Cheese the Sixth: Farmhouse Cheddar

The Cheese: Farmhouse Cheddar (Carroll p. 104)
The Milk: 1 gallon 365 whole milk (not organic, not explicitly non-ultrapasturized on the label)
The Starter: 1 packet direct set mesophilic
The Rennet: 3/8 tsp animal rennet

I needed the farmhouse cheddar practice after making Cheese the Fifth. In an attempt to get a better curdle, I added 1/4 tsp calcium chloride and a little bit more rennet.

The cheese went better up until the cooking phase, where I completely blew it. I was staring straight at the thermometer wondering if it would ever get from 94 to 96, when all of the sudden it jumped to 110. Yeow.

I had better luck with the press by wrapping the cheesecloth around the smaller can I use as a follower, but then I had a lof of trouble getting the cheese out. In fact I cracked the pressed cheese trying to get it out.

So, at this point I think it's going to take several more tries to get farmhouse cheddar down. I think I need to be even a little slower and more methodical than simply following the recipe from the Carroll book.

In the meantime, I'm going to make a soft cheese next week. I intend to alternate soft cheese one week and hard the next for the next couple of months.

I aged this one two days and then waxed it on March 1, 2009. I'll probably age this one three weeks as well and give it a try with Cheese the Fifth.