Last night Benjamin asked what kind of cheese I would like to make today, since we had most of the weekend milk to use up. I chose Temple Mountain, which is his Alpine-style cheese (think Gruyere), since I hadn't gotten to make it yet. So that's what we did.
We started with 99 gallons of milk, and ended up with 6 large wheels. It turned out to be difficult in the large vat (which Benjamin did tell me would probably happen) because the water heater isn't large enough to raise the temperature as high as quickly as we needed to. We did our best, however, and it will probably turn out fine. Every time something goes a little differently than he'd like, Benjamin says, "Maybe it will be the best cheese ever."
When the wheels are being pressed, they need to be flipped often to ensure that the cheesecloth doesn't become one with the cheese. Then the wheel goes back in the mold with the cloth wrapped carefully around it to ensure that no wrinkles are present. Often the only weight used for pressing is a bucket of leftover whey.
We started with 99 gallons of milk, and ended up with 6 large wheels. It turned out to be difficult in the large vat (which Benjamin did tell me would probably happen) because the water heater isn't large enough to raise the temperature as high as quickly as we needed to. We did our best, however, and it will probably turn out fine. Every time something goes a little differently than he'd like, Benjamin says, "Maybe it will be the best cheese ever."
When the wheels are being pressed, they need to be flipped often to ensure that the cheesecloth doesn't become one with the cheese. Then the wheel goes back in the mold with the cloth wrapped carefully around it to ensure that no wrinkles are present. Often the only weight used for pressing is a bucket of leftover whey.
For even less weight in the beginning stages of pressing, two molds get stacked on top of each other, and then comes the weight (whey-t? teehee) bucket. (I'm winning the house pun war, in case anyone was in any doubt.)
As you can see, there's plenty of whey to choose from. This will be going to the pigs tomorrow, and they are going to get very over-excited.
And, of course, my evening walk. Everywhere is so gorgeous, I can't help but bombard you with pictures that don't do justice.