Parmesan

[shelly_belly]

I started a parmesan last night according to this recipe.
https://cheesemaking.com/collections/recipes/products/parmesan-style-cheese-making-recipe

The instructions state "The cheese can be removed from the mold the following morning but keep it from drying out. I find a small plastic box with cover works well for this. The cheese will now be held for 2 days as the culture finishes working before the final salting in brine."

Would this be at room temperature or in the cave?

 

[passedpawn]

I started a parmesan last night according to this recipe.
https://cheesemaking.com/collections/recipes/products/parmesan-style-cheese-making-recipe

The instructions state "The cheese can be removed from the mold the following morning but keep it from drying out. I find a small plastic box with cover works well for this. The cheese will now be held for 2 days as the culture finishes working before the final salting in brine."

Would this be at room temperature or in the cave?

Room temperature. Wanna let the culture get as busy as possible in there, dropping the pH.

Brining then will be important. You want this cheese to dry out (eventually), so it will need to be air-dried for many months. To keep mold from having it's way, the brine will infiltrate the surface of the cheese. Takes a lot of salt to make a saturated brine. The salt will protect it (mostly) from mold. I put a wad of cheesecloth in a jar full of vinegar and salt solution, and if I see anything on the cheese it gets a quick scrub. I've had the same nasty jar in the cave for over a year - it's pretty ugly in there, but with the vinegar there's no way anything could live in it.

 

[Kent88]

Room temperature is fine. You want it warm enough for the cultures to be able to work.

 

[shelly_belly]

Ok, thanks. Most of the other cheeses I've made went straight into the brine or cave after the initial overnight rest so I wasn't sure. Also I'm looking for something to be able to write on the cheese with if you know of anything.

 

[passedpawn]

Ok, thanks. Most of the other cheeses I've made went straight into the brine or cave after the initial overnight rest so I wasn't sure. Also I'm looking for something to be able to write on the cheese with if you know of anything.

Haha, I've had that thought too. I don't think it's realistic... cheese is greasy. But if you come up with something, let me know. I think Sharpies are food-safe

 

[Staestc]

Haha, I've had that thought too. I don't think it's realistic... cheese is greasy. But if you come up with something, let me know. I think Sharpies are food-safe

I learn something everyday. I had no idea Sharpies where non toxic until I read this and did some googling!

 

[passedpawn]

I learn something everyday. I had no idea Sharpies where non toxic until I read this and did some googling!

Well, I wouldn't eat the wick out of one. They are nontoxic, which is likely different than "food safe" as I stupidly said above. Crayons are similarly "nontoxic" but not labeled food-safe. If you consider how many preschoolers have chewed up crayons, you might come to the same conclusions I have about the safety of these things. I'd use the sharpie on my cheese without reservation.

There are foodsafe "food writers", but they are probably not useful on cheese. Look on Amazon for these.

 

[Staestc]

Well, I wouldn't eat the wick out of one. They are nontoxic, which is likely different than "food safe" as I stupidly said above. Crayons are similarly "nontoxic" but not labeled food-safe. If you consider how many preschoolers have chewed up crayons, you might come to the same conclusions I have about the safety of these things. I'd use the sharpie on my cheese without reservation.

There are foodsafe "food writers", but they are probably not useful on cheese. Look on Amazon for these.

Yeah, I read the recommendations about not actually eating them, but was still very suprised to find out they were non-toxic! And that they don't seem to cause any but rare allergic reaction when used on skin. I used to worry (a little) when my girls were on swim team and were always getting numbers written on their skin with sharpies! lol

I suspected the difference between "food safe" and "non-toxic" was more than likely that formal testing is required to be labled food safe. But it turns out that, like many terms thrown around on manufacturer's labels, the term non-toxic really does not seem mean much. The use of the term Food Grade actually requires the manufacturer to perform testing and maintain the records and is official FDA terminology. Google turned up that there are several threads on this forum where this has been discussed too.

Sorry for the thread hijack Shelly, but you brought it up And I anxiously await your Parm results in a year or so!

 

[shelly_belly]

It has ripened for 2 days and will now be brined for 8 hours.

 

[Staestc]

It has ripened for 2 days and will now be brined for 8 hours.

View attachment 596129

It looks great! What mold did you use? Was it the medium hard cheese mold that is listed in the recipe?

 

[shelly_belly]

It's part of my CheesyPress and has a 4" inner diameter.

https://www.austinhomebrew.com/Schmidling-Cheesypress--2-gallon_p_4969.html