I have made 2 cheddar's so far, the first one without a Ph meter the second with.
They where both acceptable, however they were more what I would call an American style cheddar, that is the paste is soft and fairly supple.
Growing up in the UK I remember cheddar as sharp modestly hard and crumbly, this is what I call English style cheddar, which is what I am aiming for.
Reading the forums I think that the dry and crumbly texture come mostly from Ph at drain?
The last make was with RA 22 culture, 3 x floc and heat to 102F, drain Ph was 6.09 and salting Ph was 5.36. Maybe I should not drain until 6.00 to get a dryer crumbly texture?
Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks
Jon
Why not try one of these (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,12058.0.html)? Mine was sharp and delicious.
Quote from: Al Lewis on January 31, 2015, 06:19:24 PM
Why not try one of these (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,12058.0.html)? Mine was sharp and delicious.
Nice blog, Al Lewis!
We make our own Maple syrup! Looks like some nice recipes on there to try!
Have you ever cloth-bound a cheddar with that lovely bacon fat? I have some smoked and naturally cured bacon fat here - saving it for something special!
Quote from: Al Lewis on January 31, 2015, 06:19:24 PM
Why not try one of these (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,12058.0.html)? Mine was sharp and delicious.
Al,
do you have Ph markers for that recipe?
Jon
For British style cheddar, RA 22 is perfect. Floc x3 is good. Draining at 6.10-6.20 is spot on. The one thing you could change is you should only salt at around 5.10. So do the cheddaring step a little longer. You'll get the British-crumbly-style cheddar after 8-9 months or more. Salting at 5.3 or more is more of a modern cheddar-style.
Quote from: lazyeiger on January 31, 2015, 07:23:36 PM
Quote from: Al Lewis on January 31, 2015, 06:19:24 PM
Why not try one of these (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,12058.0.html)? Mine was sharp and delicious.
Al,
do you have Ph markers for that recipe?
Jon
I believe that was JeffHamm's recipe and make. You can ask him here (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=4760).