs, 15 minutes
Transfer curds to sanitized mold, hand press, then press with 4-5x weight of cheese for 7 hours
Brine cheese in heavy brine for 3-4 hours per pound
Remove cheese from brine and air dry 1-2 days until dry to touch
All the process steps went well/according to plan except for the initial set of the milk. Rather than taking ~45-50 minutes, it took 75 minutes to achieve a clean break. I tried to accommodate all of my curds in a single 5" mold, and, well, let's just say it was a bit overstuffed. I ended up double stacking 5" molds to contain the curds until they pressed down below the height of my original mold, but I did get a bit of a "muffin top crease" from my shenanigans..... I'll drop the next recipe to 1.75 gallons of milk so I don't have to mess with that again!
Anyway, the cheese is just out of the brine now, it has firmed up nicely, and is beginning the air drying phase. A few pics.....
Double-stack press:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4910/45893203325_ce234e0270_k.jpg)
Single stack:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4864/45893202995_c616b1fe51_k.jpg)
Post press, pre brine:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7854/39844189183_01d3d0e946_k.jpg)
Thanks for looking, and I'll post back here with updates as I go. I think I'm going to aim to age this cheese out about 2 months, and plan to do a paprika-infused oil rind.
Rich
Very cool, this was the 2nd cheese I ever made, which I affectionately called a cow-chego :)
I only aged mine for 30 days and it was good but somewhat uninsteresting, wish I had aged it longer!
Also, rather than using less milk next time you should just get a bigger mold! And if you hven't already done this in the future I would recommend removing the cheesecloth from the cheese after a couple hours of pressing...this will also help you get a smooth surface. The creases just make it pain to maintain the rind during aging (unless you are doing a wild rind)
Quote from: cheesehead94 on January 20, 2019, 04:23:11 PM
Very cool, this was the 2nd cheese I ever made, which I affectionately called a cow-chego :)
I only aged mine for 30 days and it was good but somewhat uninsteresting, wish I had aged it longer!
Also, rather than using less milk next time you should just get a bigger mold! And if you hven't already done this in the future I would recommend removing the cheesecloth from the cheese after a couple hours of pressing...this will also help you get a smooth surface. The creases just make it pain to maintain the rind during aging (unless you are doing a wild rind)
I have a bigger mold on it's way to me already, so that will give me more options in terms of volume with future makes. Regarding the "naked pressing", I actually did press this one without the cheesecloth for the final 3 hours, so I guess that my creases from the initial pressing were just too well set to get smoothed out. I think that the bigger mold will help with this issue as well, as I think it will be a bit easier to pull the creases out of the cloth with more room in the mold (I may be imagining that, but we'll see.....) I'll just be as vigilant as I can with the rind, and if need be, I can vac pack it.
R
Yep, definitely not the end of the world, mostly just a matter of convenience!
And by the way, I still haven't found a good way to consistently get crease free rinds every time ...cheesecloth loves to wrinkle haha.
That great Rich
I make my Manchegos with goat milk...and since they are of the breed La Mancha, I call mine La Manchego. :)
I am a Spaniard living in Spain and I have never heard that "Hispanico cheese" here. ???
Not saying that does not exist, but is not widely used
Good luck with your cheese anyway O0
Quote from: PacoSEDG on January 29, 2019, 11:13:45 AM
I am a Spaniard living in Spain and I have never heard that "Hispanico cheese" here. ???
Paco-
Well, whatever it's called, it smells fantastic! Welcome to the board!
Rich
Thanks Rich ^-^
"Hispanico" is a way to refer to the type of cheese without using the protected name "Manchego." When you can get the real thing, no need for the substitute name! :)
Outside of the protected name, there are some similar outstanding cheeses, if you can get your hands on a Zamorano or a Roncal, do not hesitate!
I love Zamorano and highly recommend it. :P
Susan