Cheese Type & Number: Spanish Manchego, #3

Description:

Source of Recipe: Home Cheese Making, page 128

Date: 1/2/04

Milk Used: 2 gallons “Colorado Proud” from King Soopers

Bring to Temperature: 86

I noticed this morning (1/4/04) that this cheese is knitting together better. I have placed it between two cheese boards and placed a little weight on it (my wax pot with some wax in it) and placed it on top of the fridge in the basement.

Today (1/16/2004) as I turned this cheese, it broke into three chunks. I noted earlier that it was cracked and not knitting together…

So, I brought one chunk upstairs and we tasted it tonight. The flavor is very good. It has a piquant bite to it, probably from the lipase, and it seems a bit salty. But, it is good and kind of addictive in flavor. We’ll eat this chunk and leave the others in the fridge downstairs to age a little longer.

While I had a few problems with this cheese, it is very good. It is a favorite among the friends we’ve shared it with.

I’ve made a second batch, videotaping the process, and will be adding the videos to my website soon.