Milk bottling

This week Gary is on vacation (well deserved) which means I wasn't making cheese this week but got to try something new.

Instead of making cheese I got to work on the other side of the plant with the pasteurizer operator and take a look at the milk bottling set up. It was exciting to work in another area of the plant and learn something new. I am still amazed by all the pipes and buttons involved with the plant!

I can't imagine designing and building a dairy processing plant without messing up and connecting something wrong. But as the morning went on I learned the basics about the pasteurizer and how the milk was directed to certain areas of the plant. It was really interesting to see how it all fit together, normally all I see is the milk that comes to the vat and have no clue about the rest of the plant.

After spending a bit of time on the pasteurizer, I worked with the milk bottling machine. The automation and tasks performed by these machines are amazing. I learned about the entire process from putting the bottles into the hopper all the way until the milk is put in the crates.

The operator told me of the first time he worked with the machine and how it took him a long time to figure out the problem when the machine broke down. It was interesting to see what else happens in the plant besides the activities of the cheese vat area.

The Science of Cheesemaking

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.

Making Colby

It was easier to get out of bed today because I was looking forward to making Colby, a cheese I haven't made before.

As the day went on, I realized Colby is very similar to making a stir curd cheddar but develops into a softer, moister, and milder cheese than cheddar. During the day I did decide that the Colby/cheddar making process really isn't my favorite. I don't mind all the shoveling and raking of the curd but the part I really dislike is putting the curd into the forms.

Gary and I have a system….he buckets the curd from the vat into the form and I pack the curd into the forms, close the cheese cloth, put the lid on and put the form on the press. Sounds pretty easy but I dread it every time. It is very important to have the curd packed into the form tightly so the block forms right and so the lid goes on and I just don’t ever feel like I can do it fast enough.

But the part that is the most frustrating to me is trying to get the lid on the form so I stack the following form on top of it. For some reason the lids never want to fit on the right way and that's when I fall really behind. It's not that big of a deal but I just don't like holding up the process.

But from there we just turn and press the forms making the rest of the process pretty simple. And it's another day of cheesemaking complete.

Back to the Vat

So after a long week of World Dairy Expo I had to drag myself out of bed to go make cheese. As I walked to the plant in the dark and cold weather I was having a really hard time getting excited to go make cheese after having a week off. I was a bit worried that I would be a bit rusty because it felt like such a long time since I last made cheese. I was just hoping I wouldn't start making all the stupid mistakes I did in the beginning.

Also in the back of my mind was the presentation and exam I had to take once I was finished making cheese that afternoon, both of which I felt very unprepared for. So when I walked towards the vat and I saw the pump for making brick cheese I was feeling a bit more relieved.

Making brick cheese is a lot easier and faster than other cheeses because you can pump the curd and whey onto the pressing table instead of having to put in forms. I was also excited to make brick because I knew the steps and was familiar with the process -- making an easier first day back. Before I knew it we were already turning the forms and putting the blocks into the brine and the day was almost complete plus we were ahead of schedule leaving some time to study before my exam.

It didn’t take long and I was back into the swing of things and didn't really miss a beat.

World Dairy Expo

Sorry for no cheese blogs last week, but instead I was working at the World Dairy Expo here in Madison. During the week I worked for a dairy producer who exhibited 27 head of Brown Swiss, so the week was very long and exhausting. It was a very exciting week for the dairy industry and was a lot of fun to see good friends from around the country. Now I'm just trying to get caught up but watch for my next cheesemaking blogs.