I tried to make a hard, cheddar style cheese yesterday while multi-tasking with too many other projects. It was a TOTAL failure as cheddar.
: However, a goat cheese making friend of mine inspired a test of the resulting curd and the results are amazing.
Here's what I did, "mistakes" included:
I started the cheesemaking process by heating 2 gallons (or maybe more because I lost count of the half full jars) of milk to 145 degrees, then let it sit an hour. Cool to 80ish degrees by placing pan in a sink of ice water.
Add 1/8 tsp Hoegger's Farmstead Cheddar culture. Let sit an hour or two at room temperature while distracted. (I think this allowed the normal acid development to progress much farther than normal.)
Combine 1/2 tsp liquid rennet (which is more than I normally use because I wasn't sure how much milk there was) with 1/4 cup water. Swirl into milk. Let sit ....oh.... two hours or so while you forget about it and put legs on the short milk stand and take a nap. (again, I think the acid development went haywire)
Cut into 1 inch curds. Heat to 102 or maybe higher because you forgot to turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Stir during the heating process whenever you think about it.
Let curds sit in whey for 30 minutes..... or significantly more. This would be the *normal* amount of time for a stirred curd cheddar, but I'm One Step Beyond at this point.
Look at mass of amorphous curd in the bottom of the pot.
Line colander with cheese cloth, place on top of two gallon bucket. Strain curd. Get disgusted and put whole thing in the refrigerator overnight, expecting to throw it out in the morning.
Talk to your friend who asks, "Will the curds melt?" Fling a spoonful of curds into a nearby ceramic coated skillet. Watch curds melt nicely. Give hubby a taste on a corn chip. His comment, "It would be good if you add salsa." Add salsa.
OH MY GOSH! We have wonderfully creamy Super Bowl Sunday goat cheese dip!!!!!!!
I've labeled the two containers in the fridge Vel-Chiva.
(Chiva is the local Mexican term for a female goat.)
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