Come morning I will be doing another Farmhouse cheddar.  I love the flavor, but so far mine have been rather dry.  I understand that goes with the territory; but I thought I’d try something a bit different with this one.  I intend to press with less weight, hoping to keep just a wee bit of moisture in the wheel.  Have any of you tried this?  And, if so, what were your results?

Too much salt or acid causes dry cheese, probably too much acid is the reason. I would stay with the recommended pressing instructions.

Try cutting down on the amount of starter a little bit, and also adjust the cooking time down a couple of degrees.  Both these things can cause dry cheese.  Good luck!

JRing - 08 September 2008 12:54 PM

Try cutting down on the amount of starter a little bit, and also adjust the cooking time down a couple of degrees.  Both these things can cause dry cheese.  Good luck!

I use starter for a 2 gal. batch in a 3 gal. batch, so that is already a reduction.  Then, I start checking for a clean break 15 min ahead of recipe time - this morning I got it 8 minutes earlier - which should also reduce acid development.  I am trying cutting to a larger curd size too.  But I think I’ll not reduce the cooking temp just yet.  However, I am adjusting the press regime - less pressure.  Fortunately the Farmhouse cheddar is a short age, so I won’t have to wait too long to judge the results of my experimentation.

Let us know how it turns out.

Out of the press last night - I used 30 lbs instead of 50, for the full 12 hours.  Previous cheeses have been so dry out of the press that I could immediately wax them.  This one was more moist, but not real spongy.  Its been airing overnight and a nice rind is forming.  I’ll report back in about a month when I crack it open.

Buy a camera, their cheap nowadays