hi green cheese maker
im about to take your lead and embark on my 1st derby i have an rdo tomorrow and i can’t think of anything i would rather do yeha

Sounds like you’ve not done any real cheddaring yet.  So, take your time and don’t rush it.  Its not hard, and its a fun cheese to make - and eat!  I’m just finishing up a 4 lb wheel.

i have done a very little it ended up the mummified cheese from egypt

ok

the derby is having its 2nd press at about 30lbs and it has knitted beautifully i probably kept it a little warmer in the last 15mins of the cheddaring process but i am a bit parnoid about the curd loosing to much heat in the milling process and the curds not knitting properly weather this will have an effect on the miosture content i wont know till later it was only about 2 or 3 degrees warmer time will tell. now i am off to wash my 3 dogs while i wait

i have taken the derby out of the press and trimmed all the sharp bits of and i am already impressed with the sharp flavour this is going to be a very difficult cheese to wait for i think i will be making another one very soon it will be a hit around here

thanx rich for your encouragement

Just a little bit of bait and you are hooked!  You’re right, it is hard to wait for - but well worth it.  Enjoy.

Thats why very quickly 2 gal batches end up being too small to hold out.

You’re right, Neil.  2 Gal batches just don’t seem to be worth the effort.  I’ve gone to 4, which is the limit of my pot and my mold at this point.  But 4 lbs of cheese at a whack is just about right for me.

Yup, I use a canning pot that works out great since its wide and my knife just reaches the bottom, so I can do 4-5 US gallons And I find that perfect for my cake pan LOL