Our first attempt at making Cheddar Cheese

Prior posts from December shows how we made a basic cheese.  Once we had a few wheels of those made, Tricia decided to try her hand at making cheddar cheese.  Our basic cheese was okay, but not great for eating just a slice at a time.  We use the basic cheese primarily for cooking.  For making cheddar, Tricia used the recipe from the Home Cheese Making book by Ricki Carroll.  It contains instructions and recipes for homemade cheeses of many types.  It is a very good book!

Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll

Here is the recipe for Traditional Cheddar that Tricia used to make it.

Tricia had made and frozen the Mesophilic Starter a few days earlier.  Mesophilic starter is a blend of lactic acid producing bacteria for making low temperature cheeses.  When she made it, she poured into ice cube trays and each cube is about 2 tablespoons of starter.  

Mesophilic Starter

The recipe for cheddar uses 2 gallons of raw milk and calls for 4 ounces or 1/2 cup of Mesophilic starter.

Letting the starter come to room temperature

We pour the 2 gallons of raw milk into a large pot and we warm the milk to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Warming the milk

Once you've reached your desired temperature, add the starter.  Let it ripen or sit for 45 minutes.  This makes the milk more acidic.

Adding the starter

Now, brace yourselves.  There are lots of steps.  It is almost overwhelming.  I get tired writing about the process and wonder how people figured all this out!  After it has ripened for 45 minutes, bring your temperature back to 86 degrees.  The thermometer below shows the temperature is right.  Add the rennet and stir as shown in previous cheese making posts.  The rennet makes the curds separate from the whey. Let it sit for 45 minutes to an hour until the curds have a clean break.

About 86 degrees

Cut your curds into cubes and allow them to sit for 5 minutes. Then heat the curds to 100 degrees while gently stirring.  Maintain this temperature for 30 minutes while continuing to stir.  Allow them to sit for 20 minutes. Pour the curds and whey into a colander to remove whey.  Put the curds back into the pot and allow to sit for 15 minutes.  Now, take the curds out and put them on a cutting board and cut curds into 3 inch slices. Finally, put them back into a pot that is sitting in a 100 degree water bath and maintain temperature for 2 hours.

Break the curd slices into 1 inch cubes, maintaining 100 degree temperature.  Stir every 10 minutes for 30 minutes, but don't squeeze them. Remove from sink, adding salt and stir gently.  Line a 2 pound cheese mold with cheesecloth and place the curds into the mold.

Nice looking curds!

Put the curds into a cheese press and press at 10 pounds pressure for 15 minutes. Remove the cheese from the mold and pull away cheesecloth and turn the cheese over, re-wrap and press at 40 pounds pressure for 12 hours.

Pressing the cheddar cheese in our cool Cheese Press that a fried made for us

Repeat the process, but now press at 50 pounds pressure for 24 hours.

Pressing again

Remove the cheese from the mold and then remove the cloth.  Air dry the cheese at room temperature for 2 to 5 days, or until dry to the touch.  Now, wax the cheese. We used beeswax that we got from our beekeeper friend.  

2 pound wheel of Cheddar Cheese!

Now we just have to be patient.  We age the cheese at 50 - 55 degrees for 3 -12 months.  It develops a sharper flavor as it ages.  Tick tock, tick tock...