Cheddar

[Spuddy]

CHEDDAR CHEESE.

There are two ways of making cheddar the Traditional way where the curd is cut into strips to drain the whey and then reduced and turned
and this is the actual cheddaring process and takes about three hours.

There is a quicker way call Stirred Curd Cheddar and this is the one we shall use.

Annetto is the only colouring allowed for cheese and the addition of this yellow dye will make cheese from yellow cheddar to red Leicester.

I shall put the timing in each section as you go so you know what time to allow overall for the make. This the timing added up as you go to make a total time for the make which is 4 hours to pressing.

STIRRED CURD CHEDDAR.

45 minutes. RIPENING.

90F. 2 Gallons Milk. Cheese starter culture.

Warm 2 gallons of milk to 90F and add starter culture (can be youghurt and buttermilk or MA400) stir thoroughly and cover
and leave at 90F for 45 mins.


90 minutes COLOURING AND RENNETING

add cheese colouring at this point and stir well.
Stir in short teaspoon of rennet in cool water and make sure it is well mixed.

1 hour 30 minutes

Let the milk set at 90F for 90 minutes until a clean break is achieved.

1 hour 45 minutes. CUTTING THE CURD

Cut the curd into quarter inch cubes lifting the big ones from the bottom and cutting them and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Stir the curds very gently�..remember the French say �New curds should be handled like a new bride��(what ever that means) you do not want to break the curds through overstirring neither do you want the curds to matt together through understirring.

2 hours 15 minutes COOKING THE CURDS

Over the next 30 minutes raise the temperature of the curds to 100F
Do not raise it more that 2 degrees every five minutes and keep the curds gently stirred to keep uniform temperature.

2 Hours 45 minutes

Hold the temperature at 100Ffor an additional 30 mins stirring occasionally to prevent matting.

2 hours 50 mins. DRAINING

Drain the whey from the curds keeping it if you want to make ricotta
Do this by letting the curds settle to the bottom and then pour off most of the whey. Pour the curds into a large colander or remove as much whey as possible from your curd bucket. Do not allow the curds to matt just stir them gently with your hand.

3 hours. SALTING.

Add two teaspoons of sea salt and mix into the curds. Do no sqeeze
the curds just turn them over.

4 hours STIRRING

Still at 100F gently stir the curds with your hand every five minutes to avoid them matting keep the curds at 100F by a water jacket.

1 day 6 hours PRESSING.

Line a two pound cheese mould with a cheesecloth and place in the curds. Cover and place the follower on top and press the cheese at
15 lbs for 10 minutes.

Invert the cheese mould and press at 30 lbs for 10 minutes.
Invert and press for 40lbs for 2 hours.
Invert and press at 50lbs for 24 hours.

AIR DRYING.

Remove the cheese from the press and gently peel off the cheesecloth. Place the cheese on a cheese mat and turn the cheese several times a day for several days until the surface of the cheese is dry to the touch .

This can take from two to five days depending on the humidity of your kitchen.

Once the cheese is dry it can be waxed.

AGEING.

45/55F 85% RH.

The cheese should be stored at 45/55F for two to six months it is wise practice to continue to invert the cheese every so often to maintain a balance .

Variations can be Sage. Caraway. Jalapeno. Etc.