Wayne's Cheddar: 082209

[wharris]

All,
Fist try at a large batch of stirred curd cheddar

List of Ingredients:

• 24gal whole pasteurized/homogenized off the shelf milk (1.89/gal at local grocery)
• 2 tsp Choozit MA11  (4.9g)
• 240 drops double strength Annatto 14.6g (diluted in 2/3 cup distilled water)
• 12tsp CaCl (77.7g)
• 6tsp tsp veal rennet (diluted in 3 cups distilled water)
• 9 tablespoons of flaked salt
• 10 drops Annatto/gal

My Goals:

• Get accustometd to the logistics of a larger wheel
• Make a cheese that reaches pH markers on time (quicker)
• pH Marker:  6.15 at end of cook/scald
• pH Marker:  5.4-5.7 after salting

Here is what I am gonna try.

• Mill the curds as well as stir them to a smaller size.  no more than .5in

Basic Process:

• Add milk to vat, start heating to 90degF
• Add Annatto
• add CaCl2
• When milk is at 90, add Culture.  Stir in for 1 min
• Wait 45 min then add Rennet Solution
• Wait 45 min or until clean break, cut curd, then let rest for 15min
• Stir curd and begin heating protocol from 90-100 degF  That is 2 deg/5min
• Let sit at 100degF for 30 min.
• Drain curd, not too long to avoid matting
• place in pan, stir curds with fingers, avoid mashing
• Add salt in two phases, allowing for slower absorption
• Stir every 5 min for 1 hour
• place in 8"mould
• Press@2PSI for 15 min
• Remove from mould/flip/redress/re-mould
• Press@4PSI for 30 min
• Remove from mould/flip/redress/re-mould
• Press@8PSI for 2hours
• Remove from mould/flip/redress/re-mould
• Press@19PSI for 24 Hours

Here is how it is playing out in real-life:

Time	Task	Water Temp	Milk Temp	pH
9:00am	Add milk	100	77	6.7
9:05am	added color	100	80	6.66
9:10am	added CaCL	100	81	6.56
9:27am	Added culture	100	90	6.52
9:39am	Data Point	102	92*	6.48
9:50am	Data Point	102	91	6.48
10:03am	Data Point	102	91	6.44
10:58am	Cutting curd (will let heal for 10min	99	89	6.45
10:58am	Begin cooking	102	85	6.45
11:13am	Begin cooking	102	90	6.33
12:08am	End cooking	117	100	5.95

Notes:
*Damn,  I went over again. Sloppy again.

Wrap up
Had a problem with the pH meter.  At the end of cook time, it decided that it needed refilling and that it needed calibrating.
neither went well in the time needed by my cheesemaking.  Note to self:  calibrate prior.

[Cheese Head]

Wayne, thinking of you today during your monster cheese making. Hope all is OK, pictures would be great when you have time, thanks for being on the leading/bleeding edge!

[wharris]

Pictures

[wharris]

More pics

[DeejayDebi]

Very impressive Wayne. How did you ever mill all those curds? How many molds did you use to press all those curds?

[wharris]

Report:
My pH meter let down this batch.  Can you believe that?

At the most critical point too.  In the middle of cooking the curds it started to flake out,  I had to use a watch and best guess. 

As i look at the meter today, the situation is a bit worse than i thought. I thought at first it merely needed calibrating, then i thought i needed to refill the tip.  But, as I look at the manual today, I see that the tip (the electrode) is at the end of its usefull life.  I need a new tip.  ($49usd).

I am not sure if this is due to wear, or incorrect usage.  In retrospect, I never filled the cap with the 4.01 solution like i was supposed to. (there is a sponge in there that keeps the tip conditioned)  So, my misuse might have shortened the tip's lifespan. 

Either way, having it fail right after cutting the curd yesterday is one reason my data kinda stops there. I was struggling to work the problem, logging data took a backseat. (the new curd knife worked perfectly btw)

Anyway here are some pics of the mould.
This is a CM105 mould from Ullmers.

[Cheese Head]

Looks great from here, those commercial molds look stackable for large gang presses. I'm surprised no weep holes in side. Let us know when it's out of the press !

[DeejayDebi]

Looking good hon! I love Ulmers - so much good stuff there! My pH meter flaked out a few days ago too I wonder if it's the same problem. I haven't tinkered with it since though.

[linuxboy]

Standard pH meters work via a semi-permeable glass membrane through which ionic potential is measured in terms of current. If you don't keep the glass moist in a buffer solution, it becomes damaged. In some cases, you can recondition it by soaking for a day in a 4 or 7 buffer solution. If you have protein buildup, you need to clean the glass tip first. For oils, soak in some soapy water for 5-10 mins. For proteins, soak in an enzyme solution or .1 M HCl (you can make this yourself, use the muriatic acid from the hardware store) for 5-10 mins.

[DeejayDebi]

If I can find my magnifier I'll re-read the directions. I think there was an inch or two in english.

[wharris]

I did not keep the pH meter's tip moist.  My fault.  Actually, now that i think of it, I read that and STILL failed to do it. I swear sometimes i really need to ride the 'short' bus.

Anyway.  I have pulled the cheese from the mould.  It has spent the last 24 hours at 5psi.

Here is the new wheel of cheddar cheese, with a 8 in wheel of parm, and a bottle of wine for a size reference

[Cheese Head]

Well huge congrats, that looks fantastic (& huge), you should be very proud!

Great color, texture, and shape!

Looking forward to news over the coming weeks and months.

Congrats again, great job.

[Captain Caprine]

Nice lookin' cheese Wayne!
I'd open the wine and celebrate.
CC

[DeejayDebi]

NICE! I could use that as a step stool! Looks like you got the color you've been looking for too. Wonderful wheel of cheese congrats Wayne!

[wharris]

Well, its official, my pH meter is dead. 

After fiddling with it, ordering/installing a new tip, trying to calibrate it, and spending 20 min on the phone with Extech, my pH meter was declared officially dead.

They are sending me a new one,  free of charge, immediately.

And I don't have to send this one back.

I can't argue with that.