Help me decide what cheese to make first. Now I know your gonna say “bag cheese” or something like that but I’ve made plenty of paneer in my life and I attended a one day course where we made feta and camembert now I want to laun ch into the hard stuff.
So this is what I have
The Vision A natural rind cheese, like Cornish Yarg without the nettles (unless I can find some nettles ) Yarg
The Milk Unhomogenised, organic milk. Pasteurised.
Stuff I have A cave that in winter oscillates between 4 and 12C and 80-90% humidity.
Husband is making a press press link
Molds made from fish oil cotainers about 4” diameter by 4.5” high.
So what do you think? I thought I could make the leicester recipe from cheesemaking made easy and miss out the red colour???
Tell me where I’m going to get into trouble please.
Sounds like you’re wanting to do a hard cheese. Leicester is a good choice, however it really requires a long age time. Perhaps you might look at the Derby recipe. Process is similar, aging requires less patience - and trust me, its delicious. Or, if you’d rather not tackle the cheddaring process immediately, a stirred curd cheddar would be a good break in. If it doesn’t have to be a cheddar, a Gouda is not very difficult and also delicious. But here’s a really good place to start - Manchego. Its very easy to make, gives you a nice hard cheese texture, and only requires a minimum of 1 week to age. You could be eating on it while you make your second cheese. Whatever you decide, I’m confident you’ll have fun. Keep us posted through the process.
I agree with ‘Green Cheese Maker’ waiting for months until the ‘latest’ matures is frustrating. You should try any that matures fairly quickly.
How about a Farmers cheese, fairly simple but ready in a month. Gouda, Edam, Havarti these are all quickies compared to Parmesan and cheddars.
Either way, please tell us what you decide, then tell us how you got on and even publish the results in the ‘Recipe’ area on the home page, so we can all share the recipe.
According to “cheesemaking made easy” derby or leicester should be aged for 3 months and that seemed like the minimum for a hard cheese. The difference between the cheeses is that derby is cut into bigger cubes before cooking the curd.
Does aging depend on the size of the wheel? Surface area to mass ratio?
So my smaller molds should give cheeses that age more quickly right?
The recipe says to press with 50lbs. Can cheese really withstand those sort of pressures? I can just see a days work going “squish!” out of the bottom of the mold!
So what is a “farmers” cheese?
According to “cheesemaking made easy” derby or leicester should be aged for 3 months and that seemed like the minimum for a hard cheese. The difference between the cheeses is that derby is cut into bigger cubes before cooking the curd.
Does aging depend on the size of the wheel? Surface area to mass ratio?
So my smaller molds should give cheeses that age more quickly right?
The recipe says to press with 50lbs. Can cheese really withstand those sort of pressures? I can just see a days work going “squish!” out of the bottom of the mold!
Sorry, my bad should have written ‘Farmhouse Cheddar’ which is aged just 4 weeks!
I believe size does matter when aging, small seems to age faster IMHO.
Today I experimented with a Parmesan and found there is no need for these excessive pressures. I will write it up, I promise.
Another newbie question .. why does one line the molds with cheese cloth?
I find it useful on the first press, does tend to stop the curds gushing out of the bottom.
The Leeners recipe is a good one, good place to start. Quite tasty and fast when just starting out.
So thanks everyone .. learning lots ... does this sound like a credible plan?
I make a 2gallon version of the leeners recipe, which with my small molds, should make 3 cheeses.
One I’ll eat as soon as it has its “yellowish rind”, one I’ll vacuum pack and age, and one I’ll leave au naturale to form a rind.
I remember the excitement like it was yesterday. Wait a minute - it WAS yesterday. I’m excited every time I make a cheese. To add to Newbie’s post above regarding cheesecloth. It does, as he said, keep the curd from squishing out the bottom. It also allows for a very thin space between the curd and the side of the mold to allow moisture to wick out, thus better extracting moisture from the curd. What some of us have taken to doing is to use the cloth for the first pressing stages, and then use no cloth for the final press. By then the moisture is nearly all eliminated, and the lack of cloth results in a smoother surface area.
Also, don’t count on three cheeses. You might get two. But if you press and then add more curd, I think you might even get it all into one.
No, I would think not. The high pressure required to press a cheddar would likely either squeeze through the openings, or completely destroy the basket (I take it the basket is plastic?) You’re going to need something more stout to handle a cheddar. Some people use cans, others use PVC. I use a piece of 6” schedule 80 PVC and it works well.
Braufrau…
First of all, welcome to the forum.
I’ve been so busy lately that I havne’t had time to make cheese or even think of cheese much. Sorry for this late welcome…
I have to agree with Rich.
If I’m thinking correctly this is a mold that is included with the Leener’s kit that is approx. 6 inches in diameter.
For a cheddar style cheese the final pressing weight for a 4” diameter wheel is 50 lbs. If moving up to a 6” diameter wheel the final pressing weight would be 112 lbs. which would probably destroy your mold.
I currently use an 8” mold and my final press weight on that size of wheel is 202 lbs. Even though this seems extreme, not only am I getting the best surface texture I’ve ever gotten, the interior curd has been turning out perfectly on the examples that I’ve opened.
As Rich said, I would look at a piece of PVC pipe to use as a mold. This can be found at any plumbing supply store, or even a hardware store.
Just make sure it is white PVC (poly vinyl chloride) and not ABS or SDR. ABS is black and SDR will be a blueish green color. You want pure PVC which is used quite extensively across the States for drinking water.
Hope this information helps.
Thanks to everyone for the help! You’ve saved me from some horrible mistakes! Imagine a days worth of curd oozing out of a collapsing mold.
Well I happened to say to my husband last night “of course the best thing would be a stainless mold” and he said “Oh I think we have some 6” stainless pipe at work that we can’t use; not vacuum proof!”.
So fingers crosssed I will have a stainless mold,.
)
