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| The curd will have a thin layer of whey covering it and separate from the vat when ready to cut. | The molds are shown with short strips in place to be tightened after draining. |
The curd is not cut but carefully ladled in thin layers into the sanitized and preheated molds... |
...that have been prepared and
placed on bamboo mat. At this point the curd is still quite sweet. |
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| The molds are filled in succession slowly, a few ladlefuls at a time. | They now need to set quietly and drain in a draft free area... |
...with a steady temp overnight. During this time our final acidity develops |
By the next morning they will have drained down to 1/3 original height.
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| The tall inner hoop may now be loosened and removed... | ...and the shorter hoop is now tightened... | ...so that it can be flipped over without breaking. |
The original mat can now be gently removed leaving it's imprint.
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| The flipping continues for the next several hours and dry salting the surfaces can be started... | ...as soon as the curd dries down and free whey is no longer an issue. |
The drained and salted cheese is now ready to be moved to a space with moderate air flow... |
...and the drying off continues
for the next day or so, keeping the temp at 65F. |
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| Following the drying off move to 54F-90% , where the white surface will begin to develop at day 5... |
...and continue through about day 10-12 when they can be wrapped... |
...and moved to a moister and cooler space (38-42F.. 95-97% humidity)... |
...where the white surface begins to die back and the red/yellow streaks begin to show.
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| At about 4-6 weeks the curd should have ripened to at least the half way point and it is ready to eat. |
You can try it at an earlier stage when the taste is quite fresh and sharp... | ...or wait until it really develops some character and the flavor deepens and shows the true flavors of the milk. |