Hi,
Well, I've made another Montasio. Still don't have the LH culture as a flavour enhancer, but you do what you can. The make went really well. Kept to the temperatures and times, and the cooking section, where the temp rises over time, was right on target. Very pleased. Still don't have a pH meter, so that's still a mystery as to whether or not I'm hitting the right range. The knit is looking very promising, so I'm expecting it to be a good one come morning.
I noticed in my last make that I didn't get any lipase smell, so I think my lipase powder is kaput. It's over a year old. Kept in the fridge the whole time. I haven't used it much, but it had worked well other times. This time, rather than soak it for 20 minutes prior to adding it to the milk, I just put it in with the culture. I was wondering if the chlorine in the water may have ruined it last time. I used the filtered water, but I'm not sure if the filter removes the chlorine or not? Will find out this time though.
Anyway, here are my make notes. I don't have any photos yet, but will post some tomorrow once it's fully pressed and out of the brine, etc. I made ricotta again, and it's now being used in a lazagne. Yum!
Take care.
- Jeff
Montasio: Sunday, Sept 18, 2011 17.5 C, overcast, low pressure
10 litres homebrand standard milk (pasteurized)
3 ice cubes thermophillic
½ tsp CaCl in egg cup of water
¼ tsp calf lipase in egg cup of water
0.6 ml microbial rennet IMCU 750 (13 drops)
1) Warm to between 30.5-35.0 (start : 6:57 am; start Temp 15.7 C)
2) Add lipase (time: 7:20 – temp 33.5 C)
3) Add starter (time:7:25 - temp 33.5 C)
4) Ripen 30 minutes (target Time: 7:55: got up to 35.2 C at 7:42 )
5) Add CaCl (7:54 temp: 33.8 C)
6) Add rennet (target floc 10-15 minutes) (time added: 7:57 temp 33.7 C | floc time: 10 m 30 sec )
7) Use 3x multiplier (wait: 31 m 30 sec; cut time 8:28:30)
8) Cut to corn kernel size (1/2 cm cubes), heal 10 minutes (start time: 8:35 – 8:45; temp 33.3 C)
9) Stir and cook curds while raising temp to 47.8-50 C (118-122 F) over 45-60 minutes (start: 8:45 33.3 C - reached 48.0 C at 9:43 am)
10) Let curds settle under whey, gather into large cake and drain (sit 17 minutes: 10:00 am)
11) After draining curds, break up curds and stir for 15-35 minutes (release whey) (start time: ??:?? end time 10:15) missed this step last time
12) Move to mold and press (time: 10:22-10:37; 2.5 kg : pressed in the pot; 0.18 psi)
13) Flip and redress; press for 30 minutes at 5 kg (10:41 – 11:11; 0.36 psi)
14) Flip and redress, press for 30 minutes at 10 kg (11:11-11:41; 0.72 psi)
15) Flipped and redressed, move to room @ 19C Increase weight to 20 kg (1.43 psi) (11:41)
16) After 2 hours, 1:41 flipped and redressed. Increased weight to 25.2 kg (1.81 psi for overnight press (knit looks good)
17) Removed from press 5:45 am, Sept 19th, weight 1176g.
18) Placed in saturated brine for 8 hours/kg (4 hours/lbs) Brine 5:45am - 4:15pm; weight post brine 1154g
Made ricotta with the whey. Heat to 93.3 C, add ¼ vinegar (used white vinegar this time). Got 266 g.
Photos to go here.
LOL. Here it is after a night with the press gang! I put the heater on in the pressing room, and kept the temperature around 20 C while it was being pressed. Up until now, I was just pressing at "room temp", which I realised is a bit cool in our apartment (around 16 C), so that could be improved. I figure the cooler temps may have slowed the acidification during the press, and may not help the final knit either? Anyway, this one has turned out really well. The final cheese is 1176g, superb knit, and my cloth control has greatly improved. I worked out the cheese density, and it's around 1.18 g/cc.
It's in the brine now. I've asked my wife to flip it for me at noon, and will remove it once I get home. Then the waiting begins. :)
- Jeff
Quote from: JeffHamm on September 18, 2011, 09:27:03 AM
Photos to go here.
- Jeff
Hey, Jeff, it looks great! :)
Pics?
-Boofer-
Updated with photos now.
- Jeff
Lookin' Good, Jeff! I think the idea of more warmth during pressing is a very good idea.
Thanks darius. By morning the room was sitting at 20 C, which is 68 F. I pressed in the pot quite a while, and last time I missed the step at 11. The end yield is in the same ballpark (within 100 g), and the previous one had a good knit too. Still, a slightly warmer room during the press may do things less visible at this stage. At least it can't hurt.
- Jeff
Quote from: JeffHamm on September 18, 2011, 05:55:32 PM
Updated with photos now.
- Jeff
You sneaky devil. Someone else who knows you can go back and edit a message.... 8)
-Boofer-
Ha! I remember reading some older threads, and John (CH) had used a reply to his own initial post to reserve spots for eventual photos. I thought I would do the same. It occurred to me later, though, that I could have just edited the original posting since I was only adding one photo. :o
- Jeff
Hi,
Well, I was comparing my make notes between the two Montasio's I've made and noticed that the difference in weight after brining is only 28g! The second one is a bit lighter, but I did mill and stirr the curds for a bit to release some whey, which I forgot to do the first time. Still, getting such consistancy in final output seems pretty good; that or I it shows I haven't learned anything since the last one! ;)
- Jeff
Just an update. This one is now in a vac seal bag, though I had to open it and brush off some blue mold that started developing. It's now 972g in the bag. Will continue to age this one through to next year. The first one I'll crack over Christmas/New Year's holidays. It should be around 6 months old at that stage.
- Jeff
Hi,
I was still getting some blue mold forming in the vac bag. I decided I would wax it to age it until next March. Maybe the change would help? Anyway, after giving it a good brush and dry wipe, I weighed it and it still weighed in at 972g! Nice. It looks and feels good too. The first one of these that I've made will be sampled this weekend. It will be just shy of 6 months. Looking forward to seeing how these have turned out.
- Jeff
Looks great. How does it smell?
It seems to have a translucent quality to it.
-Boofer-
Hi Boofer,
Unfortunately my lipase seems to have gone off, and the first two Montasio's do not have that aroma. The 3rd one, which has a ways to go yet before ready, has developed the expected smell. So, the sniff test on this mostly picks up the mold that had devleoped on it. It is a bit on the translucent side. I'm quite looking forward to the taste test. Should be interesting. Trying an 11 month gouda this weekend too! It was my first pressed cheese, so should be interesting. I'm hoping it's not bitter as I had used about double the amount of rennet I now use! Eeep!
- Jeff
I've been wanting to try this recipe, and had milk and time (I thought) today.
I started off with 3.5 gallons of warm fresh raw whole milk + 1.25 gallons of skimmed raw milk. I had a serious problem with the floc time though. Instead of 10 minutes, it was 40. :P I think this was caused by the milk. I didn't use CaCl as it is usually unnecessary with my milk. Should have used it for this make though. We are having bona-fide winter weather here with temps hovering around freezing. This is quite unusual for us. Someone mentioned that CaCl should be used for winter milk. I now see why. Live and learn.
Well anyway, despite the slow floc, I had to leave for work so rushed the end of the make, threw the curds into the press, and dashed out the door. I've just turned the cheese for the overnight press. It weighs over 5.5 pounds. It only stuck to the cheese cloth at the edges, which is probably a good sign. It does not feel like a montasio though. It feels very soft and rich. I don't know the ph profile as I don't have a meter. If the cheese is good (one can hope), it won't be reproducible.
I suspect it will be a very edible cheese though. Don't forget to post a photo when you get the chance.
- Jeff
The cheese looks nice coming out of the press. It feels very dense and rich. It was still at 5.5 pounds, so didn't expel any additional moisture in the overnight pressing. It is very nicely knit with good surface integrity. I had to short cut the final cooking, so wasn't able to get it up to the target temp. There was time for a perfunctory milling of the curds, but they were not milled very finely. (Chunks of ~1 inch.) They had knit in the bottom of the pot before milling. I'm also wondering if my thermometer is on the blink. It was stuck at 60F to begin with, and then did one of those amusing 'boing' things in moving up to 90F. I will calibrate before my next endeavor. Here's a quick pic before it went into the brine pot.
Hi Cloversmilker,
That looks really good! This is a very solid and dense cheese. I think it really does have to age quite some time (minimum 6 months) and I think will be very good at a year plus.
- Jeff
My concern is that it might have too much moisture in the center and crack while air drying before waxing. We'll see what the next week brings. It's looking better than I thought it would 24 hours ago. :D
Quote from: Cloversmilker on December 08, 2011, 06:29:02 PM
I'm also wondering if my thermometer is on the blink. It was stuck at 60F to begin with, and then did one of those amusing 'boing' things in moving up to 90F. I will calibrate before my next endeavor.
You may wish to consider a digital thermometer. I was using a long-stemmed analog and it seemed to measure quite a bit different than I thought it should be. I checked with my digital thermometer and the analog was indeed lying to me. Now the analog measures the double-boiler temp and the digital serves me for milk temp. The digital is also instant-read so I know right away what it's telling me.
Looks really sweet. Nice knit.
-Boofer-
The analog should be more accurate. I had 4 digital ones put in the same cup of hot milk and they all showed me different temperatures, as much as 9°F difference! Meanwhile the 3 analog ones were all right on the same spot and they were all different brands.
For digital one I suggest to get a good quality one that is NSF certified and can be calibrated, like the Taylor 9878:
(http://www.everythingkitchens.com/images/products/popup/taylor-digital-thermometers-slim-pocket-thermometer-9878e-popup.jpg)
If you don't feel like spending $25, I sell now long digital thermometers that are not NSF or calibrating. have a few dozens in a box here...
I've been using both an analog and a digital with an alarm when it comes up to a pre-set temperature. The analog, from a brewing supply, is quite accurate and I have not yet had to re-calibrate it. The digital is accurate, except that it has a lag. It tends to read a given temperature until it moves by several degrees. But it's a fairly low end model.