[Sca-cooks] Modern cheese recipe

[dseguin]

To make cheddar cheese using cows milk:

1. Ingredients using unhomogenized pasteurized milk
* Milk: 2 gallons of milk
* 1 packet of mesophilic direct set culture
* 1/2 tablet of rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup of cool water
* 1 tbls of cheese salt
2. Ingredients using homogenized pasteurized milk (normally found)
* 15 pints of skim (1%) homogenized milk
* Pint of heavy whipping cream
* 1 packet of mesophilic direct set culture
* 1 tablet of rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup of cool water
* 1/2 tsp of calcium chloride dissolved in 2 tbsps of cool water
3. Recommended Equipment
* 1 stainless steel pot for milk, and another pot big enough for it to fit
inside of.  The milk will be heated up using a double boiler setup.
* Large colander
* Stainless steel bowl
* 1 long bladed stainless steel knife for cutting curds

Note: You can use just about anything for this, though stainless steel
utensils are recommended due to the lack of reactivity with the cheese.  In
other words no funny smells or tastes.

1. Heat milk using double boiler to 90 degrees
2. Add starter culture, stir in well, and leave the pot where it can
maintain its temperature for 45 minutes
3. If appropriate add the calcium chloride mixture
4. Add the rennet by pouring it into the milk through a perforated skimming
ladle which strews it into the milk, and stir it very gently right down to
the bottom of the pot for at least 1 minute.  Then top stir with the flat
underside of the ladle (not more than 1/2 inch deep) for 1 minute.
5. Cover the container and leave undisturbed for 45 minutes, by which time
the curd will have formed nicely
6. Cut the curd into 1/2 " blocks.   The curd is ready to cut when it shows
a "clean break".  To test for the clean break, insert a dairy thermometer or
a clean finger at a 45 degrees and then lift it gently to the surface.  If
the curd breaks in a clean slit around your finger, it is ready for cutting.
To cut the curd properly, hold the knife at a diagonal while slicing.  Turn
the pot 90 degrees and repeat.  This does not have to be exact.
7. Place the pot in a sink of hot water and bring the temperature up slowly
(not more than 2 degrees every 5 minutes) up to 100 degrees.  This will take
about 30 minutes.  The curd pieces will shrink noticeably in size as the
heating continues and you continue to stir gently.  The yellowish whey will
seem to grow in quantity as the curds shrink.
8. Cover the container and let the curds settle for 5 minutes.  Pour the
curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander.  Knot the corners of the cloth
together and hang the bag to drain into a container in a convenient spot for
one hour.
9. Pour the drained curds into a bowl and break them up gently with your
fingers into walnut sized pieces.  Mix in the salt.
10. Pack the curds firmly into a lined mold and fold the cheesecloth neatly
over the top.  Apply 10 pounds of pressure for 15 minutes.  Turn cheese over
and increase the pressure to 20 lbs for 12 hours.  Turn the cheese again and
press for another 12 hours at 20 pounds of pressure.
11.  Remove the cheese from the mold and carefully peel away the
cheesecloth, taking care not to tear the surface of the cheese.  Once the
cheesecloth is removed, air-dry the cheese at room temperature on a wooden
board.  Air-dry the cheese until a nice rind has developed and its surface
is quite dry.  This takes from 3-5 days, depending on the weather.  Turn the
cheese several times so moisture will not collect for on the bottom.
12. Wax the cheese


I bought my supplies from www.cheesemaking.com.  If you are interested in
making cheddar other hard cheeses, you can buy the beginner set for hard
cheeses.  If you wish to buy the other kits, remember that these cheeses do
not appear to allow for homogenized milk, and so may not have all
ingredients, such as calcium chloride.