This is the result of my experiments in making farmhouse Cheddar.
Cheese on the left is batch 1. It tastes kind of like a feta, but with a more solid, not crumbly texture.
Cheese on the right is batch 2. I added some annatto to make it a buttery yellow colour. The taste is less defined than batch 1, with a smoother texture.
I am very pleased with the results so far :)
Stuart,
The texture on both cheeses look great! Nice and smooth with no open places in the cheese.
What size wheels are these? They appear to be 6" diameter, but it's hard to tell with nothing to use as a reference point.
Regardless they really do look fantastic.
Congratulations on a great start.
Dave
the mold is about 7.5 inches on the inside diameter. The wheels are about 2 inches tall.
and thank you :)
Stuart they look fantastic, congratulations. So do you know, apart from the colour, why these two cheeses are so different?
Tea, it's probably because my temperatures were all over the place ;D
I like the results, but they are not what you'd call "Cheddar"... but hey, only my first two cheeses. I know I will get better!
I agee, as long as they are edible, I don't mind. Got to learn somehow.
Quote from: Tea on February 12, 2009, 04:13:26 AM
I agee, as long as they are edible, I don't mind. Got to learn somehow.
Exactly my thoughts :)
Congrats. They look better than the cheese of mine i was eating today...
My recommendations are to develope a system of logging exactly what you did (And did wrong) so you can go back and figure out what works and what does not.
Good luck..
Congrats. They look good! That's the first kind we made too. How long did you let it age? Ours is still in the "cave". We will try it in about two weeks. It will be around 1.5 months old.
I know people who are into "slow" food... They haven't tried making cheese yet to know what real Slow food is!
This is teaching me patience!
Yeah, how long did you age them for?
Quote from: Cartierusm on February 12, 2009, 09:10:26 AM
Yeah, how long did you age them for?
Carter is 1.5 months long enough aged to have a decent farmhouse cheddar?
these cheeses are made to the "farmhouse Cheddar" recipe I got in the booklet with my kit from Leeners. I made them on Saturday and Sunday this week, and they are already edible. I will lay some down in the basement for aging, but having edible results this quickly is giving me the spur to make more, and make it properly.... which is probably exactly the point they were trying to achieve ;)
Really edible already? Mine has zero flavor at that stage. LL, 1.5 is really the bare minimum for cheddar, if you can wait 3-6 months it will be way better.
edible, if a little bland. I have no doubt the taste will improve over time, so I have vacuum sealed 2 bags with 1/4 of each cheese in it for later consumption.
That's the way to go.
This is why i make 5 wheels instead of 1 large. I have no self control.
Kinda like salmon laying thousands of eggs, there is the slight chance that one wheel will survive to maturity.
Wayne's got the right idea, just like buying a couple cases of wine you like instead of a whole bunch of random bottles. Wayne can open one up periodically and check to see the progress and then consume when they are just right. Me I'll either have a butt load of good cheese to pass out or a whole bunch of cheese to feed the squirrels.
Quote from: Cartierusm on February 12, 2009, 07:28:16 PM
Really edible already? Mine has zero flavor at that stage. LL, 1.5 is really the bare minimum for cheddar, if you can wait 3-6 months it will be way better.
But this is farmhouse? :( We were gonna test this with the ale we just brewed (it will be ready in two weeks.
I don't think farmhouse means short aging, it could but I thought it just meant easier so you don't have to do the whole cheddaring step which lasts all day.
I point my learned colleagues to the great Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queso_Blanco
;D
Quote from: stuartjc on February 12, 2009, 09:01:50 PM
I point my learned colleagues to the great Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queso_Blanco
;D
I don't think that's the same thing, actually stuart.
Queso Blanco is a soft cheese, it's not pressed. There is Farmhouse, and Farmhouse Cheddar. I think Farmhouse is similar to the Questo Blanco if I remember from the Amish Community.
Quote from: LadyLiberty on February 12, 2009, 09:33:51 PM
Quote from: stuartjc on February 12, 2009, 09:01:50 PM
I point my learned colleagues to the great Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queso_Blanco
;D
I don't think that's the same thing, actually stuart.
I know :-P
But all I can do is follow the instructions in the booklet I got from leeners, which has two separate sets of instructions for "farmhouse Cheddar" and "regular Cheddar", if I can put it that way...
If I get my act together I will post a scan of the FH Cheddar here.
Like me and the flour sack towel I promised to post. ;)
Farmhouse cheddar is just like cheddar but a little more flaky.
From what I have read, Farmhouse Cheddar is ready to eat after one month of aging.
Stirred Curd is the next earliest to ripen at 3 months and then traditional cheddar is the variety that requires the longest aging period.
I'm not positive but I think I got this information from both the schmidling website and the Cheese Wizard website.
Anyway, I've tried a farmhouse at the 6 week mark and my kids proclaimed it an excellent cheese. Personally I found it to be a little soft but it did have a nice flavor.
Dave
Quote from: Likesspace on February 13, 2009, 01:51:47 AM
From what I have read, Farmhouse Cheddar is ready to eat after one month of aging.
Stirred Curd is the next earliest to ripen at 3 months and then traditional cheddar is the variety that requires the longest aging period.
I'm not positive but I think I got this information from both the schmidling website and the Cheese Wizard website.
Anyway, I've tried a farmhouse at the 6 week mark and my kids proclaimed it an excellent cheese. Personally I found it to be a little soft but it did have a nice flavor.
Dave
That's what I've read too. That the Farmhouse Cheddar is ready in a month. Mine will be at least two months when we try it.
L.L....
I just noticed that you are at nearly 200 posts in the short time that you've been on this board.
Sheesh, do you realize the pressure you are putting on the rest of us to try and keep up??
;D
Honestly it's people like yourself that make this forum what it is.
Every forum relies on the participation of it's members and you and are certainly doing your part.
Dave