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Trying a cheese style in the Jeff Hamm repertoire, this is a bit of an experiment.

I anticipate this being a treat around the Christmas holidays. My guidance was Jeff Hamm's Wensleydale series. I did make a modification here and there, hopefully in positive directions.   I thought the buttermilk might bring its nuance to this style.

Make started: May 24, 2014 1:30PM (this was the second make of the day following my Saint Paulin #4)
initial milk pH: 6.70 (with buttermilk addition)

2 gallons Dungeness Valley whole raw milk
2 gallons Twin Brooks 2% creamline milk
8 ounces Twin Brooks cream
8 ounces cultured buttermilk
1/4 tsp Aroma B
1/4 tsp CACL
1/32 tsp dry calf rennet
3 TBS pickling salt

Ripening temp: 90F
Floc factor: 3.25

All seemed to be going smoothly until I was cooking/stirring and the pH seemed to drop through the floor:
4:30PM  The pH was 6.51 @ 93F and the curds were being raised to 100F, stirring gently.
4:50PM  The pH had dropped to 6.35 @ 96F.
5:00PM  I drained and started cheddaring and the pH was 6.28...yikes!
6:37PM  pH 5.80 and I'm cutting into 1 inch cubes.
8:00PM  pH 5.40; milled by hand, added salt in three stages; pressed curds into prepared plyban-lined mould.
Pressed under whey with 5 lb weight on end of press lever (total weight: 22 lbs) to knit rind; 15 minutes.
Flipped, redressed, pressed under whey with the same as before for 15 minutes.
9:30PM  Removed whey; pressed in warm pot with 4.9 psi.
11:20PM  Flipped, redressed, pressed as before with 4.9 psi.

May 25
8:00AM  Removed from press; weighed 1695 g; into minicave to airdry at room temperature.
11:00PM  Moved to cave @ 53F.

I had some blue & black incursions which were brought under control with vinegar and salt. Later some Geo showed up.

July 24  Brushed down molds
July 30  Noticed some minor cracks showing on on flat surface. Vacuum-sealed to preserve moisture and halt cracking.

Now I wait and watch....

-Boofer-

A cheese to you Boofer!  That looks to be developing very nicely.  Wensleydale was (in the 1100s) a sheepmilk cheese, and there's a blue version of it as well.  It also can be eaten quite young, or aged out.  Quite a nice versatile base for a number of cheeses. 

- Jeff

Thanks, Jeff. I really hated to seal it up...it cried to be a natural rind, but I needed to stop the drying/cracking rind.

Amazing golden hue, huh? No outside assistance here. Just the rich beta carotene in the milk.

-Boofer-

As much as I had hoped to just have this carry on as a natural rind, the cracks appeared in the rind. Vacuum-sealing should halt the progression of the cracks.

-Boofer-

Too bad about the crack. Your ripening container has condensation on it in your pics. Was the humidity not high enough? I once had a cheddar crack on the 3rd day. The humidity was constantly in the 85% RH range, I just never realized there was so much air circulation in the cheese cave.

I decided to cream-coat the wheel yesterday to allow it to continue to lose moisture if it needed to while protecting the rind.

After the coating had been on a while and had started to dry, I noticed these small cracks in the coating. It was as if the coating had begun to separate or break down. I'm monitoring the process.

-Boofer-

This cheese seems determined to crack, but I'm sure you're expert care will convince it otherwise.  How long are you planning on aging this out?

- Jeff

Was moisture collecting in the vacuum sealed bag before you cream coated?

Sorry for the delay, Susan. I lost track.

I believe there was a little residual moisture in the bag. The flat-surface rind of the cheese was slightly moist even with air-drying when I coated it. It still seems like it wants to sweat while in the cave. I have it resting on a small needlepoint to help it air out underneath...and I'm flipping it once or twice a week. So far, the cream coating is intact.

-Boofer-

This cheese is six months old and it seemed like a good time to cut into it. I didn't want to have it get too dried out. I've been monitoring it and flipping it weekly.

When I pulled the cheese out of the cave, the cream coating was slightly sticky and the cheese aroma was very distinct. The cream coating does limit moisture loss but not entirely. The cream coating seemed very thin in places and wanted to adhere to the drier parts of the wheel. Fortunately, the cheese beneath the coating was dry and okay...no schmear apparent.

The development of the rind at the edges where the sides meet the flat faces was harder as you would expect. It was nonetheless pleasing as I sampled a small piece. Good clean flavor, slight piquant/sharp note, adequate salt level, and it melts very nicely...very passable for my first effort at Wensleydale. Thanks for the inspiration & motivation, Jeff. 

-Boofer-

Very nice looking wensleydale!  Great colour.  A cheese to you.

- Jeff

You beat me to it jeff
I concur Nice
have another cheese

Looks beautiful. I love how yellow your cheeses get. Have a cheese.

Thanks, guys.

Hey Jeff, I found this to be a mild cheese. Has that been your experience? It's definitely one worthy of repeating.

-Boofer-

Hi Boofer,

yes, it's a fairly mild cheese, but should have definate flavour (so, mild, not bland).