Cheese is fun, un-healthy

After being introduced to the reality of how dairy is processed (or not processed) in our bodies I have elected to become vegan. This means that for all intents and purposes my cheese making days are ended. It was fun while it lasted. Perhaps I'll make some for those who request it (and are willing to pay) in the future, but for now my knowledge and my conscience dictate that I must cease making dairy products.

Thanks to all who have supported me in this experiment.

More cheese coming! I snuck one past...

A couple of weeks ago I made a stirred curd cheddar with GREEN CHILE! Man am I excited. I'll have more on that in another post. I plan to make stirred curd with Jalapeno soon. Stay tuned for that one WITH pictures and video. It is truly a different experience. More tactile and soul soothing.

On another note...I've made some modifications to the cheese press. They are quite minor in appearance but make a world of difference! It is so much easier and more precise now. I like it much, much more. Pics and possibly even an assembly, dis assembly video will be coming in the near future.

On yet another note, kindof...I might be making and selling a small number of these presses. It seems to me that the costs associated with making pressed cheeses can be prohibitive to many. I plan to make a press that is easy, stores small, and is affordable. After all, we are talking about food here. Fun, delicious, easy, accessible, and affordable. That is how I feel about food.

Making cheddar today! pt 7

This rough, loose looking mass is the cheese after the first 10 min press. Also the whey drained off during this time. After the second press it is a bit tighter and after the 12 hr press there are no cracks at all. Only the lines left by the cheese cloth. I think next time I'll mill the curd to just a bit smaller pieces and see if it packs more nicely. To see how it looks after the 12 hr press look at one of my earlier posts about waxing my first cheddar.

Making cheddar today! pt 6

Here I've lined the mold with cheese cloth. This is so that the pressed cheese won't stick to the mold and fall all apart when I try to remove it from the press. Next I loaded the milled/salted curd into the mold. You can see that whey has already started to drain out just from the mold packing process. I then line the 'follower' (part that does the pressing) with cheese cloth and place it onto the curd. I find it extremely important to carefully line the mold and make sure that you minimize the cheese cloth overlapping to prevent large creases in the cheese. I still haven't figured a way of preventing the creases entirely but I did minimize them. Finally, I've show how ready the whey drains off under only 10 pounds.

Farmhouse cheddar in 2# size is pressed in 3 phases:

1. 10 #'s for 10 min
2. 20 #'s for 10 min
3. 50 #'s for 12 hr

After the first press of 10 pounds I see very little whey drain off but I do see the size shrink as air and small amounts of whey are pressed out.

Making cheddar today! pt 5

This is how the curd looks after it has been broken into smaller pieces. It is supposed to be 'walnut sized' pieces. Also, you can see how much whey (and looks like some fat) has drained out just during the milling process. After I poured off the whey I added salt and mixed VERY thoroughly.

Making cheddar today! pt 4

These images are of the curd after it has drained 1 hr. It has lumped together but it is still very much a crumbly, drippy mass. Notice the way it breaks roughly and easily. And notice how big the curd really is. My hand is much smaller than how much curd I've got.

Making cheddar today! pt 3

After adding the rennet the next step is to wait 45 min. You should now have a firm, white mass - curd! Then cut the curd all the way from top to bottom from front to back and left to right. Then again only this time with the knife at a 45 degree angle so that the long poles of curd you've just cut are now diced. It is important to stir the curd periodically during the next phase to make sure it doesn't mat together into a big lump. That would prevent the whey from coming out of the curds and make the cheese much too moist.



Now I've gotten to the draining the curd part. All you do is line a colander with cheese cloth and pour in the whey and curd. They yellow whey drains out and the white curd stays behind. The picture here is of the curd draining. It is supposed to stay relatively warm so I tie the corners of the cheese cloth, run a wooden spoon through and hang it in the pot I just dumped it from. Then place the lid over that. The lid doesn't sit tight but it does keep the draft to a minimum.