Jarlsberg Cheese on the way

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4g milk, rennet added, shermanii added (culture for creating eyes in cheese), flocc test, 2.5x multiplier, curds cut, curds washed (whey removed, water added), stirred, curds removed into press, pressed overnight, soaked in brine wash overnight, drying now.

Into cave tomorrow,
age cool (50F) for a week to allow cheese to knit into homogenous structure,
age warm (70F) for 4 weeks to allow the culture to grow and create CO2 and the eyes,
age cool 8 weeks allow complex cheese flavors to be increase,
eat



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I'm testing out this new type of cheesecloth I found. It's plastic. The result:

Good:
  • it's FAR easier to clean, which makes it reusuable. As experienced cheesemakers know, getting cheese out of traditional cotton cheesecloth is so difficult, you're likely to just toss it
  • Doesn't get attached to the cheese, so less likelihood of tearing the new pressed cheese when removing the cloth
Bad:
  • doesn't fold as neat, which leaves unsightly creases in the pressed cheese.
https://cheesemaking.com/products/plyban-cheesecloth
 
That's a nice press. Let's just say I'm using something a lot more low tech.

What type of rennet are you using? Those curds look better than mine, I've recently been trying to troubleshoot why my curds seem to break easily. Was that after quite a bit of stirring?
 
That's a nice press. Let's just say I'm using something a lot more low tech.

What type of rennet are you using? Those curds look better than mine, I've recently been trying to troubleshoot why my curds seem to break easily. Was that after quite a bit of stirring?

I use liquid calf rennet. I used to use the dry stuff, but I think the liquid works more reliably. I buy the stuff that cheesemaking.com sells. I'm really gentle with curds after I cut them. Once they start shrinking, they get tougher, but right after cutting I don't even stir for a while.

If you want to give it a go, I have the plans for this press. I did not make mine, but I've considered making another one (or more). The metal drip pan that you see under the mold is also from cheesemaking.com.
 
Not much to say - just a progress report. Cheese was dried at room temp and under cheesecloth for a couple of days. Then I salted it and put it in this cake carrier. It's a pretty nice way to contain the cheese and maintain high humidity.

Those crevices on the sides of the wheel bug me a lot... might not use that plastic cheesecloth anymore.
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That press looks really nice. I’d like to see the plans just to learn how it’s built :)
 
That press looks really nice. I’d like to see the plans just to learn how it’s built :)

Here you go, the SturdyPress plans are attached below. Thanks to Bob Samuelson who sold me this one. Sadly, Bob's eyesight is gone and he cannot make these anymore, but his plans are attached.

I removed almost all the bolts and screws, drilled out the holes, and replaced with wood dowels. I also sanded, filled, and stained to suit me. My daughter says I'm "extra", and I think that's accurate.

He also gave me one of his novel "Foldaway" models. The latter press was a beauty, could fold up and go in the back of a cabinet, but it was was not capable of the press force of the bigger one. I do not have space restrictions and I do love hunting mice with an elephant gun, so I gave the lesser press to my brother.

Here's a bigger image of my SturdyPress.
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Attachments

  • sturdypress-plans1.pdf
    1.6 MB · Views: 0
holy hell, what a disaster. Cheese got infested with fruit flies. I'll spare the images, and I'm fond of images, but they were not going to instill confidence in any future cheesemakers here. Let's say that it was disgusting.

I have to assess my situation. I've never had any issue like this. oof. Gah. oof.
 
No worries Andrew they all can't be master pieces! You are better then most around here making cheese so it's good to know for us novices that sometimes it just doesn't work out. Keep the pics coming though on future endeavors!

John
 
Really sorry about your cheese, I hate it when stuff like this happens. The problem must have originated during the air drying phase, I guess?
 
Really sorry about your cheese, I hate it when stuff like this happens. The problem must have originated during the air drying phase, I guess?
No, I don't think so (but maybe). I believe the fruit flies found their way into my cheese cave fridge, and then into the cake carrier. Cheese cave is in garage. I have wires going into the fridge which might have left gaps in the seal.

Anyway, it was looking great, then a few days later I took it out to flip it and flies everywhere, some holes in the cheese, etc. Their were holes and those flies were busy making a home down inside the wheel. I'll spare you the more gruesome stuff, but it was an insta-dumper.
 
That's a real shame, I'm quite fond of Jarlsberg. Always have some in the fridge. Best commercial offering in Europe is made in Ireland. Then Norway followed by Denmark. Them pesky fruit flies are a PITA. It's that time of year here, too. You need a decoy trap. They're attracted to yeast more strongly than anything else. So some spent yeast slurry/trubby beer in a jar and a funnel trap, with the tapered opening a little bigger than a fruit fly positioned just above the liquid level. Highly effective.

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I'll spare the images,
When my kids were little they had some pet frogs in a terrarium.
I used to keep 30 or so drosophila (fruit fly) cultures going at different stages. I used the flightless ones for feeding the frogs.

Anyway, I can imagine exactly what you saw without seeing any images.

Really sorry about your cheese

Ditto
 
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