Anyone try Parmesan yet?

thinking of trying a batch in the morning . . .

I haven't, but I'm curious about the process.

Is the culture what gives it the different flavor? The recipes I've seen seem really similar to cheddar. The only thing I've noticed different is the skim milk, hotter temps, and brine soaking.

dunno but I'll let ya know Sunday. Cant do it today because of the time table I wont be around Saturday for the bringing . . . so putting it off a day
I'm also thinking much like beer most cheese recipes are going to be pretty much the same with the exception of little tweeks

I tried. I failed. Im sure it was me tho, I let it mold over somehow.

How did this work out for you Pumbaa?

well I had some delays . . . due to the brining process and my work schedule I got off track and made a new cheese mold (6" PVC) and follower (maple) instead and decided I would make the cheese this coming weekend since I have 5 days off and will be around 2 or 3 solid days in a row.

I'll post a picture or 2 as I go

I had heard that you weren't supposed to use PVC because it would leach into the cheese. Wrong?

manoaction said:

I had heard that you weren't supposed to use PVC because it would leach into the cheese. Wrong?

Click to expand...

they use it for water < shrug > and I've yet to taste it then . . .
anyway here's the stuff

From left to right: new mold, maple follower, oak cheese press with mold that came with the kits, weights for the press (up to 20lbs) and the cheddar

about the mold . . . it's about 4.5"tall and 6"diameter and I put holes in it 1/2" apart height wise and 1" apart around the circumference so it should have excellent drainage

That looks really cool. I'd like a mold like that, but was suspicious of PVC. I heard it was the acid in the cheese, but who knows.

Can you brew with PVC? I can't remember.

manoaction said:

Can you brew with PVC? I can't remember.

Click to expand...

dont think I would want to boil in it and havent ever seen a PVC jug to ferment in . . .

sorry, I'll be serious . . . I cant think of any reason you might want to but I would guess it depends on the point in the process

OK Parm is FINALLY going . . . I really need to get rid of some of the extracurricular activities . . .

process is fairly easy needed to buy a whisk though cuz I wasnt going to try and cut 1/4" curds (did 3 laps of whisk in and out around the edge and then in the mid). Got it in the first press now waiting to flip it and then get the 2nd press going . . . .

will probably have to get up in the middle of the night to get it in the brine, BUT with my gaming/work history and waking up for fleet returns/mob spawns and 911 calls in the middle of the night that shouldnt be a issue . . .

**EDIT**
new mold and follower working great, may sand the edges of the follower down a touch, kinda a bit tight with cheesecloth is added to the mix . . .

**EDIT**
2nd press going 10lbs for 30 minutes
Yeah follower is gonna get probably 1/4" of it's diameter shaved off

Nice work. Pics need to happen.

got up at 0300 to throw it in the brine, has about an hour to go b4 I throw it on the cheese shelf in the basement . . .
FYI dont let your brine sit in the pan you make it in. I used sea salt and must have had some scratches in my kettle cuz it started to rust . . . had to dump it and make a new batch and put that into a plastic bowl

oh and yeah the follower needs to be trimmed, it swells and is definetly too tight once it absorbs a bit of whey (but GD the maple wood looks nice )

Brand new baby Parmesan on the left, cheddar getting stinky on the right and my can o' cheese wax in the back

Very cool! I want to get into making cheese, but I just don't have a good space for aging. Trying to figure out a good way to do it without converting another fridge/freezer.

this time of year the basement seems to be about in the right area, I may build a encloser for the shelf for the summer since I have about 20 2 litter bottles for ice anyway

Ideally my next house will have a basement, but even the ground temps here in AZ get pretty warm in the summer. I'll just have to keep my eye on CL for a free cooling device and pick up another ebay aquarium temp controller.

2 liter bottles 3/4 full of water in the freezer
120mm muffin fan (the kind inside your computer)
thermostat (get at any hardware store)
1 12v AC to DC adapter (radio shack)
polystyrene panels (home depot)
liquid nails
small spool of wire to connect the "guts"
all ya really need, modify as you wish

Hey that looks great. Well done.