I’m going to commit myself to making cheese this winter. As you know, since moving from Colorado to New Jersey, my experiences have been poor. I’ve tried different milk, different cultures, ... nothing seems to work. But, I think a good piece of advice, especially for newcomers, is to keep going with your cheese, even if it doesn’t come out the way you want. The cheese you end up with may not be what you started out to make, but the basics of cheese making should let you “rescue” most cheeses.
Last weekend, I started out to make a simple Farmer’s Cheddar. Two gallons of milk to 90°F, add some mesophilic culture, let rest, add rennet, let the curds form, cut the curds, warm gently to 100°F stirring occasionally, drain, salt, mix, press, dry, wax. Wait. Eat.
Well, the curds never formed. I could never get a clean break. After waiting for a couple of hours, measuring PH every half hour and finally deciding it was not going to get any better—I cut the sloppy curd into 1” chunks. Then started heating slowly, hoping the curds would firm up. They did. Some. Not much. After about a half-hour of this I scooped the curds into cheesecloth and hung to drain. Those then went into the press overnight.
Whoops, forgot the salt. Oh well, I pour salt over the exterior of my (pretty nice looking) round and turn it twice a day. I am continuing to salt the exterior every day and will allow it to dry enough to wax. Then, I’ll age it for 60 to 90 days.
I won’t end up with Farmer’s Cheddar. It may not even resemble Cheddar. But, it will be cheese. I made it in a sterile environment with good ingredients and improvised using techniques from other cheese recipes. I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Never give up. (I could have brined it, for example.)
I think I will change cultures and try again for the Cheddar this weekend.
If you have “cheese rescue” stories, please share 
