Hi,
I'm trying the manchego from the forum today. Half way through raising the temp to 40 before getting ready to go into the mold. So far, all seems to be going well. Fingers crossed.
- Jeff
Ok, it's now in the press, and is about to be flipped the 2nd time. (so going into the 3rd 15 minute press, before entering the longer one). I've made a 10 L (2+ gallon) batch, but the recipe is for a 1 gallon batch. Do I double the press and brine time as well?
- Jeff
length of press time will remain the same however if you are going to a larger diameter cheese hoop then you will need to increase the PSI. The amount of brine time will be slightly longer. Figure the total time as 1hr X weight of wheel X depth of wheel as a guide to start. You will adjust from there based on your finished product.
Thanks Zenith1
I went with keeping the press time the same, and figured on increased brine time. The cheese, out of the press, was 1756 grams (3.86 pounds). And the height is about 10 cm heigh (3.9 inches). I assume the formula works on pounds and inches, so that would be roughly 15 hours in the brine?
here's the cheese out of the mold and before the brine: I'm pleased with the outcome. This is the biggest cheese I've gotten yet from 10 litres. I usually use 10 litres of a "farm fresh full cream" (pasturized milk), but the store was out so I used 9 litres of standard milk and 1 litre of full cream, although that probably over corrects.
oh, "Farm Fresh Full Cream" doesn't mean direct from farmer here, it's the "branding" of the milk. It's store bought full cream milk.
- Jeff
Very nice. I tasted a 12-month-old Manchego today. Will you be targeting 12 months or less for tasting?
-Boofer-
Very inspiring cheese! Can you post a link to the recipe? I may have to try one of those next... :)
Thanks Boofer and Scarlet Runner.
Boofer, I was thinking around 4 months. I've got a gouda aging with a target of 9 months, and a caerphilly that should be ready next week. It's only 3 weeks, but it's supposed to be good quick and 3 weeks has been reported as being tasty. We'll see. I also have a Sage Wensleydale that I'm thinking of agine 3 months, and it was just made a week ago. So, this will leap frog a couple. And, these 4 cheeses is the size capacity of my cheese cave (a fairly small chilly bin, but I can keep it at a fairly constant 10 C, and the humidity seems good enough that none of them have cracked.
S.Runner,
I got the recipe from the forum here. I've copied it, so here it is:
Manchego
This is a generic recipe for making Manchego. Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese that originates from the La Mancha plains region south of Madrid in central Spain made famous for its windmills, as the setting for the novel Don Quixote de La Mancha and for Manchego cheese! This recipe uses more readily available but milder cow's milk, to compensate, Lipase is added to produce a stronger aroma and flavour.
Ingredients
• 3.8 liters/1 US gallon whole Cow's Milk.
• Optional: 2.5 ml/1/2 teaspoon Calcium Chloride.
• 1.25 ml/1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic 2 Culture.
• 1.25 ml/1/4 teaspoon Thermophilic B Culture.
• 1.25 ml/1/4 teaspoon Lipase Powder.
• Rennet diluted in 1/4 cup/50 ml water, amount depending on package directions and your experience with that brand.
• Salt for brine.
• Optional: Olive oil or wax or vacuum bag for aging.
Directions
1. Warm milk to 30 C/86 F and place in stockpot on stove.
2. Dissolve or dilute the calcium chloride in ~50 ml/1/4 cup, stir in.
3. Dissolve the Mesophilic culture in ~50 ml/1/4 cup water, stir, add Thermophilic culture, stir.
4. Add culture water to milk, stir gently, cover and set aside to ripen for 45 minutes.
5. In advance, dissolve the lipase powder in ~50 ml/1/4 cup water, let stand for 20 minutes, then add to milk after ripened and stir gently for 1 minute.
6. Dissolve or dilute the rennet in ~50 ml/1/4 cup water, add to milk and stir gently for 1 minute, cover and let rest at 30 C/86 F.
7. After ~1 hour, when curd is formed and have clean break, cut curds as normal.
8. Cut the curds into rice-size pieces by stirring with a whisk.
9. Gently heat the curds to 40 C/104 F at a rate of ~1 C/2 F every five minutes, this will take ~45 minutes, stir occasionally & gently with ladle while heating to keep curds from matting.
10. Let the curds settle for 5 minutes, then pour off excess whey.
11. Moisten a piece of nylon netting or cheesecloth large enough to double line your mold/hoop. Hand wring dryish then double line the mold/hoop.
12. Ladle curds into the mold/hoop, and press at light ~7 kg/15 lb pressure for 15 minutes.
13. Remove the cheese from the press, flip and replace and press at same ~7 kg/15 lb pressure for second 15 minutes
14. Repeat above step for 3rd 15 minutes.
15. Repeat and press with ~15 kg/33 lbs for 6 hours.
16. Unwrap and float cheese in saturated brine for 6 hours at 10-12 C/50-55 F, turn every 1-2 hours to ensure even rind development.
17. Remove cheese, pat dry, place on mat and age at 10-12 C/50-55 F and ~80-85% humidity "cheese cave" for ~1 week, turn once per day. If mould spots appear, scrub off with brush and brine or white vinegar.
18. When surface is dry, rub with olive oil or coat with wax or seal in vacuum bag and replace in "cheese cave" to age.
19. Cheese is ready after 1 month or longer.
- Jeff
Caerphilly is a Welsh miners cheese. The wives made these for the men and dusted them (the cheese, not the men) with flour to cut down on contamination in the mines. They ate them young (the cheese, not the men) because of time and resources. It is very tart when young and changes dramatically if aged.
Manchego on the other hand is NOT ready after a month. It needs 3 or 4 months before it's any good.
Patience grasshopper.
Hi Sailor,
Thanks for the information. I had heard that caerphilly was a miner's cheese, with some suggesting it was a supply of salt for them (necessary because they would lose so much salt through persperation while working). I would like to try this one young, then I'll probably make another and age it longer.
The Manchego is described somewhere as being eatable any time after 5 days, so at first I was thnking this was perfect as it could be ready between the finishing of the caerphilly and before the wensleydale. However, half way through making it, I read on the board here someone's post (perhaps one of yours even) where they pointed out it's a lot of effort to make a cheese just to eat it when it's not very good. That Manchego really has to age 3, and better, 4 months. That's why I've decided to hold my breath on this one, and wait until at least 4 months before trying it.
- Jeff
Hi,
Well, the manchego has been in the cave for over a week now and it's still looking good. I'll probably wax it this weekend or next, which will be the 2 or 3 week mark, depending upon when I do it. I'm curious, with a relatively small cheese (this is only a 10 litre batch), would coating it in olive oil just leave me with mostly rind if I'm aging this for 4-6 months? Boofer, the 12 month cheese you sampled above, how large was it, and how was it stored?
- Jeff
Quote from: JeffHamm on February 15, 2011, 08:04:26 PM
Boofer, the 12 month cheese you sampled above, how large was it, and how was it stored?
I'm afraid that particular cheese was the real McCoy from Spain...not one of mine. I have some vacuum-sealed that is approaching 12 months, but it won't be anywhere near the genuine article. I had developed the rind and rubbed it with EVOO prior to sealing it.
-Boofer-
Boof - 12 months can produce a really nice Manchego, so why don't you think it will be anywhere near the "genuine" article? Yes, true Manchego is made with sheep's milk, which has a MUCH higher butterfat content. But you can add a little cream and lipase to cow's milk and get a nice cheese. My actual Spanish (not Latin American) customers love my Manchegos and tell me they're as good as "back home".
I've just been washing it with brine, to firm up the rind;otherwise it's clean (no mold developing). I'll wax it to seal in the moisture though. I doubt I'll be able to wait a year. My cave only holds about 4 to 6 cheeses of this size, and even then they have to stack on each other in two piles of 2 or 3. So, until I get a bigger cave, I'm trying to get to the point where I can make a replacement cheese as we eat them.
I made this with 9 L "standard milk", and 1 L full cream, and added 1/4 tsp calf lipase. From Sailor's comment above I'm hoping that I lucked out and will get a good one. :)
- Jeff
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on February 16, 2011, 06:22:55 PM
Boof - 12 months can produce a really nice Manchego, so why don't you think it will be anywhere near the "genuine" article? Yes, true Manchego is made with sheep's milk, which has a MUCH higher butterfat content. But you can add a little cream and lipase to cow's milk and get a nice cheese. My actual Spanish (not Latin American) customers love my Manchegos and tell me they're as good as "back home".
As with all of the cheeses in my cave, time will tell....
I am very optimistic about quite a few candidates in there. My Manchego unfortunately is pre-epiphany. What I mean by that is, there seems to have been a point sometime last summer when the light bulb lit above my head. Cheeses made after that seemed to instill more confidence in me and seem to possess higher quality. To a point, "I
got it."
With the image of what a true Manchego should be, I will have another go at it and feel more confident that I can develop a cheese with good character.
-Boofer-
Hi,
Well, it's been 2 weeks in the cave, so today I've waxed it. I weighed this one before applying the wax, and it was now at 1446 g, so it's lost about 310g of moisture over 2 weeks. Does that indicate the cave is not humid enough? I don't have a hygrometer yet, but so far none of the rinds have cracked. Anyway, it had a great aroma and seems good. I'll be leaving this until June, so fingers crossed.
- Jeff
I opened a cow's milk manchego this morning, my last raw milk cheese. It's a little over 12 months old. Anyway the recipe said "manchego" but I have no idea if that's what I created. It's really tart and really "fragrant" (smelly). I know I used too much starter. However, it added lots of pizzazz to my omelet. Now I need to buy a real one and compare. :-\
I tried my Manchego recently and I came away with the same impression...smelly and having some taste characteristics that are to the point of being inedible. Very strong taste. Using the REAL Manchego I tasted recently (which was quite nice actually) as a benchmark, I have some studying to do and re-examination of technique and process if I wish to make another Manchego down the road. :(
I didn't overdo the lipase, but something sure seems wrong. I made one before and it developed similar taste characteristics, but not to the degree that this latest one did. It isn't sour, moldy, too salty, or crumbly, but seems to have the texture that is appropriate for the cheese style. Sure seems like the lipase took over and overshadows the rest of the qualities of the cheese. :'(
-Boofer-
Hello,
Following the thread here and wanted to ask a question. I followed the same Manchego recipe listed here. I've had a wheel sitting in the cave for about a month. 55 degrees, 85% RH. I've not waxed it or oiled it and I'm planning on letting it sit for another two months. Currently my plans are to let it sit and even encourage a little white mold to grow (I had to wipe off a little colony of blue mold that started, which hasn't returned).
Crowdsource questions:
1)Good plan?
2)Should I be waxing it or oiling it?
I recognize I can do what I want here, but experienced guidance is appreciated.
Thanks.
Boof, Keep in mind that real Manchego is made with sheep's milk and you will never replicate that with cow's milk. However, you can add extra cream to at least approach the butterfat content of the sheep's milk. This can make for a LOT creamier cheese. I find the texture and flavor of young Manchegos unacceptable, so I let them go for 6 months or more.
Boofer: this is exactly the right texture... it shreds without crumbling and melts like a dream. Just what I like. But the aroma! It still smelled cheesey in the house when I got home from work yesterday. Unfortunately a year ago I wasn't keep such good records and I don't remember whether I added lipase. I don't think I did.
Medomak: I hope someone with more experience can answer your question but I'd be inclined to cut it in half and wax or oil one and try letting the other sit. I cut mine and waxed both halves; ironically mold was never a problem with this make.
There's a lot I'd do differently if I had it to do over. It's too bad you have to wait a year to find out the consequences of your decisions and mistakes.
Quote from: Marta on April 01, 2011, 11:54:40 AM
But the aroma! It still smelled cheesey in the house when I got home from work yesterday. Unfortunately a year ago I wasn't keep such good records and I don't remember whether I added lipase. I don't think I did.
I'm not sure how close it would be to Manchego without the lipase or some goat milk added in. The smell (and accompanying taste) I'm referring to is very distinct. It's not really a "cheesy" smell so much as one of
lipase.
Sailor, I made this (my second Manchego effort) in December 2009 so it does have some age to it.
Quote from: medomak on March 31, 2011, 02:55:04 PM
I've not waxed it or oiled it and I'm planning on letting it sit for another two months. Currently my plans are to let it sit and even encourage a little white mold to grow (I had to wipe off a little colony of blue mold that started, which hasn't returned).
I would think you'd want to keep mold from growing on the rind. IMHO this is not a cheese with a complex rind like a Tomme or a Beaufort. Traditional Manchego rind has a basket texture from the mold.
Obviously after only two Manchego makes I am no expert. I offer what course I took for your consideration. I spent 5 months tending to the cheese in the cave, wiping with vinegar and salt where needed and picking creviced mold out with a toothpick (and applying vinegar&salt to that picked area). After that 5 months, I wiped with EVOO and then vacuum-sealed the wheel. At that time the rind was firm and dry and fairly resistant to mold incursions. I cut it and initially tasted in the 9th month. Within the past two weeks I have reopened one of the vacuum-sealed pieces and tasted the cheese again. In fact I just went down and cut a piece off to taste so I could more accurately describe it. It is slightly acidic and slightly crumbly. It does slice. As I recall, back when I first cut into it last September, I had left a piece of it after eating our meal. As we sat there, my wife apparently could not tolerate the odor coming from the cheese and she picked it up and took it out of the room. She does have a more sensitive nose than me. ;)
-Boofer-
I had some local sheep's milk manchego today and I found it a bit disappointing,
Had a crumbelly texture,mild flavour and mild odor.
Im guessing they released it before full maturation?
On the other hand I also had some aged british chedder which was amazing,
Its was sharp and creamy yet firm, Had this bite which grabs your tong like a stilton minutes that spiciness of the blue mold.
Boofer: your humble opinion was what I was looking for. Thanks.