Friday night was cheesemaking night, and as the Farmhouse Cheddar tasted so good, I thought I had better make a replacement toot-sweet!
So as I made the cheese, I filmed it as well, and over the last few days I have been editing and producing a Farmhouse Cheddar video tutorial for you to learn how to make this amazing cheese.
So here it is! https://youtu.be/RiGwMZ-6ocI
This Farmhouse Cheddar cheese is just so simple to make and has a great taste, especially when you add peppercorns!
For those of you who are after the recipe for this cheese, check out my original post about making Farmhouse Cheddar. I think it is an excellent first semi-hard cheese for newbie curd nerds!
Gavin, it’s Phil from NY. I’ve made the Raclette over a month ago and I have a few questions.
1. I’m washing it every two days and there is a lot of blue/green mold every timed I wash it with the simple brine solution. Is that normal? It also appears that some mold has gotten deep into some cracks. Is that ok? Should I keep the lid of the maturation box sealed or loosely covered. Finally, it hasn’t gotten really Brown yet like yours. I made it on May, 5th and keep it at 56 degrees at 90% humidity.
2. My Parmesan I made a few weeks earlier is also producing a lot of blue/green mold since I put them in the maturation boxes. Usually with other parmesans, I would simply ripen them on a cheese mat without the box. Just wanted your thoughts when you have time.
Thanks Gavin!
Hi Phil, there really shouldn’t be any blue/green mould on a Raclette. Here is a suggestion add a 1/32nd teaspoon of B. Linens to your simple brine solution and let that rehydrate for about an hour before you wash the cheese. You will find that this will outcompete the other moulds. I would keep the maturation box closed.
For the parmesan, I would add a teaspoon of white vinegar to a simple brine and wash. It will get rid of the mould. Once the rind has developed after about 1 month, I would wax or vacuum pack it. Otherwise, it will dry out.
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
Ok thanks ill get onto that straight away!
Regards,
Clare
Hi,
I attempted to make the cheddar cheese 6 days ago and ive been turning it twice a day. Unfortunately the weather over here in nz hasnt been the best and i noticed this morning that my cheese hasnt really gone yellow and crusty but has green and red mould growing……..ive wiped this all off and wondered what you can suggest for it not to come back or how much longer til i should wax it?! help……
Regards,
Clare
Hi Clare,
May I suggest that you wipe the wheel over again with a strong brine, then once touch dry, wax it straight away. Make sure that the temp of the wax is at least 90C, which will also kill the mould.
Gav x
Hi Antje,
Nice to hear from someone over the Tasman! Thanks for the encouragement, and I am so glad that you decided to start making hard cheeses. It is a very rewarding skill. I love sharing cheese with friends and family.
Gav x
Hi Gavin,
i live in Queenstown, New Zealand and i have tried myself on some soft cheeses and after finding your website, i started getting all my cheese equipment together to make hard cheeses.I am only missing a cheese cave, but I'm sure i find one eventually. With this being said, i just wanted to tell you i think it is great what you are doing(not just the cheese making,everything else as well)I would like to be more self sufficient and you showed that when you really want something you can do it. Thank you also for the cheddar tutorial, this is the first cheese I'm gonna try next week.:)
Antje
I think that I need to see if my thermometer is correct. I have directions on how to re-calabrate it. Then I'll try again. Thanks for the ideas.
For Susan from Michigan – I heard today that using more rennet than necessary can result in a dry cheese as well as getting the temperature a little too warm during the cooking stage. My cheeses so far have been rather crumbly (which I actually like) but it would be nice to also have one non-crumbly. I keep very accurate notes and I am sure I don't go over the recommended temperature and I weigh the rennet on a laboratory scale. Hmmm. As someone once said it is all trial and error, mostly error!!
Good luck and keep trying.
@ Susan. Not really sure as I would have to watch your method. Did you let it dry completly before waxing? I find that this changes the consistency of the final product somewhat. Was there whey present when you opened the wax?
@ SCK, thanks very much. I got the press from Green Living Australia. Just search for it.
Gav
Thank you for your excellent video. Watching the process of cutting and stirring the curds is much better than still shots! I am anxious to try the peppercorns!
Where did you get your nifty little press? It is a nice low profile!
Gavin, I have made Farmhouse cheddar two times and although it tasted great it was very dry and when I grated it over a casserole it just got hard instead of melting. What could be causing this problem?