What Was I Thinking??

So, my original plan was to become an expert cheesemaker with the first batch. Each week I sought to make a pair of cheeses using the same recipe with different milks so I could compare flavors and textures. Eventually, I would start experimenting with cultures and such on my own, to create my very own cheese recipes. Yes, I wanted to become a professional dancer before I learned how to walk.

Just three batches of cheese into my new profession, I created a 2# batch of organic milk farmhouse cheddar. This was also the last cheese produced without the help of some sort of cheese mold. I was using a ricotta mold, which is much like a basket with very little structural support, especially when applying weight, so I did experience some difficulties getting this one to settle down. The two batches prior were half the size of this one, an advantage I wan't aware of until it was too late. In the end, I had literally babysat this cheese for several hours, standing over it, trying to keep the weights level. Yes, I even used a level. When it was all said and done, I waxed it up to put away for a couple of months.

The following week, I made the same recipe with raw milk, this time using my brand new cheese mold. I was so excited! Until it was time to press, and that quickly became not so fun. This one is affectionately known as the "angry cheese." The now-retired makeshift cheese press consisted of a cutting board with two 10# dumbell weights balanced on the board. It had worked well with the two 1# cheeses, and only moderately well with the first 2# cheese, though I had blamed that on the cheese mold not being sturdy enough to balance such weight. Well, after a broken plate and dented linoleum (the weights fell off once or twice or so) the cheese was relocated several times before finding it's home in the sink where the seemingly inevitable descent of the weights would be padded by empty plastic milk cartons. Much to my dismay, this arrangement only created probably one of the most horrible sounds one person could ever be awakened by, especially at 4 in the morning. I can only imagine what the poor souls living below must've been thinking. [A cheese press was purchased shortly after this experience.] I cleverly decided to bandage this cheese; the last attempt at waxing proved too troublesome with the available quantity of wax, and I already had enough trouble with this one.

One of these days I'll slow down enough to read the directions.

I didn't bandage my cheese with two layers of muslin as directed. In theory, the bandage prevents any mold formation from actually penetrating the cheese and allows for its quick removal along with the bandage when it is time to enjoy the aged mass of curds. As the cheese molded over, "OOOH, it's growing," I'd elate. I almost couldn't wait! I had to see, to taste! I knew this one would be good. Until I came across a little snippet in a book sent to me by a Dedicated Fan entitled What Can Go Wrong with a picture very similar to my angry cheese and the first line reading "Look at this ugly thing!" I was aghast! I ran to my cheese cave to retrieve the poor mistreated little thing, ripped off its bandages and proceeded to "salvage" my tasty treat, as per the instructions in the book, before it was too late!

Well, this weekend I open up this pair of cheeses, and what I found was remarkably similar to the first pair I opened up just a few weeks prior. Once again, the raw milk cheddar had tiny little bubbles inside, though it was not accompanied by that "off" odor; in fact, the odor was quite pleasant. If only it had tasted that way. It was sour, almost bitter. The texture was dry, though I expected that due to the bandaging technique. (Bandaging does not provide an airtight seal such as wax.) The pasteurized cheese had a smoother, more buttery texture, but no flavor and a slight sourness. Bummer.

So what did I learn this time?

1. Cheese does not take well to balancing 20# on its own.

2. Don't make any hard cheeses when you have to work the next day.

3. It's time to go back to the basics, get on all fours and start crawling.