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Made 2 pounds of Romano Cheese this weekend. Here the cheese is fresh out of the press and ready for a 12 hour saline bath. Then it goes in the ager for at least 8 months. If only you could smell it!
Made 2 pounds of Romano Cheese this weekend. Here the cheese is fresh out of the press and ready for a 12 hour saline bath. Then it goes in the ager for at least 8 months. If only you could smell it!
Keep really meticulous notes, Pred. My meads usually take 12-18 months to be ready to drink. That's a long time to try to remember what you did, just in case you get a really great cheese, or a lump of goo.
I'm using most of my milk right now for customers and to bottle feed some orphaned kids. As soon as I start weaning kids, I expect to have milk for cheese making. I think I'm going to concentrate on the Swiss cheese this year.
Good luck with the Romano!
Made 2 pounds of Romano Cheese this weekend. Here the cheese is fresh out of the press and ready for a 12 hour saline bath. Then it goes in the ager for at least 8 months. If only you could smell it!
Keep really meticulous notes, Pred. My meads usually take 12-18 months to be ready to drink. That's a long time to try to remember what you did, just in case you get a really great cheese, or a lump of goo.
I'm using most of my milk right now for customers and to bottle feed some orphaned kids. As soon as I start weaning kids, I expect to have milk for cheese making. I think I'm going to concentrate on the Swiss cheese this year.
Good luck with the Romano!
I wish I had a supplier like you near me, I could use the fresh goat's milk. Can't get any that isn't Ultra Pasteurized anywhere in Orlando.
I am trying to make all the cheeses in my recipe book. The ones that turn out for me I will continue to make, the ones that don't will be left alone for a while. I'm hoping that the Stirred Curd Cheddar comes out OK, it's the easiest of the cheddars to make.
I have an ACV (apple cider vinegar) started with a mother culture. It requires hard cider to make it work. Unless you make your own hard cider, I have found it is not worth the expense. I have it in a nice oak barrel and all...I use a LOT of ACV on my place. It's cheaper to buy ACV in the grocery store...right now.
Have you considered making your own sauerkraut?
Absolutely. I try to get my rennet from the same source and plan on experimenting with some local, plant-based sources (stinging nettles) this year. I've tried using animal rennet from the "old-fashioned" source by harvesting the stomach of a kid that died at birth (froze to death). Problem is, it's extremely variable. (You dry the stomach, then cut off a small piece, soak it in water, and add that to the milk.) Even with commercial sources, older rennet is less potent and you have to compensate. The rennet tablets you get at most health food places are not really suitable for hard-core cheese-making. I much prefer the liquid types.
I'm pretty excited, I just put my first cheese of the season into the cheese press. I'm getting a little more than three gallons of milk a day, so I can afford to experiment a bit. I also have a customer requesting one of my aged cheddars (that will be about $40), I charge $10/lb for my cheese. I have another guy who buys yogurt from me literally by the gallon.
How are your cheeses coming along?
Absolutely. I try to get my rennet from the same source and plan on experimenting with some local, plant-based sources (stinging nettles) this year. I've tried using animal rennet from the "old-fashioned" source by harvesting the stomach of a kid that died at birth (froze to death). Problem is, it's extremely variable. (You dry the stomach, then cut off a small piece, soak it in water, and add that to the milk.) Even with commercial sources, older rennet is less potent and you have to compensate. The rennet tablets you get at most health food places are not really suitable for hard-core cheese-making. I much prefer the liquid types.
I'm pretty excited, I just put my first cheese of the season into the cheese press. I'm getting a little more than three gallons of milk a day, so I can afford to experiment a bit. I also have a customer requesting one of my aged cheddars (that will be about $40), I charge $10/lb for my cheese. I have another guy who buys yogurt from me literally by the gallon.
How are your cheeses coming along?
I'm struggling with the texture. The flavor is fine as far as I can tell. My cheeses end up crumbly like feta. The troubleshooting guide in my book says that if cheeses are too dry it is caused by several things, too little rennet, too much handling of the curds, or too high heat. I don't know which thing to try to correct first.
I kind of get the feeling that I may be "cooking" the curds too long. I'm doing everything by the book so I have to adjust something, and I'm going to first try shortening the time I heat the curds. This is a cheddar that I'm trying to correct so I'll keep the heat at 100 degrees but shorten the time. I don't think I'm using too much rennet and cheddar is a relatively hard cheese so the temp is correct.
I don't want to move on to the next cheese until I get this corrected.
Absolutely. I try to get my rennet from the same source and plan on experimenting with some local, plant-based sources (stinging nettles) this year. I've tried using animal rennet from the "old-fashioned" source by harvesting the stomach of a kid that died at birth (froze to death). Problem is, it's extremely variable. (You dry the stomach, then cut off a small piece, soak it in water, and add that to the milk.) Even with commercial sources, older rennet is less potent and you have to compensate. The rennet tablets you get at most health food places are not really suitable for hard-core cheese-making. I much prefer the liquid types.
I'm pretty excited, I just put my first cheese of the season into the cheese press. I'm getting a little more than three gallons of milk a day, so I can afford to experiment a bit. I also have a customer requesting one of my aged cheddars (that will be about $40), I charge $10/lb for my cheese. I have another guy who buys yogurt from me literally by the gallon.
How are your cheeses coming along?
I'm struggling with the texture. The flavor is fine as far as I can tell. My cheeses end up crumbly like feta. The troubleshooting guide in my book says that if cheeses are too dry it is caused by several things, too little rennet, too much handling of the curds, or too high heat. I don't know which thing to try to correct first.
I kind of get the feeling that I may be "cooking" the curds too long. I'm doing everything by the book so I have to adjust something, and I'm going to first try shortening the time I heat the curds. This is a cheddar that I'm trying to correct so I'll keep the heat at 100 degrees but shorten the time. I don't think I'm using too much rennet and cheddar is a relatively hard cheese so the temp is correct.
I don't want to move on to the next cheese until I get this corrected.
I had the same problem with my cheddars. I actually reduced the rennet and the cheese started being a bit less crumbly and dry. How long do you let your cheeses dry before waxing them? Letting them dry too long also seems to contribute to their being too crumbly. The trick is to have them dry enough that the wax doesn't separate from the cheese surface because of moisture, but not letting them dry out so much that they start to dry out internally.