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I learn lots of new things with each new make, and, among other things, I learned this time around that if you make Manchego with cow's milk, then it's called Hispanico.  During this make, I pressed under whey for the first time, used my new cheese vat setup and also got to use my new cheese press.  Fun stuff!

Ingredients:
2 gallons milk (Lucerne)
1/4 tsp MA4002
1/2 tsp CaCL
1/2 tsp Rennet

Process:
Heat milk to 72F
Sprinkle culture, hydrate for 2 minutes, stir, acidify for 15-20 minutes
Heat milk to 86F (quickly) while stirring, hold this temp for 30 minutes
Add CaCL, stir 2 minutes, add Rennet, stir 1 minute, sit quietly for 30 minutes
Cut vertical cuts only at about 1", let rest 5 minutes
Cut curds to 3/8", let rest 5 minutes
Raise heat 3F every 5 minutes to 98F, stir gently, about 40-50 minutes
Remove whey to 2" above curds, consolidate curd into circular mass, press with plate/8lbs, 15 minutes
Transfer curds to sanitized mold, hand press, then press with 4-5x weight of cheese for 7 hours
Brine cheese in heavy brine for 3-4 hours per pound
Remove cheese from brine and air dry 1-2 days until dry to touch

All the process steps went well/according to plan except for the initial set of the milk.  Rather than taking ~45-50 minutes, it took 75 minutes to achieve a clean break.  I tried to accommodate all of my curds in a single 5" mold, and, well, let's just say it was a bit overstuffed.  I ended up double stacking 5" molds to contain the curds until they pressed down below the height of my original mold, but I did get a bit of a "muffin top crease" from my shenanigans..... I'll drop the next recipe to 1.75 gallons of milk so I don't have to mess with that again!

Anyway, the cheese is just out of the brine now, it has firmed up nicely, and is beginning the air drying phase.  A few pics.....

Double-stack press:



Single stack:



Post press, pre brine:



Thanks for looking, and I'll post back here with updates as I go.  I think I'm going to aim to age this cheese out about 2 months, and plan to do a paprika-infused oil rind.

Rich

Very cool, this was the 2nd cheese I ever made, which I affectionately called a cow-chego

I only aged mine for 30 days and it was good but somewhat uninsteresting, wish I had aged it longer!

Also, rather than using less milk next time you should just get a bigger mold! And if you hven't already done this in the future I would recommend removing the cheesecloth from the cheese after a couple hours of pressing...this will also help you get a smooth surface. The creases just make it pain to maintain the rind during aging (unless you are doing a wild rind)

Quote from: cheesehead94 on January 20, 2019, 04:23:11 PM
Very cool, this was the 2nd cheese I ever made, which I affectionately called a cow-chego

I only aged mine for 30 days and it was good but somewhat uninsteresting, wish I had aged it longer!

Also, rather than using less milk next time you should just get a bigger mold! And if you hven't already done this in the future I would recommend removing the cheesecloth from the cheese after a couple hours of pressing...this will also help you get a smooth surface. The creases just make it pain to maintain the rind during aging (unless you are doing a wild rind)

I have a bigger mold on it's way to me already, so that will give me more options in terms of volume with future makes.  Regarding the "naked pressing", I actually did press this one without the cheesecloth for the final 3 hours, so I guess that my creases from the initial pressing were just too well set to get smoothed out.  I think that the bigger mold will help with this issue as well, as I think it will be a bit easier to pull the creases out of the cloth with more room in the mold (I may be imagining that, but we'll see.....)  I'll just be as vigilant as I can with the rind, and if need be, I can vac pack it.

R

Yep, definitely not the end of the world, mostly just a matter of convenience!

And by the way, I still haven't found a good way to consistently get crease free rinds every time ...cheesecloth loves to wrinkle haha.

That great Rich
I make my Manchegos with goat milk...and since they are of the breed La Mancha, I call mine La Manchego.

I am a Spaniard living in Spain and I have never heard that "Hispanico cheese" here. 

Not saying that does not exist, but is not widely used

Good luck with your cheese anyway 

Quote from: PacoSEDG on January 29, 2019, 11:13:45 AM
I am a Spaniard living in Spain and I have never heard that "Hispanico cheese" here. 

Paco-

Well, whatever it's called, it smells fantastic!  Welcome to the board!

Rich

Thanks Rich 

"Hispanico" is a way to refer to the type of cheese without using the protected name "Manchego." When you can get the real thing, no need for the substitute name!

Outside of the protected name, there are some similar outstanding cheeses, if you can get your hands on a Zamorano or a Roncal, do not hesitate!

I love Zamorano and highly recommend it. 


Susan