Made a cheddar this weekend

[LoydB]

After doing some more cheddar research, I came across some good references on what my final curd PH should be (5.4), so this was the first time I've used PH measurement instead of elapsed time to decide when the cheddaring process was over. Turns out if I'd gone with the usual time, I would have been way off (it was 5.8 when the recipe time elapsed). I'll break this one open for the first taste in about 6 months - it will be interesting to compare it with the one I made that will be over a year old at that time.

Curds being strained off

Cheddaring process (flip the slabs every 15 minutes or so)

Breaking up the curds after cheddaring to mill in salt.

Ready for the first press.

The final 60# 24-hour press in action.

 

[02ebz06]

Looks great!
I looked into cheese making once, but never took the leap.

 

[jaxgatorz]

That's awesome !!!

 

[Nodak21]

That’s purdy… very nicely done

 

[JC in GB]

Looks amazing. Very nice work.

JC

 

[indaswamp]

Great work! I love that cheese press! Very practical!!

 

[Brokenhandle]

Looks really good! There's another rabbit hole that looks like it would be fun... but so far only made mozz.
Maybe you've answered this before but how do you store and age your cheese?

Ryan

 

[gmc2003]

Nice job Loyd, that a whole lot of good looking cheddar.

Point for sure
Chris

 

[indaswamp]

Looks really good! There's another rabbit hole that looks like it would be fun... but so far only made mozz.
Maybe you've answered this before but how do you store and age your cheese?

Ryan

Same chamber used for drying salami and salumi.

 

[uncle eddie]

Wow. Learn something every day on this site. Thanks for posting!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Thats awesome

I keep telling myself "No, your not getting into cheese making"

 

[chopsaw]

That's fantastic Loyd . Very impressive .

 

[indaswamp]

You use annatto powder in the cheddar to get the color?

 

[crazymoon]

LB, Nice work, I was always interested BUT I have no room for more toys!

 

[philpom]

Looks fantastic, we are all cheese monsters in this house.

 

[LoydB]

That’s purdy… very nicely done

Thank you!

Looks amazing. Very nice work.

Thanks!

Great work! I love that cheese press! Very practical!!

Thanks! This one comes with a spring-loaded piece, but I don't find it to be particularly accurate, whereas with weights (to paraphrase Henry Rollins) "sixty pounds is always sixty pounds".

how do you store and age your cheese?

If it's vac sealed, in the same fridge as my charcuterie. If I'm developing a natural rind, it needs to be someplace significantly more humid (85%+ versus 70-75% for charcuterie). You can do this using a ripening box in the charcuterie fridge (a plastic tray in a container with some wet paper towels and partially cracked lid). I'm probably getting a second fridge that I can use, though, to get better air circulation.

Nice job Loyd, that a whole lot of good looking cheddar.

Thanks!

Same chamber used for drying salami and salumi.

Mostly - see above.

I keep telling myself "No, your not getting into cheese making"

Famous last words.

That's fantastic Loyd . Very impressive .

Thank you.

You use annatto powder in the cheddar to get the color?

Liquid annatto (12 drops in this batch), but yes.

LB, Nice work, I was always interested BUT I have no room for more toys!

Thanks!

Looks fantastic, we are all cheese monsters in this house.

Thank you. Yeah, we can live off it.

 

[rbnice1]

Have you ever thought about doing a nice video walkign through your equipment and the process from start to finish? I know I would be very interested.

 

[LoydB]

Have you ever thought about doing a nice video walkign through your equipment and the process from start to finish? I know I would be very interested.

Gavin has that covered. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCE31MqUy6nIMJ_f8y4R3_AA

 

[indaswamp]

I was just about to post that video from Gavin Webber...he knows his stuff!