Obtained more goat's milk 2 weeks ago before most of the shelter in place orders came through.
Had my eye on a goat milk tomme - recipe here:
https://cheesemaking.com/collections/recipes/products/goat-milk-tomme-cheese-making-recipe (https://cheesemaking.com/collections/recipes/products/goat-milk-tomme-cheese-making-recipe)
But I made some changes:
2 gallons D&L Meadows raw creamline goats milk
3 oz MA4001 (mother culture - about 1.2%)
1/2 tsp CaCl2, mixed in 1/4 cup distilled water.
1/8 tsp rennet, dissolved in 1/4 cup distilled water
Initial pH: 7.05
-I raised the milk to 50F, added the MA4001 and CaCl2, and ripened for 60 minutes will bringing temp to 90 F.
ph 6.97
Added the rennet.
-Used a floc multiplier of 4: floc'd in 13 minutes. After 52 total minutes, I cut into 1/2 inch cubes and let heal for 5 minutes
Cut pH: 6.93
-Heated and stirred the curds to 92F over 20 minutes gradually
-Stirred for another 40 minutes at 92F
-Then removed whey to curd and added 4 cups of 110F water to bring temp to 95F
-Stirred x 10 minutes
-Hand-packed the curds into a 6 inch mold with cheesecloth under warm whey.
pH 6.81
-Pressed with 0.86 psi in whey for 10 minutes then took out of whey and pressed for another 20 minutes.
-Flipped & rewrapped and pressed without whey at 0.86 psi for 30 minutes
-Flipped & rewrapped and pressed without whey at 1.6 psi for 8 hours (480 minutes)
-Flipped & rewrapped and pressed without whey at 1.9 psi for 2 hrs (120 min)
final pH was 5.37 - see pH curve below
3.3 pound cheese. Brined for 8 hours. Flipped halfway.
Spent a day at Room temp drying out
Then moved to 51F and 80%RH for two days.
Then thought "it needs some wine"
bathed it in a 2015 Sirrah x 36 hours at 52F flipping every 12 hrs.
Took it out and dried it at 52F and 80%RH x 24 hrs
Then back into the same wine x 48 hrs at 52F flipping twice.
Current status is sitting in 52F 80%RH cheese cave. Likely will vac seal in about 1-2 weeks.
Aging for 60-90 days and we will see how it tastes!
Trent
Looks Amazing.
So the difference between the Cabra Al Vino and the Tomme is the washing - besides the wine? Do you ever use any adjunct cultures with your Tommes?
What part of Ohio? I'm in Grove City.
Thanks Numen - I'm located in Cincinnati. Grove City - that's the last exit on North I71 before hitting I270 i think, right?
Why it went from a goat tomme to a wine wash has to do with my cheese caves.
Long story: I have a full size refrigerator with a temp control in my garage that I'm able to control the humidity fairly well (consistent 80% RH for the most part). I have a small wine fridge that holds 1-2 smaller cheeses that also holds humidity around 80-85RH. I just got a medium sized beverage fridge that holds temps from 49-52 without a temp control unit (got it from bidFTA - love that site) but I can't get the humidity up past 50% RH - no matter how hard I try (aside from putting in a small humidifier and running a humidity control unit - I haven't done that yet). The goal was to appease my wife's desire to get rid of the old fridge in the garage and just use the two units in the house. The lack of humidity control in the medium sized fridge has led it to be a storage unit for cheeses that are waxed or vacuum sealed - and it works very well for those cheeses. I was going to wash the goat tomme to develop a rind but then the outlet in the garage stopped working. It just needs to be replaced - not a huge deal but this was during the beginnings of covid and it never got changed. Eventually, I've convinced my wife to let me keep the garage fridge once the outlet is replaced as that's the one large space that I can control humidity...
So... went with a wine bath. Then vac sealed it.
Haven't used any adjunct cultures in this tomme - and I have to look at my previous records to see what i used for the other tomme I made (like 7 years ago).
Trent
I should clarify - i wouldn't characterize this as a wine "wash".
This is a bath.
I'm not washing with wine to develop a rind
Trent
Trent,
Yep, you've got the location. Cincinnati is a straight shot from here. I should clarify - I looked at the Tomme Recipe and yours replaces whey with warmer water but the original doesn't have that step - unless I missed it. I read it fast.
I'm used to washed curd recipes but I was going to try a Tomme to cut down on time. What do you think?
I'm presently debating controlled fridges in the basement as a cave. I have a wine fridge but I can't hold much. I think the economy is going to have a hard time for awhile so I'd like to store some more. I think there's one certified cheese maker in Cincinnati if I'm not mistaken. I almost when down there for some instruction a couple of years ago..
Dave
Yeah - i washed the curd in this recipe. The original one doesn't have a washing step. Probably my next make tomorrow will be a traditional tomme without a washing step. OR maybe not - i love how my washed curds have been turning out... :D
The johnson control unit I use to control my temp works really well - i used to use it on a dorm style fridge - then we remodeled our basement and that fridge became a beer fridge.
There's a few cheesemakers in Cincy... - Urban Stead Cheeses and MY Artisano Foods are the ones that come to mind.
Trent
Interesting. Is My Artisino foods actually yours or is that the official name?
Dave
;D
"My Artisano Foods" is the name of the cheesemaker. Our only similarities is that we get our goat milk from the same farm...
I think my wife might have my head if I ventured into the cheesemaking business - though I have thought about it :D
Trent
I think I may have met those folks at a Jungle Jim's cheese tasting event a year or two ago.
Most likely!
You've also probably met/seen or heard of Guggisberg Cheese.
They're usually at the OH/PA/IN/MI cheese shows. Great people - I grew up in the area where they are located. Went to school with their grandson...
https://www.babyswiss.com (https://www.babyswiss.com)
If you're ever in Northeastern Ohio (Holmes County - Amish Country) - stop in at their shop. There's also plenty of other cheesemakers in that area too.
Trent
I've been to Guggisberg - unfortunately, the staff there was having an off day that day and no one wanted to talk... :-(
A few miles away there was another place - the name escapes me right now - where they had a much larger shop/make and it was a much more pleasant experience. Lots of cheeses to taste and the staff was very willing to chat. The shop overlooked the factory and you could see them working. I chatted up some of the employees and if the manager had not been away, I would have been invited to come to the floor!
Well that's disappointing with regards to Guggisberg. The other place a few miles away was probably Bunker Hill Cheese (formerly Heini's Cheese) - good people too.
Trent
Update on the Cabra Al Vino.
(i'll be posting more updates - fell off the boards a little bit over the summer.
Long story short - got COVID19, got hit pretty hard, stopped making cheese for a bit, but now back at it and starting eating the stuff i have been aging!)
opened this up (vac sealed) and had a taste.
It's good - not great. Not acidic - more on the bland side. I mean, the wine adds a depth of flavor that is very good but the paste is a little on the bland side...
I think it needs another 4-6 months of aging.
2 reasons: 1) i've gone back and looked at my previous makes with culture and have noted that they tend to need a little longer to age. and 2) - my aging process is using a medium sized beverage fridge and vac sealing. I can consistently get the fridge to around 47-48 degrees but not into the 50+ degree range. I can use a Johnson temp control, but that's reserved for the large fridge in the garage which I've now convinced my wife to keep for my cheesemaking... i think pushing the aging temp to 50-52 would allow for more robust flavor development compared to 47 degrees.
Thoughts?
Trent