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Mal: Thanks! It was very tempting to use the excess mix of whey and port to something. :-)

Al: That Colby looks really nice. I haven't thought about adjusting the PH of the wine. I also have a couple of "Drunken Cows" in the cave made with redwine where no adjustments were made. Do you know why it should be done?

:-) Danbo

I don't even know if it has to be done. LOL  At the time I had just started making cheese, note the Mad Millie press used, and just assumed that the Ph would need to match or the various little critters in the cheese wouldn't survive. LOL

I'm not that experienced myself but I'm working hard to learn the art. :-)

Well, from what I've seen so far, you're doing great!!!

Thanks - it's a steep learning curve. :-)

Quote from: Danbo on January 26, 2015, 02:24:34 PM
Thank you Awakephd! :-)

You don't actually need a lot of pressure to make a good cheddar. I know that OzzieCheese has created perfect cheddars without the need for extreme press. I think that it depends a lot on how dry the curds are, room temperature etc.

Pressing details are in the make notes in the next post...

:-) Danbo

"not a lot of pressure" is relative -- the most weight I have put on a cheese is about 180 lbs on a 4-gallon make, so I am nowhere near the weight you used. But I am toying with ideas for a new press design, which would let me get up to 800 or more lbs...

Wowow!! That looks fabulous! And it's exactly what I had planned to make this coming weekend! I HOPE it's even half as nice as yours is!

I JUST joined this forum today and have yet to introduce myself - Hi! I'm Jo!

I just had to comment on your beautiful cheese. It's inspiring for my weekend endeavour!
I have made a couple cheddars before (one has been aging for 13 months now) and want to include the port soak tis time.

Thank you for taking the time to post all the pics and details!

You're welcome (and welcome to the forum)...

I'm sure that your cheese will be beautiful. It would be fun if you post some pictures.

Quote from: GoudaGirl13 on January 28, 2015, 05:03:58 AM
I have made a couple cheddars before (one has been aging for 13 months now)

Impressive - I'm not sure that I would have such patience...

:-) Danbo

I guess I have alot of patience.....there's a 1.5 year old parmesan and a couple goudas over a year too. Not to mention the hot sauces, pickles and ferments over a year....Moroccan lemons that were made in 2012. Yummmmmmm.....!!

Time WHIZZES past so quickly, to me.....perhaps I'm just having alot of fun...?!
It has never felt like time crawls slowly.....

For me Cheesemaking is a great way to train my patience... ;-)

I also cook sous vide, make pickled cabbage and love all the green house vegetables in the summer.

:-) Danbo

Well....I'm prepping tonight to make my Port soaked cheddar tomorrow. I thought about the excess port leftover (mixed with whey lost in the process) and decided to do a nice roast and use it in the basting, slowcooking and gravy. Did you do anything with the port runoff you had?

I'm using the same notes and guidlines I had made for the cheddar that just turned one year old and yours as a reference as well.

See you on "the other side!"

I look forward to see the pressed result. :-)

Unfortunately I wasn't as creative as you and I just poored the port-whey-mixture out the drain. :-(

:-) Danbo