Today we were making cheddar -- which sounds pretty boring, but the best part of making cheddar is the reward of getting to take home some fresh squeaky cheese curds.
That indeed may be the best part of cheesemaking … eating the cheese you make! I am always a big hit when I bring home my roommates fresh cheese curds -- they always ask me twice if I really made them or not!
Besides the cheese, Gary taught me more about the cleaners that we use. I had learned some of it during my short courses before my apprentice work had started, but it was a good reminder.
Gary reminded me that alkaline clean fats and acids while acids clean mineral scale. We use sanitizers to reduce the growth of microorganisms. In high school, science wasn't my favorite subject so it was good to have a refresher about pH. Alkaline has a pH over 9, acid under a pH of 5 and a product with a pH of 6-8 is neutral.
The most interesting thing I learned was how to calculate the amount of chlorine needed for use in a certain size tank. The proper amount is 100-200PPM. In general, the rule of thumb is 2oz per 10 gallons. The equation to find out the capacity of a wash tank is to multiply the length x width x depth.
So of course Gary told me to take the tape measure and figure out how much we should use. I was a bit nervous that I would fail my first "quiz" but after I calculated it all out I actually did get it right. So at the end of the day I learned something new and useful and got to bring home some great cheese curds.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Science of Cheesemaking
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3 comments:
:) did you know how cheese was invented? It wasnt necessity, it was an accident, read this
I have been looking into taking the short course and getting my cheese license. However, in my research I have had trouble finding possible places to apprentice. Do you have any suggestions on how to go about obtaining an apprenticeship? Any advice would be great! :)
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