Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Farmhouse Cheddar Tasting and Making Camemberts


Hi Cheese-Lovers! :)

I opened the Farmhouse Cheddar that I made at the end of October. Farmhouse Cheddar is basically a short-aged Cheddar. It aged for just one month and it's supposed to be more moist and creamier than a regular Cheddar.

I didn't post a recipe because I wanted to see how it turned out first. There are good points and bad points.

Farmhouse Cheddar to the left - 3-month aged Cheddar to the Right

It looks right! It has the right texture! It smells awesome. We re-sealed half of the 3-month Cheddar that we opened in October - you can see how the 3-month Cheddar is very firm, no holes. This is because an aged Cheddar goes through what's called the Cheddaring process. A Farmhouse Cheddar doesn't. The Cheddaring process removes more whey from the curd to make a firmer cheese. So as you can see, both cheeses look right.

Despite good looks, once again, there is a little tang to it. And it didn't melt. I even tried a different bacterial culture this time so I'm guessing it's the milk or the acidity level during ripening.

No matter how much research I do, I CANNOT find any information about acidity of cheese during cheese making in LAYMAN's terms that talks about tang and melt. I don't have a chemistry degree!  None of the books I own on cheese making address this. Plus, I simply don't have the time or attention span right now to learn about all of the chemical/technical aspects of cheese making...but I'm going to try my darndest to figure all of this out so that I can have a nice mild Cheddar! I wrote to the owner of the cheese making store where I buy my supplies, I hope she can help me!

It's still good, don't get me wrong! We nearly finished it! :) But it's just a snacking cheese.


Another little experiment I'm doing is a new recipe for Camembert. I have a very good recipe for the authentic French gooey, runny strong flavoured Cam. The photo above is one of the Cams I made last Christmas. You can see how the cheese is firm on the outside and runny on the inside. The rind was beautifully developed as well - it was a great cheese! But this year I wanted to try one that was a little more mild and a lot more firm.


So I tried a new recipe for a firmer Cam. I made them two days ago and they are air drying. They are quite holey...and the white bloom has already started to show up in places! These will be ready to taste in mid-January so I'll let you guys now how they turn out!

8 comments:

Leanna said...

I don't have the ability to taste the cheeses you made in the pictures but dayum, they all look wonderful. I kind of wish I was there.

Rain said...

Thanks so much Leanna :) I think we basically live a comfort food lifestyle now! I LOVE the runny Camembert cheese...I can't wait to see how this more firm one turns out! I'm going to try to make a Brie next year too!

Leigh said...

Now I want to try Camembert! And some cheddaring. I think I could do the technique with my basic homestead cheese recipe.

The only thing I remember about tang is what you already said, too much culture, too low a pH. Meltiness is a mystery to me too. And I see what you mean about the sci-techy explanations. They don't help me visualize the results, lol

Rain said...

Leigh, you just told me something I forgot, too much culture could add to tang. I wonder if I'm over-culturing. I think that it will take a lot of experimentation to get it all right. I was looking up the prices of PH meters, the good ones with the spears at the end so you can check the PH of the actual curd, they run up and over $300. I also think I'm going to try a different milk the next time too.

Fundy Blue said...

That farmhouse cheddar looks yummy! Way to go, Rain!

Rain said...

Thanks Louise! It is a great little cheese to make, just wish it wasn't so tangy!!

Martha said...

The cheese you make always looks amazing! With all the effort you put into this, you will perfect it.

Rain said...

Thanks so much Martha! I'm trying hard, I NEED to find out why they aren't melting!!! (obsessed!!!)