I made a 7 gal Cantal on Thursday. Very quick make! I pressed it for 12 hours at 25 pounds, and then 12 hours at 50 pounds. Then, I milled it into rather small pieces and salted. I warmed the curds back up to about 86 degrees, hoping to get a better fuse and smoother rind than past attempts at Cantal. I pressed at 175 lbs for 48 more hours, keeping the room around 80 degrees. The rind is better, but still has imperfections. I plan on getting a pneumatic press before trying this one again.
John
Cantal is very difficult to press properly.
I'm hoping 500 lbs on an 8" wheel will work. Does rewarming the curds do anything (moisture, acidity)?
Thanks. John
How are you going to treat the rind?
Dry, oil, and vac seal after a month or so.
I get better rind than i can see at Your pic when i make cantal. But after air drying there appear cracks. This happens to me everytime. The last cantal i decided to seal after only 4 days. Of course that will be the rindless cheese but i like it's taste and flavour so much!
Real Cantal has an awesome looking natural rind and they age it in caves and wipe it with cloth. I wonder what they put in the cloth. Vinegar maybe?
Washing Cantal rind? It's a 3% brine, used twice a week. If you're lucky, it ends up with a grey-red rind.
A natural rind would be great. But, with the irregular surface of this one, it will be bagged.
I just ordered a pneumatic press from a forum member. Cantal will be the first cheese it presses.
jawdog,
do You line the mold with cheesecloth? The rind at Your pic looks like You don't.
And the the good press is the better solution You are right I believe.
Yes, I use a medium weave cheesecloth. It is dry now and hasn't cracked yet.
So at my opinion You've got the success with this very wheel. It's better to have some caverns but no cracks :)
How about sealing it in warm 60c water\whey for a few seconds like some do with cheedars?
I've tried that, but 60C is too low to seal the rind evenly. And when i went to higher temp i was forced to place the wheel upon something i could put into hot water instead of my hand. The cheese stick to any material i use. May be i did something wrong but the result was ugly :(
The better solution is to increase the pressure anyway.
How similar is the Cantal to the Laguiole? Would an oiled bandage (burlap?) be appropriate for your wheel?