Hi,
Well, I'm trying my hand at Dunlop, which is a Scottish form of cheddar. It's now in the press, and I think the make went fairly well. A fairly long floc point (20 minutes), and I went with a 3.5 multiplier to make it a bit moister and creamier. It's in the press now, and in a couple hours I flip it for the night. Tomorrow, it has to be put in 60 C water for a minute, then back in the press for 24 hours. I'm assuming the hot water bath is just to warm the curds on the outside a bit to help with the knit, and perhaps to wash some of the surface acidity away? Anyway, here are my make notes. the press times near the end aren't filled in yet, but that's because I'm not at those steps yet. Photos when they are available will be posted.
- Jeff
Dunlop : March 26th, 2011. Raining, cool.
10 litres Silver top (whole milk)
4 ice cubes mesophillic (flora danica)
0.6 ml rennet
¼ tsp Calcium chloride
1) Warm milk to 30C.
2) add calcium chloride
3) Add the starter (Time: 12:05 : temp: 31.4 C)
4) Ripen 1 hour
5) add 0.6 ml rennet (time: 1:05 : temp: 30.5 C)
Floc time = 20m 30sec.
6) floc 3.5x = 70 m 15 sec; cut time: 2:15
7) Cut into broad bean size cubes (1 cm?) & stir
8 ) raise temperate to 36 C over 20 minutes (start time: 2:21 end time:2:40; 36.3 C)
9) cook 20 minutes (start time: 2:40 end time: 3:00)
10) drain whey
11) cut into several (4) broad slabs
12) stack, & change order of slabs several times over 30 minutes (start time: 3:10 end time: 3:40)
13) Mill into small pieces (thumbnail size)
14) sprinkle with salt (amount not stated in recipe; I used 2 tbls)
15) wrap, place in mold, press lightly for 15 minutes (start time: 3:55 end time: 4:12)
Did this press "in the pot"
16) press heavier for 3 hours (start time: 4:20 end time: 7:20)
17) flip & redress, press overnight (start time: ?:?? end time: ?:??)
18) remove from cheesecloth, and dip in 660C water for 1 minutes (start time: ?:?? end time: ?:??)
19) redress and press for 24 hours (start time: ?:?? end time: ?:??)
20) air dry until dry to touch
21) bandage or wax for storage
22) Ripen 10-15 C, 85% humidity. Ready in 6-8 weeks (can age longer)
I cant wait to see some pictures. I have a bit of Cheese making embargo going on here. I have not made anything since the beginning of March, just too busy right now. I hope it turns out for you.
Hi pliezar,
Here's the cheese just before it goes into the 66 C water for a minute. It's weighed in at 1516g, which is typical of the yield I get from 10 litres when the cheese is fresh. It will lose moisture, and probably end up around the 1 - 1.25 kg mark.
Anyway, the knit on this one has turned out really good. I stacked and milled the cheese in the large stainless pot that I used to make the cheese (I drain the whey into another one) and kept it in the sink of warm water. This kept the curds warm, and they expelled lots of whey, but still knitted well. I'm hoping this turns out as well as it looks. I'll wax this in a couple weeks and age it for 2 or 3 months I think.
- Jeff
Now THAT's a purty cheese!
It really looks wonderful, Jeff. Nice job on the knit. :)
Thanks darius. I seem to have improved on my cheesecloth wrapping as well, so I'm pleased with the outcome. I forgot to mention (and modified the first post to include this) that I did the first 15 minute press "in the pot" as per Sailor's advice. Basically, put the mold in the pot and keep it warm in the sink. I added some boiling water to the sink water, to increase the temperature to ensure the air temp inside the pot was warm.
- Jeff
Well, pride comes before the fall, as they say. During the second press of 24 hours it appears that the weights were not quite lined up and the cheese become unevenly pressed and now has quite a nice slant to the top. Sigh! Oh well, the knit is still intact, but I'm assuming the internals will be full of holes.
Anyway, was my own fault for not double checking before going to bed.
Oh yah, it's down to 1426g after this last press.
- Jeff
Oh, that's a shame, Jeff - really beautiful cheese, well done on the make.
Still, I have to admit, I kind of admire the cheese's rakish tilt. It's got moxie. ;D
Looking forward to seeing how this develops. :)
Hi,
Well, I've got it sitting "point side down", with the short side propped up on cheese cloth to see if that will help level it a bit. I don't want to put it back in the mold with weight, as I understand the pressing acidifies the cheese; or is it just that it acidifies over time, which just happens to be when it's in the press? Not wanting to risk over acidifying it (despite not having a pH meter, so it could already be over the top) I'll just see if I can gentle it leveler.
Actually, I decided to put it back in the mold point down without weight. Hopefully that will do it.
- Jeff
Hey, the tilt gives it a rakish character... 8)
Perhaps I should just accept it and call this cheese "Tam o slanter"? ;)
- Jeff
Keep your chin up, Jeff.
Even if Tam won't. ;D
(I bet it's going to taste wonderful).
Or you could just call it "The Dunlop Pisa" ;D
LOL! thanks guys.
Well, after letting this one sit in the mold on it's pointy head for the day, it's improved. Not as pretty as it originally promised, but it no longer looks like you could ski down it either.
- Jeff
I think it looks good, So my flight arrives at..... just kidding. Good Save.
Good save indeed. Congrats, Jeff, looking forward to following its progress.
Thanks. It has a "weak" side (on the left in the photo), so when it sits on that side I have to stick a bundle of cloth under it to prevent it from forming a slope again. Once the rind firms up it should be ok. Anyway, it's now air drying and looking good. Will probably wax it around 2 or 3 weeks, and then age it for 2 or 3 months at least. It's supposed to be a quick aging cheddar so I'm not looking to keep it around for an extended period, but do want it to have a chance to develop some flavour. Will see how well we keep to plan.
- Jeff
Looking good, Jeff, in spite of the slope. I've had that happen, too, but it doesn't affect flavor.
Hi,
This cheese is comming along nicely. Today, however, it sprouted some velvety white mold. I had this come up on a butterkase I've recently made as well. Both of these cheeses included Flora Danica as the starter culture (although the Butterkase has thermo in there as well). Neither of them has anything else added as a culture. Does FD cause a white surface mold to grow? I've not washed either with a regular brine bath, until I saw this. I should have taken a photo, but just brined it away. Just curious if this is worth letting it grow, or is it best to keep it in check.
- Jeff
As a Scotswoman, I must say, your cheese looks lovely, even after the "accident" ! I'll be looking forward to it's progress and to your review of it after you try it.
Laurie Macrae
I think it looks really good, maybe because of the slope. :D It does add character & will make for a good coversation before you cut it. ;) That happened with my feta, I had it on a hoop, hanging on a spatula over a strainer (the strainer was on the lip of the pot), didn't realize it had gotten off the spatula in the middle of the night so it was in the strainer/colander, tilted...luckily, it was only feta, so it didn't really bother me too much!
Hi,
Although this still has to age quite awhile before I cut into it I thought I would show an update as it's developing quite a surface. It's now got a white mold covering it, and some black spots have formed too. there's also a few bright red spots, and a bright yellow patch. I've seen similar things on other people's cheeses so I'm not overly worried. It's now weighing 1290g. Anyway, can anyone tell me what the white mold is? I used Flora Danica as the starter. Does it come from that?
- Jeff
Just another update on how this one is developing. It seems to have developed some brownish regions, that have a definate mushroomy or earthy smell to them. I've not added any kind of wash to this, so I'm not sure where all this growth is comming from. I've not had any problems with contamination before, and the aroma is not "off" but fits the descriptions that are often used with cheese rinds. Anyway, I decided to give it a wipe down with white wine vinegar and then a wash with saturated brine. I've got this in with my romano, and the romano rind is still as clean as the day it was made.
- Jeff
Jeff,
I was reading that Dunlop can have this type of rind. I found a few pictures for you. Both kind of have what you have described, so I think you may be on the right track with your cheese.
Thanks Ian. It all seems properly cheesey type rind developement, I'm more curious about where the molds are comming from. Presumably natural environment since I'm not adding anything except the starter cultures. But I suppose it could come from there?
Anyway, I'm glad to see that it's not going too far astray. We're going away this weekend, so it may end up comming with us and getting eaten. Not sure yet.
- Jeff
Hi,
Well, this is now just about 6 weeks on. It's probably going to get cut into this weekend as this is the target time. It's now at 1214g, and has developed a bit of crusty outer rind. I've washed it brine any time blue developed, or if this got a bit too hairy looking, but overall have sort of let it develope. Not sure how this will turn out, but I'm curious to find out.
- Jeff
Hi,
Ok, so we decided to try it today. Here's what it looks like inside. The aroma, while still cool out of the aging chamber, is very nice. When slicing it, it was very soft (not like soft cheese soft, but soft hard cheese soft, if that makes any sense) so I'm expecting it to be nice and creamy/moist. I was getting a bit concerned with fighting the mold, but it's all gone for the best I think. The rind is not too thick, there are a lot of mechanical holes (my press set up is not adequate to close these as all my pressed cheeses come out this way, whether or not I press in the pot, etc), but I'm not concerned by that. I'm sure this will melt well, and once it warms up (I've only just cut it now) we'll have a sample. The small amount that sort of slide up the knife as I was cutting it tasted really good, so I know it's not off. I was going to wait another day or so, but some friends are comming over tomorrow and I was thinking of giving them some but then realised I wanted to make sure it wasn't a distaster. It's not, and now I must not let greed take over, my precious! :)
- Jeff
Ok, it's at room temp and we just tried it. Wow! This is my best one yet I think. A really nice smooth and creamy texture, with a very definate cheddar flavour. The rind is not too tough or dry, but has a nice hint of mushrooms to it during the finish, but at just the right level given that this is a mild cheddar after all (they sort of show up just enough to let you know they are there, then fade slowly).
Sadly, though, when I gave some to my 3 3/4 year old daughter, she took one bite and said "This is not my yummy cheese! This is for big kids." (She only likes store bought "tasty cheese", which is a slightly sharp cheddar). Oh well, all the more for "the big kids" I guess.
- Jeff
It looks wonderful, Jeff... and sounds like it tastes wonderful too. Congrats!
Thanks darius! I just noted I was originally thinking of aging this 2 or 3 months, but obviously I had forgotten that as I've had it in my head that this one was to be opened at 6 weeks (the minimum indicated in the recipe). That's ok, as I wanted to know how it was progressing as the rind was doing unexpected things (the black spots, red spots, yellow blotches, and lots of white mold forming). I figure it's better to sample early on to learn what to look out for. My confidence is boosted as a result, and I know not to worry if I see similar things develope (although I would like to prevent the black spots as they aren't attractive at all).
- Jeff
Looks nice, and not even "dunlop-sided" as per your initial pics. I have done some in-press salvaging of similar malformations (occupational hazard of ad hoc weight stacking . . . ) and it looks like yours recovered very well. Glad to hear of the nice taste and texture, keep us posted as it ages!
Looks great! I've only opened a couple of my cheeses, but, like you, they have holes, too. I'm attributing that to the press also, to satisfactorily explain to myself. :P It's not affected the taste, as far as I can tell. I will have to file this in my to-make list also. Looks tasty!
Thanks. This one is a very nice, mild, moist cheddar. It has a very creamy texture, and it melts beautifully. My motherinlaw grated some on top of a shepard's pie and it was perfect. I've melted it on toast in the microwave as well. Personally, I like just a chunck of it as is, but basically I would put this one in the "do again" list for sure. I might make one for longer aging, in which case a floc multiplier of 3, rather than 3.5, is probably a better choice. My understanding (limited though that may be) is that the use of the longer multiplier is good for a quick aging moist cheese (i.e. age up to 3 months) but if you want to keep it for long aging, then you should use a shorter multiplier.
- Jeff