Thanks Neil. I made the Jack this morning - its in the press now. I got an immediate lesson on the advantage of using a pH meter. After holding the curd at 100 F. for 30 min; the recipe calls for draining down to curd level and holding another 30 min. However, since I was aiming at a 5.9 - 6.0 pH, I had to hold it nearly an hour and a half. When I got a 5.98, I drained it and went to the press. Had I just been following the recipe, my cheese would have been too alkaline and not tasted properly.
So now I’m thinking that since it took so long to achieve the desired level, I should maybe increase the amount of starter I use. I’m only using 1/8 tsp for a 4 gal. batch. I should maybe bump that to 1/4 tsp.
I’m going to do a Gouda in a couple days. We’ll see what happens.
