Here's my first hard cheese from Penny's milk.
It's a farmhouse cheddar that's supposed to be a rather simple cheese to make, but it was hard for me to focus and get all the steps right because:
1. I'm not good at following directions, and have a short attention span.
2. It's been a long time since I made a hard cheese and practice makes perfect.
I made it three days ago and waxed it today. It will be ready to eat in one month.
Today I'm making a stirred curd cheddar which takes one more month to ripen, but I like the recipe better.
I didn't lose as much milk into the whey with the more complex recipe.
I need to make a Parmesan next because we use a lot of it, but I fear the aging process of an unwaxed cheese, which has to be aged at high humidity for a long time.
My plan is to use a cooler with some water in the bottom and a rack to keep the cheese on.
If my brining and aging is satisfactory, I will boastfully post for you to see the process.
It looks beautiful! (Removing silly comment about crayons and wax.) I'll look forward to hearing how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteNow I have to look in my email for the deleted comment. Banning comments makes them irresistible, you know that right?
DeleteI just deleted it after I typed it in, Mollie, so it won't show up anywhere ever. Mwah ha ha!
DeleteI thought for sure you got another cat and were naming him Cheddar.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the cheese making. I look forward to hearing how all your cheeses come out. I still have quite a few wheels in our wine refrigerator. This is the first year I made enough to get us through the winter.
A new cat would have been an educated guess!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the results even more than you are, believe me!
With a cow, it seems like I could make enough to get us through the winter easily. I just need to use will power :(
I will bring you Dutch cheese if you bring me your cheese.
ReplyDelete