Mode:
- Warm up 2 gallons of raw cow's milk to 30C
- Add 1/4 tsp MA400 starter and 1/16 lipase (mild) and leave for 40 minutes to ripen
- I then added 1/8 tsp calcium chloride and 1/2 tsp of liquid animal rennet, stirred for 1 minute and left to coagulate for 45 minutes.
- Cut the curds in 1/4" cubes and stir gently. Start to raise temperature up to 38C over 30 minutes. The curds shrink while expelling the whey. Once target temperature is hit, hold for 30 minutes and stir to prevent matting.
- Drain curds for 15 minutes through some cheesecloth and let it matt together. Cut into 1/2" strips, place in a pot and turn every 20 minutes for 2.5 hours. The 'chips' turn shiny and slightly rubbery, always drain any excess whey.
- After 2 hours of cheddaring, cut each chip into 1cm pieces and leave in whey at 38c for 30 minutes.
- Drain and add 2 tbs salt and toss around evenly.
- Place the pieces into a mould and press lightly for 30 minutes, turn and press with a medium weight for 2 hours, turn and press over night with a heavy weight.
- This can be turned again and pressed at 50lb for another 12 hours. I left the cheese pressing in a warm environment to help with the knit.
- After pressing leave at room temperature for 3-5 days until dried out. This can be waxed or placed in a vac bagged and left to mature for 3-24 months.
Curds after first cut and left to heal
Curds after 20 minutes of cooking at 38C
Curds after 30 minutes of cooking at 38C
Curds left hanging/draining for 15 minutes causing matting
Curds being cut into chips for cheddaring
Curds at the start of cheddaring
Curds after 2 hours of cheddaring
Curd 'chips' cut into 1cm squares and salted
Curds in press
Next morning the 50lb pressure had
caused the curd to ooze out of the bottom. This was due to not lining the mould with cheese cloth. As cheddar is quite an acidic cheese it tends to stick to the cloth. In order to prevent this, soak the cloth in the whey from the cheese thus equalising the PH.
caused the curd to ooze out of the bottom. This was due to not lining the mould with cheese cloth. As cheddar is quite an acidic cheese it tends to stick to the cloth. In order to prevent this, soak the cloth in the whey from the cheese thus equalising the PH.
Due to a high PH the cloth tends to stick to the curd
The cheddar cheese after 18 hours of pressing
CHEDDAR - WIKI
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese originally made in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Cheddar is the most popular cheese in the United Kingdom, accounting for 51% of the country's £1.9 billion annual cheese market. In 2008, the UK produced 258,000 tons of Cheddar cheese. It is the second most popular cheese in the USA (behind Mozzarella), with an average annual consumption of 10 lb (4.5 kg) per capita. In 2009, the USA produced 3,207,440,000 lb (1,454,870 t). Cheddar cheese is produced in many countries across the world, but only cheese produced in the English counties of Somerset, Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall may be given the EU Protected Designation of Origin name "West Country farmhouse Cheddar".
History
The cheese originates from the village of Cheddar in Somerset, South West England. Cheddar Gorge on the edge of the village contains a number of caves, which provided the ideal humidity and constant temperature for maturing the cheese. Cheddar cheese traditionally had to be made within 30 miles (48 km) of Wells Cathedral. Cheddar has been produced since at least the 12th century. A pipe roll of King Henry II from 1170 records the purchase of 10,420 lb (4,730 kg) at a farthing per pound (UK£2.30 per ton). Charles I (1600–1649) also bought cheese from the village. Romans may have brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France. Central to the modernisation and standardisation of Cheddar cheese was the nineteenth century Somerset dairyman Joseph Harding. For his technical developments, promotion of dairy hygiene and unremunerated propagation of modern cheese-making techniques he has been described as the father of Cheddar cheese. Harding introduced new equipment into the process of cheese making, including his "revolving breaker" for curd cutting, saving much manual effort. The "Joseph Harding method" was the first modern system for Cheddar production based upon scientific principles. Harding stated that Cheddar cheese is "not made in the field, nor in the byre, nor even in the cow, it is made in the dairy. He and his wife were behind the introduction of the cheese into Scotland and North America. Joseph Harding's son, Henry Harding, was responsible for introducing Cheddar cheese production to Australia. During the Second World War most milk in Britain was used for the making of one single kind of cheese nicknamed "Government Cheddar" as part of war economies and rationing. This nearly resulted in wiping out all other cheese production in the country. Before the First World War there were more than 3,500 cheese producers in Britain, while fewer than 100 remained after the Second World War
Process
A bowl of cheese curds,Main article: Manufacture of Cheddar cheese, Cheddaring refers to an additional step in the production of Cheddar-style cheese where, after heating, the curd is kneaded with salt, then is cut into cubes to drain the whey, then stacked and turned. Strong, extra-mature Cheddar, sometimes called vintage, needs to be matured for up to 15 months. The cheese is kept at a constant temperature often requiring special facilities. As with production of other hard cheese varieties in other regions worldwide, caves provide an ideal environment for maturing cheese; still, today, some Cheddar cheese is matured in the caves at Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge. Cheddar cheese maturing in the caves at Cheddar Gorge. The curds and whey are separated using rennet, an enzyme complex normally produced from the stomachs of new-born calves (in vegetarian or kosher cheeses, bacterial-, yeast- or mould-derived chymosin is used).
Character
Cheddar cheeses on display at the Mid Somerset Show,,The ideal quality of the original Somerset Cheddar was described by Joseph Harding in 1864 as "close and firm in texture, yet mellow in character or quality; it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth, the flavour full and fine, approaching to that of a hazelnut". Cheddar, made in the classical way, tends to have a sharp, pungent flavour, often slightly earthy. Its texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional Cheddar being slightly crumbly, it should also, if mature, contain large crystals of calcium lactate – often precipitated when matured for times longer than 6 months. Real Cheddar is never "soapy", in texture or mouth-feel, and tends to be more brittle than other types of cheeses. Cheddar is usually a deep to pale yellow (off-white) colour, but food colourings are sometimes used in industrial varieties of Cheddar style cheeses. One commonly used example is annatto, extracted from seeds of the tropical achiote tree. The largest producer of industrial Cheddar style cheese in the United States, Kraft, uses a combination of annatto and oleoresin paprika, an extract of the lipophilic (oily) portion of paprika. Coloured Cheddar style cheese has long been on sale, but even as early as 1860, the real reason for this was unclear: Joseph Harding stated "to the cheese consumers of London who prefer an adulterated food to that which is pure I have to announce an improvement in the annatto with which they compel the cheesemakers to colour the cheese". According to David Feldman, an author of trivia books, "The only reason why cheesemakers colour their product is because consumers seem to prefer it". Cheddar cheese was sometimes (and still can be found) packaged in black wax, but was more commonly packaged in larded cloth, which was impermeable to contaminants, but still allowed the cheese to "breathe", although this practice is now limited to artisan cheese makers.,,The Slow Food Movement has created a Cheddar Presidium, claiming that only three cheeses should be called "Cheddar". Their specifications, which go further than the West Country farmhouse Cheddar Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), require that Cheddar cheese be made in Somerset and with traditional methods, such as using raw milk, traditional animal rennet, and a cloth wrapping. Notable Cheddar cheeses include "Quickes", which in 2009 was awarded cheese of the year by the British Cheese Association, "Keen's", with a strong tang, "Montgomery's", with an apple after taste. An example of a cheese, made in the style of a traditional Cheddar in Lincolnshire is "Lincolnshire Poacher".
