I have 4 gallons of raw milk to turn into cheddar today! I am so happy! I have not made cheese since July.

I got a curd knife for Christmas, I was using a knife that did not reach the bottom of the pot, but my new curd knife does. I also got a new 5 gallon stainless steel pot. I’ve been using a cast aluminum pressure canning pot for my cheese pot, so now I have a stainless steel one.

Awesome !! good luck

Good to get away from aluminum.  Have you got a crosscut knife as well, or do you have to make diagonal cuts?

I make diagonal cuts. Cheese is in the presses now. I made two different cheeses out of it, 2lb each. I have two presses, one was the first one that my husband made, and he made me a new one when we discovered the flaws, but then we fixed the old one to work too.

I have never appropriately knitted the traditional cheddar, I hope it comes out this time.

A couple questions about your process:  do you use a pH meter to keep track of where you are in the process?  Are you keeping the curd temp warm enough during the cheddaring?  And are you using enough pressure during the press, especially the final 24 hour press?  When I make a traditional cheddar, or any cheddar for that matter, I find that I have to have at least 110 lbs of pressing weight for my 6” mold.

Congrats! I know how important it is to have a good kettle. Mine is electrical and can hold about 7 gallon. Still looking for a good curd knife however….

I have a ph meter, and checked the ph level before draining the whey. At this point my notes say that the ph level should be 6.1 or 6.2. I forgot to check the ph level after cooking the curds.

I have several recipe books, and I was using the one from the 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes. It says to press for 12 hours, not 24. It also cooks the curd for one hour, then you mill it, salt it, and press it.

Next week I am going to make cheddar cheese again and I am going to use the Traditional Cheddar recipe from Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making. Her recipe cooks the curd for 2 hours, then you mill it down to 1/2 inch cubes and cook it another 30 minutes, stirring it every 10 minutes.

I think that I did not keep the curds warm enough before I got them in the molds, and I did not have the molds or the cheese cloth warm either. The curds knitted better this time than they have in the past, but it is still not knitted properly. I will post a picture.

I made notes in my cheese log to make sure that I keep the curds warm, and I am going to put my 2- 5 inch stainless steel molds and cheese cloth in hot water and pull them out right when I fill them so that everything will be hot. I pressed the 5” molds at 90lbs for 12 hours.

Next week I am going to the other recipe and I will check the weight for pressing against that recipe. Ricki’s is based on 4” molds so I know to recalculate for my 5” molds.

Here is a picture of my not properly knitted curd

Looks pretty close.  I think if you had gone 24 hours instead of 12 it would be much tighter.  Another tip:  after you put your curd into the warm mold, wrap a towel around it to keep it warm longer.

Herman van der Hoek - 31 December 2011 12:16 PM

Congrats! I know how important it is to have a good kettle. Mine is electrical and can hold about 7 gallon. Still looking for a good curd knife however….

Herman, you may need to make your own.  I took some stainless steel rod, 1/8” diameter, and had it welded into a rectangle that would just fit into my pot.  Then I notched the sides every 1/2” and threaded it with monofilament fishing line.  It makes a great knife for horizontal cuts.

Thanks for the tips Rich. I think you told me that before, but it’s been so long since I tried the traditional cheddar that I forgot all about that keeping it warm part. I thought about putting it back in the press this morning when I first took it out but decided to let it be and try again next weekend.

The cheese block looks good !

Herman, you may need to make your own.

That’s a good idea. A friend of mine does work sometimes with stainless steel. I’ll ask him when he gets back from wintersports holiday…