I just started making cheese in May.  I enjoyed the farmhouse cheddar after about a month - not crumbly as expected & tasted great.

Opened a waxed wheel of colby the other day (month old) and liquid poured out.  I was wondering, was it trapped whey from too much stirring or was it too acidic?  (No pH meter yet)

Also, is there an optimum size for a wheel of cheese (diameter to height ratio or such) for a normal home cheesemaker?

Thanks for your help.

John

Hello John and welcome to our forum.  You must not be too new if you’ve already got at least a couple cheeses “under your belt” so to speak.  Congrats on the Farmhouse - I’ve never been able to achieve what you seem to have done with that one.  Mine are ALWAYS crumbly; although I have to admit that I haven’t made one with a pH meter.  As to the Colby, the immediate thought is that it may have been waxed too soon.  It may be that it was not dried sufficiently.  However, that’s probably not the entirety of the problem.  The things that come to mind as other possibilities are:  the curd may not have been set sufficiently prior to cutting; it may not have been cooked quite long enough (and that’s where the pH meter comes in), in order to expel enough whey from the curd; you may not have pressed it sufficiently.  Question:  when you put the wheel to dry prior to waxing, was there any seepage of whey at that point?  And how did the Colby taste?  Did you get a good texture and flavor?

It dried for 2 days - it might have needed more.  It was rather crumbly and tasted sharper than I expected.  I let it dry for 3 days after I cut it open and then rewaxed.  I think I’m going to let it age for another month or two.

John

Drying is not very exact, you just have to develop a feel for when the rind is uniformly dry.  Sometimes it can be as little as 1 day, and sometimes up to 4 or even 5 days before it feels right.  Humidity obviously plays a big part in this.  You are working on the most important skill in cheese making - experience.  Its nice that we can enjoy the fruits of our labors along the way.

Welcome jawdog !!
Crumbly usually means too much acid, the cheese should feel rubbery when its perfect, generally. Its just a matter of practice.
The colby, was the liquid clear? if so then maybe too much pressure was applied and their was lots trapped in their and gradually seeped out. thats why usually their are stages of pressing.
keep a watch as the curds set/go firm, then cut. Lots of people dont use PH meter and their cheese turns out fine.

Have fun!