Like the title says, this is my first attempt at an English or Traditional Cheddar cheese.
I’ve made several batches of Stirred Curd and one batch of Farmhouse, but never felt like I was ready to take the next step.
Well this weekend I decided to give it a go.
This was due to finally getting a Ph meter and finding a recipe that gave Ph readings at different points in the recipe. I found this to be a fascinating process and have decided that it is a necessary tool in cheesemaking (at least for me).
I have to say that I am really happy with the outcome of this wheel.
It is made from 3 gallons of 2%, 1 gallon of whole and 24 oz. of whipping cream.
The milk is store bought, as is (obviously) the whipping cream.
One thing that I found quite amazing about this cheese is that it actually pressed together.
At the end of the salting stage of the recipe I had these 1” - 2” square chunks of cheese that were quite cool, if not bordering on cold.
While loading them into the press I told my wife that it would be a miracle if they actually knitted together. Well folks I guess miracles do happen because this is one of the nicest cheese wheel surfaces I’ve gotten.
Anyway, I don’t want to bore everyone with how I’ve saved the free world by making this cheese.
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Oh…
It’s 8 inches diameter x 2-1/2 inches tall.
Nice wheel but I would have been happier with 4” thick.
I think next time I might try a 6 gallon batch to see how that does, OR use my 7-1/2” mold instead of the 8”.
Now you’ve done it again Dave. Got me thinking about doing another traditional cheddar myself. I’ve only done one, and it came together beautifully as did yours. The only problem is that I gave it to my Sister for Christmas (600 miles away) and I don’t know what it tasted like. Sooo, I guess it goes on the list of must do’s. BTW the same process is used in Derby and Leicester - hint, hint.
Thanks guys…I appreciate it.
Rich, one question..
If the same process is used for Derby and Leicester, what is the difference between the three cheeses?
You have to remember that I don’t own any recipe books and have only tried recipes I’ve found on the web.
At one point I nearly broke down and bought Ricki’s book but it was out of stock at the time and I never really gave it another thought.
My main goal now is to try and find a book that actually lists Ph readings for the cheese types.
I emailed New England Cheese Making about this over the weekend and Jim’s response was less than I had hoped for.
He basically said that the recipe types I’m looking for are spread throughout a LARGE number of different books, and can’t be found in just one book.
If anyone on here has any suggestions, I’d love to hear it.
Also, if anyone can supply any recipes with Ph targets that would be great.
The ones that I have right now are: Gouda, provolone, blue, traditional cheddar, Romano, Feta ,Camembert ,Colby & Swiss.
The additional types that I’m looking for are Monterey Jack, Parmesan, Farmhouse Cheddar, Stirred Curd Cheddar, Cambozola and Toscano Pepato.
If anyone could help, that would be fantastic.
Thanks,
Dave
Dave, I was unaware that you were without any printed recipes. You’ll have to increase your library. Maybe you could drop some hints for your birthday, anniversary, Easter, Labor Day, etc. etc. Anyway, the difference in the three cheeses is in the temperatures of both the ripening and cooking stages. Derby and Leicester are done at slightly cooler temps. The differences in the final cheeses is also very slight as far as I know. I’m still waiting for my Leicester to mature - 2 more months on a 9 month age.
You need THIS BOOK. It contains a lot of the information you need. While it does not have specific recipes and pH values for individual cheeses, it gives a more generalized description of the process, the variables, and how they effect the characteristics of the cheese.
As with every other cheese book I have found so far, it does not have all of the information I want, but it is the best technical reference I have found for less than $200.
I got the book “Fundamentals of Cheese Science” from the library. Was very disappointed, I figured a book that was over 300$ it would have recipes but instead it has a flow chart for a few with not PH. The entire book is really only suited to people with Chemist heads are very left brained, a 600page text book, ive copied this and that but most of it is useless to me.
The Danlac recipes do include PH values, if u buy the cultures from him then u get them free.
I think that one of the reasons a lot of these books don’t have “recipes” is that there is a very artisinal component to home cheesemaking.
One of the things I like about the American Farmstead Cheese book that I linked to in my post above is that it discusses a lot of the history and regional aspects of cheeses at the beginning of the book and then relates that to why, for example, a swiss cheese is made and pressed at a higher pH than say, a cheddar. There is also a lot of discussion about curd set, cooking, and other topics without getting too technical.
I learned early in my cheesemaking that like winemaking, it is much easier to make a consistently good product if you have at least a rudimentary understanding of the chemistry and physics of the process. This is also true in cooking. It is not necessary to be too technical about all of this, but without a basic understanding of the effects of things like pH, acidity, temperature, and time there is no predictability of the outcome.
The recipes that I do find are guides for making a particular type of cheese. Tim Smith’s book Making Artisan Cheese is very good for this, though there are a couple of mistakes I have found. For me, cheesemaking is both a right and left brain thing.
I agree one does need the fundamentals, thats why in the past I always said practice practice practice, if u dont have an idea as to what is going on then its very difficult to go beyond “painting by the numbers”. One thing I found is its very important to have a PH meter, it gives u another picture and insight as to the process, once one understands this then their less of shooting from the hip. The Science books however go into cell divisions and the molecular makups and changes, this is not something we need to learn, “Kinetics and Mechanism of Syneresis” is something that will most of our heads spin and dont need to know about the interaction of rennet to produce the coagulation (chap7). Chap 2 covers the “Overview of Cheese manufacturing” has plenty of information that we can all learn from and post on the wall. I will copy it and try and convert it to a doc, when I do I can send copies to those that want it, I wont post it just in case theirs copyright issues, it is a textbook from the UofA.
Neil, just for clarification, I think that you and I are talking about different books. I would agree that for most of us, the really technical cheese making science books aren’t necessary. I haven’t acquired any of them yet because I do not feel I am at a level where they would add any value to my cheesemaking. On the other hand, they do serve a purpose for those that want or need that technical detail.
The value of understanding things like the effect of pH and temperature on the process (including the mechanism of coagulation and syneresis) is that it provides a way of understanding what went wrong when our cheese doesn’t become what we expect. I think that we can all delve into this hobby at the level we want. Since I am a scientist part of the enjoyment for me is learning some of the details of the biochemistry of the process and how it affects the outcome. I may not make better cheese, but for me that is part of the fun.
Im not saying as a general rule that these books are not necessary, I thingk its great to hear from Left brainers on the insight to fill in the gaps that others with more right brains dont have. This is a team effort with individuals with dif strengths add to everyone else’s joy of making cheese and making it a less bumpy road. People that are just starting generally just need the basics so their not scared off and when their more confident they can venture into the deep water.
A general information information site which answered a number of my questions here <http://www.danlac.com/read/news> pages and pages of basic information and some more technical. Worthy of a ‘dig’ around.
Tom, great to hear from you again. How was your holiday?
Also, thanks for the link.
When I emailed New England Cheese Making Supply, they recommended the exact same book. I think I’ll have to wait until my wife isn’t looking and get that one ordered.
If you could help me with something else, I would very much appreciate it..
Today I emailed Egon at Danlac and asked about his recipes (thanks to Neil for mentioning this).
He quickly responded by emailing me 5 different recipes that I had been looking for.
The only problem is that these recipes do not give target Ph readings but instead show the percentage of acidity at various steps.
For instance, my recipe for cheddar gives the final Ph at 5.3 - 5.4.
His recipe gives the final acidity at 0.675 - 0.685.
My question is if there is any correlation between Ph and % of acidity.
Please keep in mind that I earn my living managing others….I do NOT have a scientific mind and many of the technical articles I’ve looked at lose me in the first few sentences.
I really appreciate everyone’s posts/advice on this subject.
And I do agree that understanding the process of cheesemaking is very important to success.
...and Rich..
Thanks for explaining the differences between the three cheese.
Do you have a suggestion as for a cheese recipe book?
I’ve heard good things about Ricki Carrol’s book but I’ve also heard some say it is quite imcomplete in some places.
Also, Tom…..great price on the book link you posted.
