Lovely tomme weighing in at 5.75#. My question is about early lactation milk! This was made from 4.25 gallons of Jersey milk. Henrietta gave birth just one week ago. I did think it was a bit early for making cheese, based on past experience with early lactation milk. All targets were as expected for pH and for texture post stirring, so my impression is that the milk solids were quite high.
Anyone have an opinion about early milk and what to expect with aging?
I am planning 2-3 months.
AC4U! Looks yummy :-)
Looks great! Our yields are uniformly higher than what is "normal" according to most sources.
For pressed/aged cheeses (like Tomme) I get around 1.2#/gallon during the main season, up to 1.5#/gallon during the fall and winter. Fresh cheese yields are about 3#/gallon. We milk high component Jersey/Normande cows.
Bantams, do you age for shorter times with such high yields? Is the moisture in solids ratio high as well?
Compared to what? ;)
It's not a moisture issue - it's simply more cheese per gallon (that I know of - I don't test moisture levels but haven't seen any indications).
We sell our Tomme anywhere from 3-8 months. It gets really good at about 5 months.