Hope it all goes well

I have a book called The Cheese Makers Apprentice and it says that Havarti doesn’t get pressed. It says that is why it has holes in it. I’ve never made one, but when I start thinking about making something I read the recipes from all 6 of my cheese books, and it’s interesting how they are different. I will try and remember to put the recipe up here later, just for conversation.

That would be nice, many ways to skin a cat as they say

This one does feel a bit firm, but there’s still some give to it - not hard like a cheddar.  Although the next make will be with less pressure, I doubt I’ll do it with no press at all.  Perhaps that would work with really large commercial batches that have enough weight on their own to compress slightly; but with home batches, I think you’d end up with just a pile of curd.  I could be wrong, just my opinion.

I got a bit of a surprise this morning.  I had forgotten to weigh the Havarti before I put it away to age; so I did that this morning.  Even though I only had 3 1/2 gallons for this make, it still yielded 5.2 lbs.  That would be the best yield of any cheese I’ve made yet!

I agree with that theory. I was thinking of making one soon and I was going to press it lightly for the first press so it would stay together. Here is the recipe from my book, The cheesemaker’s apprentice. I shortened it a lot, they used a lot of words.

2 gal milk
1/4 tsp mesophilic starter
1/2 tsp liquid rennet
1/4 cup bottled water
saturated brine

optional was a 1/2 tsp of dried spice such as cumin, caraway or fenugreek, boiled in 1/2 cup of water

heat milk to 86, add culture, ripen 30 minutes
add rennet, coagulate 30 minutes
cut 1/2” cubes, rest 10 minutes, then stir for 5 minutes
scoop out 25% of the initial volume of whey. You started with 2 gallons of milk so 25% of that is 4 cups. If you can’t get 4 cups of whey out, stir it for a few minutes.
replace with equal amount of 115 degree water
heat to 96 to 98 degrees
cook for 40 minutes, stirring
drain, add seasonings if using, place in a mold, let sit 30 minutes
flip it, rewrap it and drain for 1 hour
flip it, rewrap it, drain for 2 hours
flip it, rewrap it, drain over night
Soak in brine for 1 to 3 hours
let dry at 50 degrees. may take 6 to 48 hours. Flip once or twice a day while drying
vacuum seal, or wax.
age at 55 to 60 degrees for 3 to 4 months.

I read different recipes and they all call for removing a different amount of whey also.

Tammy

I used Ricki Carroll’s recipe, and she calls for an additional step.  After pressing (which yours does not do) the cheese with the mold still around it is soaked in 65 deg. water overnight.  I asked about this and they told me it was to slow down the acidification so the resulting cheese had a milder, smoother taste.  I thought at first that the cheese would get soggy, but it was quite firm afterwards.  Then comes the brine.  With all that moisture, it still took only one day for it to dry enough to seal.

I’m pretty anxious to taste this one.  My how time drags when you’re waiting for something - like a kid waiting for summer break.

I am going to make the Ricki Carroll recipe as well. Her recipes always work out for me, and I haven’t tried that other book yet. I could make both, at the same time, and compare. I will do that and let you know how it works out.

So in RC’s recipe she has a thing that says press for 2 hours and then it says to flip and rewrap at 15-15-15-60-60-60-90

Did you do that? I see that after you press it for 2 hours you can take it out and flip it over a few times but that’s 5 hours of flipping. So if we start class at 10 and it takes us about 4 hours to get to the pressing part, then we press for 2 hrs and 15 minutes, it’s after 4 and she says to flip it for the next 5 hours. That’s 9 at night when I put it in the water.

Also you said it only took one day for it to dry out for sealing. She says to wash it every 2 or 3 days for a month, so I guess you are skipping that step.

I find the process very interesting, and the fact that there are so many different ways to do stuff.

I have not gotten to this one yet. Something to do every weekend. I want to do it this weekend, but I have my daughter’s baby shower on Saturday. If it wasn’t my daughter I’d be making cheese. I think I’ll do it on Sunday.

Yes, I did the extended flipping process.  It was a bit easier for me, because I don’t use a cheese cloth for anything but the first couple of presses.  But it did seem to wear on for a looooonnnnggg time.

The washing for a month is apparently the traditional method.  I don’t have the patience for all that; and the final taste may suffer for it.  I am going through the regular washing and flipping with my Swiss Gouda; but that’s only because it’s essential for the propionic to create eyes.  Otherwise, I’d skip that too.  And, I don’t wash it every day - usually every two to three days.  No mold growth, so I think I’m OK on that.  Call me a fair weather cheese maker.

Well, I just couldn’t wait any longer to try this one, so I opened it for a try.  It is, in short - FABULOUS.  Moist, creamy, and delightfully mild in flavor.  The half I opened - 3 lbs - is nearly gone already so I’m making another one today.

This was the highest yielding cheese I’ve made to date.  3 1/2 gals. of milk ended up producing 5.2 lbs of cheese.  I’m hoping that will be the case in every make.  I’ve got a full 4 gals. for this newest one and we’ll see how it goes.

lol, congrats

I’ve been wondering how it came out. I haven’t been doing cheese for awhile again, working overtime on Saturdays instead. Either I work, or I have cheese class on Saturday. Yesterday I had one person sign up for class, so I bought me some milk and I made Asiago while she made Swiss. It was a very nice day. I still want to do the Havarti, so I was checking back to see if it came out well. I will have to try Ricki Carrol’s recipe on that one soon.

Good to hear your classes are still going

The Havarti is easily made, and absolutely delicious.  You’re going to need a good block of time for it, though.  The pressing process involves a lot of flipping.  As I recall it took nearly 10 hours to get to the final press where I could actually go to bed.  (I don’t get my milk until nearly 11 AM)