Cheddar

Difficulty: Intermediate
Type: Pressed, cooked
Preparation time: +/- 5 hours
Typical yield: 10%

 

Ingredients

Whole milk

Culture

Coagulant

Sea salt, adjust to taste

 

Dosage Milk (in liters) 10 100 1000
Ferment (pouch) 0.02 0.2 2
Coagulant (ml) 1 10 100

 

 

Equipment

Cheese Vat

Tool for mixing

Thermometer

Heating system (stove, propane burner, etc.)

Knife

Weight to put on the molds

Cheesecloth

Dosing pipet for rennet

Moulds (plastic or stainless steel)

 

    Preparation

    Fill

    Fill the cheese vat with whole milk

    Pasteurizationsation (optional)
    Hold milk at at least 63°C for 30 minutes, cool rapidly.
    Inoculation
    Bring the milk to 39°C.
    Add the dose of culture.
    Stir for 5 minutes.
    Leave to mature for 30 minutes, stir every 5 minutes.
    Coagulation

    Add the dose of rennet (10 ml/100 liters diluted in 10 times its volume with bottled water). Warning, tap water may contain elements that will prevent the rennet from working!

    Stir for 2 minutes.

    Let stand for 45 min, the milk should have a gelatinous texture (much like Jello).

    Do not shake or move the vat during this time.
    Curd cutting

    Cut the curd into regular cubes of about 10 to 15 mm

    Let stand for 15 minutes

    Gently stir for 15 minutes
    Cooking

    Add hot water gradually to raise the temperature to 40°C.

    Take off some whey at the same time to keep volume constant.

    Stir for 40-50 minutes at 40°C, the piece of curd should keep its shape when pressed.

    Remove half of the whey.

    Leave the curd to rest for 15-20 min.

    Remove the rest of the whey.

    Use a cheesecloth to help separate the grain from the whey.
    "Cheddarization"

    Cut the curd into blocks 20 to 30 centimeters wide then turn them over.

    Leave to rest for 15 minutes, covering the vat. If possible, maintain a temperature of 32-34°C.

    Repeat this step.
    Cutting and salting

    Cut the curd into cubes of about 15-20mm.

    Add the salt and stir.

    Allow to cool.

    If you want cheese curds, it's now ready to eat!
    Molding and pressing

    Fill the molds with curd.

    Using a clean cheesecloth may help with release.

    Stack the molds on top of each other and add a weight on top.

    Pressing time: 5 to 10 hours depending on the desired texture
    Ripening

    Leave to ripen in a refrigerated room between 5 and 12°C.

    Put the cheese under vacuum to ripen while limiting the risk of contamination.

     

    Now, if you want to vary the pleasures and put your personal touch, you can change the recipe by adding coloring, BBQ flavors, herbs and other spices.

    Have fun!

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