My new pH tester!

Gosh, it's been an embarrassingly long time since I've posted here.  I've been quite busy over at Eating Rules, and I'm thrilled to be back in the kitchen making cheese once again.

A few months ago, my favorite pickler bought me a Hanna Waterproof pH Tester for my birthday, and today we're finally giving it a whirl.

This thing is awesome.  Dip it in the milk or whey, and about 10 seconds later, Blammo! you've got a pH reading!  (okay, there isn't actually any explosion, unless you yell "Blammo!" yourself, which I highly recommend).

It's as easy as using a thermometer (and actually includes a thermometer, since pH readings done in this manner must be temperature-calibrated).

Of course, without knowing exactly what pH we're supposed to hit and when, this cool little device won't actually be much help.  None of my recipe books reference pH numbers -- just times and temperatures.

I've been sifting through my copy of Paul Kindstedt's American Farmstead Cheese, which is by far the most technical book in my library.  He discusses pH in depth -- but since the book doesn't include any specific recipes, that only helps so much.

I did find a table on page 155 where he indicates "optimum" pH -- with some timing -- for making Cheddar.  Already it's been a bit of a help:  Heating the curds (bringing them up from 86°F to 100°F) went slower than I would have liked, but keeping an eye on the pH still let me know we were making progress.

As the pH slowly worked its way down, I decided to drain the curds at 6.15 -- based on Kindstedt's table.  This took more than an hour longer than Ricki's recipe, but less time than indicated in the table.

As I write this, the curds are cheddaring comfortably in the pot.  After only 15 minutes, on the first flip, the pH was down to 5.80.  If all goes according to plan, at the end of the requisite two hours we'll be at exactly 5.35, and then we'll mill the curds (translation: break them into small cubes), and proceed with the next steps.

If we hit 5.35 a little early, I might actually decide to stop cooking and mill them sooner than Ricki calls for.

I'm excited to start using the pH tester every time -- building my own reference library -- and hopefully with a bit of diligence I'll be able to solve my texture problems once and for all.

Do you have any experience pH readings?  Please post in the comments with any questions and/or advice!

Three Cheeses for the Holidays

My friends Sean and Michelle showed up to my holiday party with the perfect gift: Three wonderful cheeses they discovered at Venissimo Cheese, their neighborhood shop in San Diego.

First up: On the far left is the Humboldt Fog, an increasingly-popular goat's milk surface-ripened cheese from Cypress Grove.  The vein of edible ash is the signature mark of this rich, creamy, and delicious monster.  (I'm a big fan of Cypress Grove's cheeses -- especially the Fog and the Truffle Tremor, one of the most spectacularly decadent and knee-buckling cheeses I've encountered.)  Venissimo's notes:  California's top seller, with a ribbon of edible ash.  Herbaceous & Tangy.  Recommended Wines:  Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Dry Rose, White Burgundy, Super Tuscan, or a wheat beer.

In the middle is a Goat Sage Cheddar from Spring Hill Cheese Co. in Petaluma, CA.  The distinctive goat's milk tanginess melds beautifully with the sage, creating a zesty and robust kick... what an earthy delight!  Venissimo's notes:  Organic, pasture-fed, infused with sage, herbaceous and fresh, perfect on pizza.  Recommended Wines: Chardonnay, Champagne.

Finally we have the real zinger, the Chipotle Cranberry Cheddar from Carr Valley Cheese in Wisconsin.  This white cheddar has huge smokiness and tang, followed by the slightly tart and sweet cranberries, ending with quite a bit of heat.  Venissimo's notes:  Studded with cranberries, infused with chipotle, sweet, BBQ sauce flavor, incredible melted!  Recommended Wine:  Zinfandel.

Served with Fuyu Persimmon, Medjool Dates, and water crackers, this sampler was the perfect year-end treat.  Thanks, Sean and Michelle! You're the best.

15-Year Cheddar, now available

Every so often I like to run a Google News search for Cheese News and see what comes up. Usually, I'm pleasantly surprised. This morning I learned that Hook's 15-year cheddar is now available. Yes, that's FIFTEEN YEARS. Said another way, they've been aging this cheese since 1994. I know aging like that is pretty typical for a fine spirit, but cheese? That's a completely different story.

I had the privilege of trying their 10-year cheddar last year as part of a swanky Scotch & Cheese Tasting at the Beverly Hills Hotel (see pic below) and it was absolutely divine. Sharp and flavorful, of course, with bonus little crystals that seemed to burst in your month. A bit like Pop rocks meets cheddar. Okay, I exaggerate, but you get the idea (they're actually just crystallized Calcium Lactate).  Oh, and in case you're wondering, it paired exquisitely with the Glenfiddich 30.

At $50/pound, it might be the priciest cheese I've encountered yet. I bet it's well worth it.

http://www.hookscheese.com/

That's the 10-year cheddar at 9 o'clock.

Black Sand Cheddar

The "Black Sand Cheddar" will whisk you away to the stunning beaches of Hawaii. Aloha! Or something like that. In any case, it sounds a lot better than "Cracked-Pepper Cheddar," right?

Serve chilled, with a lime...

2 gal. Trader Joe's Organic Whole Milk
1/4 tsp. Direct-Set Mesophilic Starter
3/4 tsp. Liquid Vegetarian Rennet
2 tbs. Cheese Salt
1 tbs. (approx) cracked assorted peppercorns (boiled in water for about 10 minutes, added at the same time as the salt)

Cheddar Texturing

I've been really happy with the flavor of the Stirred-Curd cheddars so far... but the texture hasn't been quite right. It's been a bit crumbly and dry. Doing a little more research, it seems that the solution might be to use a little more rennet. (The vegetarian rennet I have says on the bottle it's "double-strength," so I had been using half what the recipe calls for...).

On Sunday I had some friends over and we made a batch of Stirred-Curd Cheddar, but used 3/4 tsp. of rennet instead of the previous 1/2 tsp. What a difference! The curds set significantly faster (about 45 minutes), and were ready for cutting after only 45 minutes. After that, everything seemed about the same--until taking the cheese out of the press. The curds knit together much more smoothly, as the outside of the cheese was much smoother and, well, "cheddar-like"... and the feel of the entire wheel of cheese is a little more rubbery* and feels like it has a bit more moisture to it.

I waxed the cheese this morning, and I'll report back in two months...

2 gal. Trader Joe's Organic Whole Milk.
1/4 tsp. Mesophilic Starter
7 drops Cheese Coloring, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp. Vegetarian Rennet, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
2 tbs. Flake Cheese Salt

* in a good way.

Perfect Party Platter

Last Friday my friend Dana threw a little soirée, which ended up being a gathering of many of our friends. What better opportunity to share some cheese?

I put together a little cheese platter, with the Feta, Manchego, Horseradish Cheddar, and Jalapeno Cheddar. Dana also supplied some fig paste, which is a wonderful complement to the Manchego (Quince paste is also great). Overall: Great Success!

We've been enjoying the Manchego and Feta for a little while now, but this was the unveiling of the two cheddars. They had been aging for just over 2 months, and came out of the wax in excellent shape. Both had a faint trace of pink mold on the surface, which I simply scraped off.

The flavor was excellent--thankfully, we guessed right on the Horseradish and Jalapeno quantities. Spicy, flavorful, and intense. I still can't decide which I liked more.

The only other thing I still have to figure out is the texture... Both the cheddars were quite crumbly (almost like a Feta!), while the Feta is too soft and creamy. Darn it, I'll have to try again!

Horseradish Cheddar & Jalapeno Cheddar

Yesterday my friend Dana and I made a special batch of Stirred-Curd Cheddar. We split it up into a Horseradish Cheddar and a Jalepeno Cheddar. Basically, we followed the Ricki Carroll's Stirred-Curd recipe, and after the faux-cheddaring process (draining the whey, then holding the curds at 100 degrees, stirring every 5 minutes), we then divided the curds into equal parts, adding 2 tablespoons Horseradish puree to half, and 2 tablespoons finely chopped Jalapenos to the other half.

The plan was to press both at once (I only have one press, after all). However, we quickly realized that both of these are rather pungent, and that the flavors would likely combine inside the press (even if they're separated by some cheesecloth). We wanted to avoid making a Horseradish Cheddar that tasted like Jalapenos, and vice versa. Even we're not that adventurous!

The workaround was to press the Horseradish first, while continuing to hold the Jalapeno curds in the pot at 100 degrees. We pressed at 10 pounds for 10 minutes, then flipped, and again at 30 pounds for 10 minutes. We then switched, holding the shaped horseradish wheel at 100 degress, while we pressed the Jalapeno for the same amounts.

Next we stacked the two in the press (each dressed in their own cheesecloth), and pressed at 40 pounds for 2 hours. After that we flipped, redressed, and pressed at 50 pounds.

The cheeses are currently still in the press--they'll be ready to take out of the press tonight. Last night I took the cheeses out of the press. Looks like we either pressed the horseradish a bit harder than the jalapeno, or we just didn't divide the curds evenly--the horseradish wheel is quite a bit smaller than the jalapeno wheel. Other than that, they're looking--and smelling--incredible!

2 Gallons Trader Joe's Organic Whole Milk
1 Packet Direct Set Mesophilic Starter
1/2 tsp Double-Strength Vegetarian Rennet
2 tbs Gold's Prepared Horse Radish (Ingredients: Horseradish, Vinegar, Salt, Flavoring)
2 tbs Chopped Jalepenos (From a jar of Jalapeno Slices in Vinegar)
2 tbs Flake Cheese Salt

Stirred-Curd Cheddar

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to try another Cheddar. This time I opted for Ricki Carroll's Stirred-Curd Cheddar recipe. It is still a bit of a cheddar shortcut, but a little more involved than the Farmhouse Beach House Cheddar, since you do need to "cook" the curds for about an hour (stirring every few minutes to keep them from sticking together). However, I think it differs from a traditional cheddar in that you keep the curds separate while cooking (cheddaring?) them, rather then draining them and them cutting the block of drained curds into strips.

This cheese also needs to be waxed before aging. I used my smaller press hoop to create a taller cheese--then cut it in half before waxing. This way I ended up with two one-pound wheels. I plan on aging one for two months, and the other a bit longer to see how it develops.

2 Gallons Trader Joe's Organic Whole Milk
1 Packet direct-set Mesophilic starter
1/2 tsp. Double-Strength Vegetarian Rennet
2 tbs Flake Salt

Beach House Cheddar

For my first real foray into making hard cheese, I decided on a "Farmhouse Cheddar" recipe from Ricki Carroll's book, Home Cheese Making.

This is supposed to be a good cheddar "shortcut" and pretty doable for a first-timer.

Heating the milk:
Oops! I heated it on the stove, rather than in a hot water bath...as a result, I think the temperature was not even throughout, and the milk wasn't quite as warm as it was supposed to be. It took the rennet more than twice as long to work (it's supposed to be 45 minutes), but eventually it curdled enough to cut into cubes.

After straining the curds into a colander, I'm left with a pot of Whey:


Draining the curds:

Yup, that's honest-to-goodness Cheese Cloth! The curds drained for 60 minutes. When I took them out, they were one hard, kinda rubbery, ball of curd. I broke them up into "walnut" sized pieces, according to the recipe (hmm... shelled or unshelled?), mixed in the salt, and then packed the curds into...

...my new press:


After pressing for 12 hours, the cheese came out of the press:

I then air-dried it for 5 days, turning several times a day, until it was dry to the touch.

Next step is waxing the cheese:


(That white square is just a label I added before the last layer of wax).

Then it was time for aging. Thankfully, the recipe only calls for aging for one month...

My second glitch: Because I didn't yet have a cheese fridge, I had to age it at room temperature. The regular kitchen fridge would have been too cold, but with room temperature you run the risk of mold and bacteria taking over. (It's supposed to be aged at 55 degrees & 85% relative humidity. Ahh, well...)

One month later:


Well, much to my surprise, the cheese came out quite nicely! The flavor was, well, interesting. It is somewhat "sharp" as a cheddar should be, but then mellow out and then you can really taste the milk. I think aging it another month would have really helped it out. More importantly, since I kinda messed up two key variables (heating on the stove, room temperature aging), we've come to the conclusion that this is more appropriately named the Beach House Cheddar.