Hello everyone. I am so happy to have found such a great source of cheesy information. I've been able to find a few websites with recipes, but to have a place to ask questions is priceless!
I'm new to cheesemaking; found a source of goat milk and some direct set cultures, so have done several batches, including chevre, feta, and ricotta. After going to restaurant supply places, I found some stainless steel cake rings and have improvised a press using lots of weights. My first pressed cheeses were eggnog queso fresco. The first one was great with an amazingly delicious flavor, but not a real "cheesy" texture. It turned out more like a very heavy cheesecake. The second one is still in the process of aging for a week, then I'll give it a taste.
Not sure what direction to head next. Maybe some smoked mozzarellas or cheddars. Would love to hear about peoples' cheese smoking experiences; wood types and temps.
So, thanks in advance for all the wonderful information I'll be finding here. It's much appreciated!
Hello Tina and welcome! I am a big fan of using cherry, apple, pecan and hickory for most smokes. I do have a good variety of woods I use for different things and a pretty extensive wood smoking flavor chart you can download here:
http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Downloads_files/SmokingFlavorChart.pdf (http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Downloads_files/SmokingFlavorChart.pdf)
As far as temperature keep it as cold as yo can at least under 90 degrees or you'll melt your cheese. Havarti seems to have an even lower melting point than most. Use charcoal and limit it to about 5 or 6 pieces just enough to get you chips burning. Keeps the smoke very light. Cheese absorbs smoke quiclky. A very light smoke over a longer period is better but in general 45 minutes is enough time unless you can keep the temperatures COLD and the smoke extremely light.
Welcome to the CheeseForum Tina.
Hi Tina, welcome, lots of smoke type posts here, some are titled Smoke, others are in threads, so many be easiest if you use Search tool.
Have fun!
Good morning Tina and welcome to the forum.