HARD CHEESE RECIPES
Making hard cheese requires the use of mechanically applied pressure to extract a high level of moisture from the curd. Here we will learn to use a cheese press, cheese wax and the aging process.
HARD CHEESE RECIPES
  • MONTEREY JACK
  • CHEDDAR CHEESE
  • GOUDA CHEESE
  • COLBY CHEESE

    		•
    MONTEREY JACK
  • 2 gallons skim milk
  • 1 quart heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon calcium chloride
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic A
    • 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet    		 Combine skim milk and heavy cream in your cheese pot. This will give you the consistency of raw milk. Pasteurize the mixture in a double boiler then cool it to 88oF (31ºC). Add 1/4 teaspoon of Mesophilic A starter. Stir in thoroughly. Allow the milk to ripen for 45 minutes.
    In a glass dish combine 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 2 tablespoons of distilled water. Add this mixture to the milk and stir gently for 25 seconds.
    Increase the temperature of the milk to 90oF (32ºC) . Add 1/4 teaspoon of liquid rennet to 4 ounces of cool distilled water. Add this mixture to the 90oF (32ºC) milk and stir gently. Allow the milk to set at 90oF (32ºC) for 30 to 60 minutes or until the milk has set into a firm curd with a clean break. Using a long bladed stainless steel knife cut the curd into l/2 inch cubes. Let the curds set for 10 minutes.
    Place the cheese pot into a second pot of 90ºF (32ºC) water. Indirectly heat the curds to 100oF (38ºC) by increasing the temperature no faster than two degrees every five minutes. It should take 35-45 minutes to reach 100oF (38ºC). Stir the curds gently but frequently during this cooking period to keep the curd pieces from matting together.
    Maintain the curds at 100oF (38ºC) for an additional 30 minutes stirring every several minutes to keep the curd from matting. Then allow the curd to settle for five minutes.
    Pour off the whey down to the level of the curd. Maintain a temperature of 100oF (38ºC) by placing the pot of curd into a water bath which is at 100oF (38ºC). Allow the curds to set for 30 minutes stirring every five minutes to prevent matting.
    Line a colander with cheesecloth and place it in a sink. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and allow to drain. Sprinkle one tablespoon of cheese salt over the curd and gently mix it into the curd.
    Place the curds into the plastic cheese mold which is lined with cheesecloth. Pull up on the sides of the cloth to avoid any bunching of the cloth. After pouring all the curds into the mold, lay the excess length of cheesecloth evenly over the top of the curds. Place a suitable sized plate or saucer on top of the curd and set a one pound weight on top of the plate. A plastic 1 pint jar of water works well. Press the cheese for 15 minutes.
    Remove the cheese from the press and take it out of the cheesecloth. Place the cheesecloth back in the mold and return the cheese to the mold upside down. Fold the excess cheesecloth over the cheese and again put the plate on top of the cheese. Now press the cheese with 4 pound pressure for 12 hours This can be done with 1/2 gallon plastic jug of water. 
    Air dry the cheese for 1-3 days. Wax the cheese and store for aging at 40-50oF (4-10oC) for at least three months. Turn the cheese over daily for the first month and several times a week thereafter.
    CHEDDAR CHEESE
  • 2 gallons skim milk
  • 1 quart heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic A
  • 1 teaspoon calcium chloride
    • 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet

    Combine skim milk and heavy cream in your cheese pot. Pasteurize the mixture in a double boiler then cool it to 88oF (31ºC). Add 1/4 teaspoon of Mesophilic A starter. Stir in thoroughly. Allow the milk to ripen for 45 minutes.
    In a glass dish combine 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 2 tablespoons of distilled water. Add this mixture to the milk and stir gently for 25 seconds.
    Add 1/4 teaspoon of liquid rennet to 4 ounces of cool distilled water. Add this mixture to the 90oF (32ºC) milk and stir gently. Allow the milk to set at 90oF (32ºC) for 45 minutes or until the milk has shows a clean break.
    Cut the curd into 1/4 inch cubes. Let the curds set for 10 minutes.
    Slowly raise the temperature of the curd to 100oF (38ºC) over a 30 minute period by increasing the temperature 2oF (1ºC) every 5 minutes or so. Cover the pot and allow the curd to settle for five minutes, then pour off the whey into another pot.
    Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Knot one corner of the cloth around the other three corners and hang the bag of curds to drain for one hour.
    Pour the drained curds into a bowl and gently break them up with your fingers into walnut sized pieces. Thoroughly mix in 1 tablespoon of cheese salt.
    Place the curds into the plastic cheese mold which is lined with cheesecloth. Pull up on the sides of the cloth to avoid any bunching of the cloth. After pouring all the curds into the mold, lay the excess length of cheesecloth evenly over the top of the curds. Place a suitable sized plate or saucer on top of the curd and set a one pound weight on top of the plate. A plastic 1 quart jar of water works well. Press the cheese for 15 minutes. 
    Remove the cheese from the press and take it out of the cheesecloth. Place the cheesecloth back in the mold and return the cheese to the mold upside down. Fold the excess cheesecloth over the cheese and again put the plate on top of the cheese. Now press the cheese with 4 pound pressure for 12 hours This can be done with 1/2 gallon plastic jug of water. 
    Air dry the cheese for 1-3 days. Wax the cheese and store for aging at 40-50oF (4-10oC) or at least three months. Turn the cheese over daily for the first month and several times a week thereafter.
    GOUDA
  • 2 gallons skim milk
  • 1 quart heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon calcium chloride
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic A
  • 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet

    • Combine skim milk and heavy cream in your cheese pot. Pasteurize the mixture in a double boiler then cool it to 90oF. Add 1/4 teaspoon of Mesophilic A starter. Stir in thoroughly. 
    In a glass dish combine 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 2 tablespoons of water. Add this mixture to the milk and stir gently. Hold the temperature of the milk at 90oF (32ºC). Cover the pot and allow the milk to ripen for 10 minutes.
    Add 1/4 teaspoon of liquid rennet to 4 ounces of cool distilled water. Add this mixture to the 90oF (32ºC) milk and stir gently. Allow the milk to set at 90oF (32ºC) for 30 to 60 minutes or until the milk has set into a firm curd displaying a clean break.
    Cut the curd into l inch cubes. Let the curds set for 10 minutes. Slowly raise the temperature of the curd to 100oF (38ºC) over a 30 minute period. Cover the pot and allow the curd to settle for five minutes, then pour off the whey into another pot. 
    Allow the curd to settle to the bottom of the pot for five minutes and then drain off 1/3 of the volume of the whey. Have 175oF (79ºC) water ready and slowly pour this into the pot of curds while gently stirring. Add hot water until the temperature of the curd is 92oF (33ºC). Make sure that you do not add too much. When 92oF (33ºC) is reached stir the curd gently and periodically for 10 minutes.
    Add 175oF (79ºC) water until the temperature of the curd reaches 95oF (35ºC). The amount of hot water is not important. What is important is that the temperature of the water added is exactly 175oF (79ºC). Allow the curd to stay at 95oF (35ºC) for 15 minutes. Stirring often to keep the curd from matting.
    Allow the curd to settle to the bottom of the pot for 30 minutes without stirring while keeping the temperature at 95oF (35ºC). This is done by placing the pot in a sink of 95oF (35ºC) water.
    Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Very quickly place the warm curds into the cheesecloth lined plastic cheese mold. Press the cheese with two pounds (1 quart of water) of weight for 15 minutes. 
    Remove the cheese from the press and take it out of the cheesecloth. Place the cheesecloth back in the mold and return the cheese to the mold upside down. Fold the excess cheesecloth over the cheese and press the cheese with 4 pound pressure for 8 hours This can be done with 1 gallon plastic jug of water. 
    Remove the cheese from the press and remove the cheesecloth. Place the cheese, unwrapped, back into the mold and let it dry for eight hours or overnight. The cheese should be kept at room temperature. This will help develop acidity in the cheese. 
    Prepare a brine solution by placing salt into a gallon of refrigerated water until salt is visible on the bottom of the bowl. Make sure the container is salt resistant. Place the cheese into the salt water brine for one hour. 
    Remove the cheese from the brine and air dry for 13 days. After drying the cheese should be waxed and aged at 40-50oF (4-10oC) for three to six months.
    COLBY CHEESE
  • 2 gallons of skim milk
  • 1 pt. heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic A
  • 1 teaspoon calcium chloride
    • 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet

    Combine skim milk and heavy cream in your cheese pot. This will give you the consistency of raw milk. Pasteurize the mixture in a double boiler then cool it to 86oF (30ºC). Add 1/4 teaspoon of Mesophilic A starter. Stir in thoroughly. Allow the milk to ripen for 1 hour. 
    In a glass dish combine 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 2 tablespoons of distilled water. Add this mixture to the milk and stir gently.
    Add 1/4 teaspoon of liquid rennet to 4 ounces of cool distilled water. Add this mixture to the 86oF (30ºC) milk and stir gently for 1 minute. Allow the milk to set at 86oF (30ºC) for 30 minutes or until the milk has set into a firm curd with a clean break.
    Cut the curd into 3/8 inch cubes. Stir gently then let the curds set for 5 minutes. 
    Using the double boiler, slowly raise the temperature of the curd 2oF (1ºC) every 5 minutes until the temperature reaches 102oF (39ºC). Hold the temperature at 102oF (39ºC) for 30 minutes. Gently stir during this period so that the curds do not mat together.
    Cover the pot and allow the curd to settle for five minutes, then drain off the whey down to the level of the curd mass. Now, stir in cold tap water until the temperature in the cheese pot is lowered to 80oF (27ºC). Hold the temperature at 80oF (27ºC) for 15 minutes while gently stirring to keep the curd from matting.
    Pour the curds into a cheesecloth and drain for 20 minutes.
    Place the drained curd into a mixing bowl and use you hands to break it up into 1/2 inch pieces while adding in 4 tablespoons of cheese salt.
    Load the curd into a cheese press and press with 20 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.
    Remove the cheese from the press and turn it over. Press again at 20 pounds of pressure for 12 hours.
    Turn the cheese again and press with 20 pounds for 12 hours.
    Air dry the cheese for 4 days turning it twice a day.
    ax the cheese and age it at 50oF (10ºC) for 2 to 3 months. Turn the cheese daily during aging.