OK getting setup you need to make sure you are ready pre-prep is always the best way
oh yes when it come to cheese stainless and keeping everything clean is a must
four gallons of milk I bought whole organic milk and remember it can not be super pasteurized milk it will not separate the curds from the whey
Lets not forget to have your sexy sidekick standing by even if she is downing lemon drops :) OK I had a few myself
lemon drops in action if you can't have fun doing this then stay out of the kitchen
this is my press not sure I like it but it is simple my brain is working overtime to come up with a new design
target temp is 86 and 100 degrees
Yes it is good to read the directions this process of making cheddar is long. I think it has lots of room for improvement to shorten the process
press is prepped with cheese cloth for the Curds
time to cut the curds in to 1/2 cubes don't get in a hurry you still have a long way to go at this point
used sink for raising the temp to 100 degrees this should not be rushed you are going from 86 to 100 degrees at 2 degree increments every five minutes
don't forget to stir to keep the curd cubes separated
and stir
and stir
and stir
time to let it rest
almost there
I am excited time to separate the curd from the whey
the curd is at the bottom
this helps to have four hands hum where is my sassy side kick maybe she is having another lemon drop
Ok time to let the whey drain for 15 min.
remember cheddar is a hard cheese that means you have to get most of the moisture out
Time to get ready to start cheddarring
my little dome of cheddar
have to cut it in to 3 inch blocks
this is where the cheddaring begins back is the pot at a 100 degree temp this is done to remove more whey
OK after adding salt time for the press 15 min then turn and 12 hours at around 40lb of pressure
I did not have enough holes to help the whey drain out had to do some quick modifications
another row of hole much better drainage going on at 1:30 pm I will flip the cheese then another 24 hrs in the press
this is the area I will use for final drying in about 3 days
Started make the cheese at 5pm and went to bed at 1:30 am make sure you have enough time to do this task
