Cantal Cheese Making Recipe

This hard long aging cheese from the Auvergne has a lot in common with English Style Cheddar. However more effort is made to remove moisture from the curd and to ripen the curd before it is formed and pressed in the cheese molds.
  • Yield

    7 Pounds

  • Aging Time

    6+ Months

  • Skill Level

    Advanced

  • Author

    Jim Wallace

Ingredients

Ingredients
Equipment

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Instructions

  • Acidify & Heat Milk

    Using 7 Gallons of Milk heated to 90F, then add 1/4 -1/2 tsp MA 4002 culture or 1 packet of C101 Mesophilic Culture. Let ripen for 30 minutes.

  • Coagulate with Rennet

    Add 3 ml calf rennet for coagulation in 60 minutes.

  • Cut Curds

    The curd is then cut to 1/2" size and stirred for 20-30 minutes, after which it is allowed to settle to the bottom.

  • Remove Whey

    Whey is removed, leaving 1-2" above the curd. A plate is then placed over the curd and a weight is appplied (20-25 lbs)

  • Dry & Press Curds

    The remainder of the whey is removed and the curd is wrapped in cloth and moved to a draining table and the weight reappplied.

    At 30 min intervals the curd is unwrapped and cut into 2" strips and turned over, re-wrapped in cloth and the weight reapplied. This cycle is repeated 3-6 times with increasing weight to get a cheese of appropriate dryness.

    The curd should be kept at 80-90F during this period

  • Cut & Ripen Curds

    The curd mass then is broken ito 3-4 inch blocks and left to ripen overnight.

  • Salting

    The curd mass is then broken into small pieces as per cheddar (3/4-1"). The cheese is then salted at 1.8-2.5% by weight according to final moisture.

  • Pressing

    curd now goes into a cloth lined form with follower and weight is applied, 25 lbs at first and turned 3-5 times increasing the weight to a final press weight of 250-300 lbs.

  • Aging

    Ripen for 3- 9 months at 54F and 80-85% RH% keep the rind clean by brushing.

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