Cheese can be a funny thing. Of late, I have made a few mistakes, which have come good in the end. This example of a poorly executed Parmesan is no exception.
I was performing a cheese muster on the weekend to make sure that everything was okay in there after a bit of hot weather, and was curious about this cheese in particular. Over time it had swollen and started to dry out, even though it had another month to mature.
So without the benefit of a cheese trier, I had to cut this wheel in half. I had a bit of a shock when I did open it, as it looked like an Emmental on steriods. It was also very dry and hard to cut.
I did what any good cheesemaker would do, and decided to save the cheese by grating it. Because it was so hard, it took just under an hour to grate just half of it, but it was definately worthwhile in the end. The taste was not as strong as my normal parmesan would be, partly because of the dryness and lack of maturity.
To be frank, it was like a rock, and turned into very fine gratings. The inside was a little more moist, however the outside just powered. It reminds me of that underwhelming grated Parmesan that you can buy in the shops made by Kraft! At least my version is made to the traditional recipe and not processed.
I have thought about why this Parmesan among many that I have made, turned into Mr Bloaty. Here is the conclusion that I have come to;
a. Not left in the brine long enough.
b. Brine not salty enough, therefore allowing the culture to continue working
c. The milk quality was not premium and was bog standard shop bought milk
d. It was far to warm when drying at room temp for a few days.
e. I oiled it instead of waxing it.
So these five factors contributed to an extremely hard and bloated Parmesan cheese. It pays to buy good milk from a non-industrial source, and ensure that your brine is strong enough so that it retards additional, unwanted culture activity.
We all live and learn and at least I managed to save it. It made the best Basil Pesto!
I have been busy making cheese today. So what is new you probably think to yourselves, you always make cheese.
Well, I have been making big cheeses. You see, now that I have a 14 litre pot and two cheese presses, I can make double the amount of cheese in the same time frame as it used to take me to make just one. I am so glad that I "upsized" my equipment, because now I seem to always have cheese at hand, and some left over should friends want to buy some from or to give away as gifts. Nothing says 'I love you' like home made cheese!
Last weekend, I made two Caerphilly cheeses, and the week before that, I made the biggest Parmesan that I have ever made.
The only problem I have is that it has been so cold here of late, that the cheese will not dry and form a rind. The Caerphilly above, which are the two wheels at the front, have been sitting at room temperature for 7 days, and have only formed a slight rind on the edges. Because they have been moist, I have had to wash with brine to inhibit mould growth.
Not so bad though for the Parmesan at the back. Because it is a brine dipped cheese, the rind forms really easily, with minimal mould formation. I will wax it this week, as I find this helps it from drying out. As for the Caerphilly, I will wait for the rind, and then put them in the cheese cave for a few more weeks before vacuum packing them to stop them from aging further.
Today, because it was raining heavily and I couldn't do much outside, I decided to make another big Parmesan. It took me about 4 hours from milk to press (as shown above), and tomorrow I will brine it for 24 hours. In ten months it will taste absolutely delicious!
This morning, Kim found some Feta in the fridge that I had made about 3 months ago, still in the brine and looking very healthy. I tried a little and found it to be sharp, very edible, with a crumbly texture to the cut, but when spread on toast it was smooth and creamy and delicious. I remember following my standard recipe for this one, and it just goes to show that if kept submerged in brine in a sealed container, Feta can last for a long time. Now that we have discovered this, I think I will age all of my Feta for this long!
This well known Italian cheese is one of my favourites and I have made it about 8 times, with each wheel being a success. In fact, I try and make one about every 3 months to keep up with the constant supply necessary for our appetite for this strong, flavoursome cheese.
Parmesan is really called Parmigiano Reggiano, named after the two regions in Italy where it is made. It is one of the worlds most famous grating cheeses. Normal sized wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano weigh about 46 kg each, but this recipe is modified to make about 1 kg of this delicious cheese. It certainly beats the crappy, smelly, powered cheese you can buy in those green containers! Everyone in my family gives it a massive two thumbs up, and we eat it shaved or grated on many types of pasta dishes.
I have made a video tutorial for this cheese in two parts, so to get a feel for how I made it, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Part 1
Part 2
Method:
Ingredients:
Brine solution (1 litre water plus 2 tablespoons non-ionised salt, boiled for 5 minutes)
4 litres full cream milk, at least 3.4% fat
4 litres lite or semi skimmed milk, no more than 1.4% fat.
1 quarter teaspoon direct set Thermophilic starter culture
1 quarter teaspoon Lipase powder, mixed with 20ml of unclorinated water
2.5 ml rennet mixed with 60 ml unclorinated water
2.5 ml Calcium Chloride mixed with 60 ml unclorinated water
As usual I set up all the utensils and ingredients before I begin, then I sterilise everything in water in the 8 litre pot for 15 minutes. People are often surprised to discover that it is made with low fat milk (no more than 2.5% fat), because it has such an intense flavour.
Once sterilised, I put the big pot on a small saucepan of water to act as a double boiler.
Add the milk and alternate a litre of each type to so that it mixes well, and then bring the temperature up to 35C. Once at temperature, add the Thermophilic culture and mix well. Cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
Add the Calcium Chloride and mix well. Then add the Lipase mixture and stir for a minute. Keeping the mixture at 35C, add the Rennet mix and stir for at least 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cover and allow to set for 45 minutes.
When you get a clean break, cut the curd by using a balloon whisk. Push the whisk all the way to the bottom of the pot and lift back out. Do this all the way around all over the surface for 3 times. This will ensure that you have cut the majority of the curd to about 4mm. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir at 35C for 10 minutes
Increase the temperature to 42C over half an hour and hold this temperature for 15 minutes continuously stirring with the whisk to prevent matting. You will notice that the curd will start to shrink into smaller grain sized pieces.
Increase the temperature to 52C over half an hour stirring regularly. When the temperature has been reached you should notice that the curd will have a very small grain size and that it will be dry to touch and squeeky when you chew them to test for doneness. Let the curds rest for 5 minutes off the heat
Drain the curds and whey into a cheese cloth lined colander. Be careful as the whey is quite hot. Gather up the cheese cloth and form a ball of curd big enough to fit into your 900gm mold. Cover one of the corners of the curd with the cheese cloth and top with the follower then press at 2.5kg for 15 minutes.
Remove the cheese from the press, and slowly unwrap the cloth. Turn the cheese over, rewrap it in the cloth, and press at 5kg for 30 minutes. Repeat this procedure, press at 7.5 kg for 2 hours. Repeat again, pressing at 10kg for 12 hours.
Remove the cheese from the mould and unwrap. Immerse the cheese in the brine solution. I use a 2 litre icecream container, add the cheese first then pour over the brine. The brine should be at room temperature and not hot or the cheese will begin to break up and absorb too much salt.
Leave it at room temperature (21C) for 24 hours, and flip the cheese occasionally.
Take the cheese out of the brine solution and pat it dry with paper towel. Here is your chance to smooth the cheese with your hands if there are any rough bits. Then place on a sushi mat and put it into the cheese cave at 13C/80% humidity for 10 months. Turn the cheese daily for the first week, then weekly after that. Remove any mould that forms on the exterior with some left over brine and a bit of cheese cloth. This also helps to harden the cheese as it ages.
I usually wax this cheese at about the three month mark, because otherwise, even if rubbed with olive oil the wheel is just too small to hold the required amount of moisture and it will dry out. The first wheel of Parmesan made in May 2009 turned out very well and had that sharp flavour that Grana cheeses are well known for.
The trademark texture and flavour of this cheese is obtained though the lengthy maturation process which results in a cheese with a hard, gritty texture. I guarantee that this cheese is well worth the wait.
