Next up, Monterrey Jack and Cheddar

Accomplishing quality cheese making is the task I'm currently setting my sights on, we love cheese, way more than we probably should.  At least if I can make raw cheeses at home I don't have to worry about most of the unhealthy aspects of cheese.  Of the hard cheeses I've made Cheddar and Colby, unfortunately they are still curing so I don't even know yet if I'm just wasting my time.  I'm hoping and praying that they will be delicious, and I'm sure they will be, I actually followed the recipe's (for the most part, unusual for me) so they should be.  Monterrey Jack is a relatively easy cheese to make, unlike Cheddar, while Cheddar is our favorite, it's a pain to make and takes quite a bit of time hovering over the stove.  So I'm hoping we end up liking the Colby and Jack as much as the Cheddar, and I can just make them instead.  So I start out with three gallons of milk, as that's all my pot holds, I'm really wanting a bigger pot, 5 or 6 gallons would be nice, but I'm not sure where to find one.  Ah, the internet!  Yes, that would work, but I don't want to pay the $50 to $100 for one.   But I need to, it'd really make cheese making easier, I could make twice as much and save so much time.  My husband just spent some money at Uncle Sam's Outfitters on some toys so that means I'm allowed, right?  Actually, I bought him a gift cert to them for half off so it's kinda my fault he spent the money.  But I think I'm still allowed. Okay, so that was a little off topic.  Speaking of toys, I bought a new thermometer for cheese making.  It's so cool!  You can set the temp you want and it beeps when it gets there, so convenient.

  All the hard cheeses start out basically the same way, with warming the milk up to around 86 degrees, then adding your culture.  So far I've just been culturing with Mesophilic cultures, one of these days I'm going to get into thermophilic cheeses, Parmesan, Provolone, Swiss, the Italian cheeses.  After stirring in your culture you leave it sitting keeping it at 86 degrees for an hour.  Then you add rennet, which you have mixed with 1/4 cup of cool water, for what reason I don't know.  After stirring it in you let it set for another 45 minutes to an hour, the rennet curdles your milk and turns it into a solid, it looks about like custard at this stage.  When it's set you cut the curd into 1/4 inch to 2 inch cubes, depending on your recipe, then slowly heat it to around 110 degrees.  This is the PITA part, I usually do it in a sink of hot water, as your only supposed to raise the temperature 2 degrees per 5 minutes.  Having a double boiler would help, but I don't have one, so I fill the sink with 110-120 degree water and set the pot in it and do the best I can.

"Cooking" the curd in a sink full of hot water

You are supposed to stir frequently at this point to keep the curds from matting at the bottom, I tend to decide at this point to go out and water my garden for 5 minutes, which ends up being an hour, and totally forget about it.  Not the best thing to do, but following recipes isn't my strong point.  Then your supposed to hold it at that temperature for another hour or so, of course the sink water keeps cooling down which is a pain.  But I figure close enough is good enough, I hope.
  At that point the different cheeses will diverge, what you do at this stage makes them what they are, or something like that.

"Cheddaring" the curd

Cheddar you get to mess with for another couple of hours, what a pain, Colby and Jack are a bit easier and shorter.  You have to hold cheddar curds at a certain temp for an hour or so, flipping them often, that gives them the "cheddar" flavor. Then you get to shovel your curds into the press and squish them for 12-24 hours.  It's so neat taking your cheese out of the press, it actually kinda looks like cheese!  Then it gets to sit out on a rack and dry over the next day or two, in preparation for waxing, just don't forget it, it's rather depressing to find it covered in mold.  You also have to turn it twice a day to help it to dry out evenly.

Cheddar in the press, and Monterrey Jack air drying before waxing.  I have to increase the pressure on the Cheddar over the next 24 hours, starting at 10 pounds and ending up at 50.  I'm thankful for all the weights we have, they're in the way most of the time but work great for my homemade cheese press.  Unfortunately, the only free space I seem to have for this is on top of my chest freezer, it's a pain when I need to get into it during cheese pressing time.  I need more counter space, and a bigger house!




I decided to hold back some of the cheddar curds to munch on, and they are delicious.  I ate a bunch fresh, then sprinkled some garlic powder and fresh basil on the rest, and ate a bunch more.  This was after eating a big bowl of chicken soup for lunch, now I look three months pregnant, but dang was it good!  This is what's left, I saved some for my husband, I'm so generous.  Actually, I decided to make another batch and to make it all into cheddar curds, then I can bring some for snacks tomorrow as it's my "in town" day.  Unfortunately, that means I've got another 4 hours worth of cheese making, and it's already 3:00, oh well, obviously I've got plenty of extra time, else I wouldn't be wasting it on this computer.  Shame on me, there's clothes to fold and put away and floors to be cleaned and diapers to be sewn, ah well, back to the drudgery that is my life.  Just kidding, I love my life :)