Today I started a whole milk Edam cheese, trying to emulate the Edam I had eaten while living in Holland. This is a semi soft, smooth, buttery, yellow cheese, quite mild and delicious.

      2 gallons of homogenised/pasteurised whole milk
      1 cup of skimmed milk powder.
      4 drops of Anatto colour in 1/2 cup of tepid water
      1 tsp Calcium Chloride in 1/2 cup of tepid water.
      1/2 tps Flora Danica starter.
      1 tsp Animal Rennet in 1/2 cup of tepid water.
      Salt.
     
Add milk to double boiler and raise the temperature to 90F

In a bowl add milk powder, take a cupful of milk and make a smooth paste. When smooth add more milk to liquefy, then slowly with stirring add to bulk, ensure any solids in the bottom are broken up.

Add colouring, Annatto, Starter and stir thoroughly for at least 2 mins. Allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Ensure temperature in double boiler is at 90F then add the rennet and stir thoroughly for 2 mins.

Cover and ensure no vibration of the pot, wait till a clean break in approximately 30 minutes.

Cut the curds into 1/2 inch squares and extremely gently stir for 15 minutes, then healing time of 10 minutes.

Slowly raise the temperature to 98F at which point start lowering the amount of whey down to the top by skimming. An alternative is a sieve pressed on top of the whey and bail it out. Make a note of the amount as the equivalent amount of water is added. Retain the whey removed as it will be used later.

In a bowl add water of 98F slowly add this to the pot, keeping the main pot temperature temp at 98F. This will firm the curd, allow curds to settle for 10 minutes.

Pour the curds into a cheese cloth lined colander and allow 5 minutes for draining. Squeezing the bag to eliminate as much whey as possible.

Add the cloth covered curds to the press and press for 45 mins at 30lbs.

In a pot add the removed whey and heat to 125F, remove from the press and soak in the warm whey for 5 minutes then re-press at 30 lbs for 45 minutes.

Remove from the press, soak for 5 minutes in 125F whey and return to the press for 45 minutes. This is not a typing error, it needs a total of 3 dunkings and 3 pressings at 30 lbs.

Remove from the press, push the temp to 145F and dunk for a further 5 minutes, and remove the cloth covering and press naked at 30lbs for 6 hours.

Remove from the press and allow to air dry in a warm room for two days, occasionally rubbing a dry salt over all surfaces. When fully dry, wax and store at 55F for up to 12 weeks.

Edam is a cheese which can be eaten young, or long time storage will improve the flavour.