Calling all cheesemakers! Recipe question for you...

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Hopefully, someone with experience will see this and help me out. I am brand-new at making cheese, and let me tell you, without someone to teach me in my kitchen, it is both exciting AND discouraging! But the milk keeps coming, a gallon a day of goat's milk, so I will be persistant.

My stainless steel stock pot holds 3 gallons to the top. Can I take a recipe for cheddar that calls for 2 gallons of milk, and adjust it into a 3 gallon recipe?

Cheesemaking is such a science experiment! And since it will be 2-3 months before I know if I succeeded, I am hoping someone out there can answer this.

Thanks!

 

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I guess I picked the wrong day to ask this! I know you'll be at your computers eventually!

 

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Sigh.....

 

[vfem]

I hope you don't have to join this forum to read this, though I suggest joining as I am a member and I get a LOT of help in my pastry cooking from here.

This thread is a step by step with photos and science explanations on how he made fresh mozzerella cheese!

You can also PM him, he's really smart with the science of food. He gives me a LOT of advice.

http://www.bakespace.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6140&highlight=cheese

 

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Here's more detail on his blog

http://culinaryalchemist.blogspot.com/2009/03/whey-to-go-curds-mozzarealla-mania-part.html

 

[ninjapoodles]

You know what...I think that you do simply multiply everything by three to increase your recipe for cheddar. I haven't done aged cheddars yet, but it's something I've been researching, and I'm thinking that this would be the way to go. What have you got to lose, as long as you have a ready source of great fresh milk? I am so jealous on that point!!

 

[New adventure]

I don't feel qualified to make a guess since I am just learning, but you could try cheesemaking.com. They might be able to help you.

 

[Mahonri]

Isn't the Internet awesome?.. INFORMATION OVERLOAD!! Wow!

 

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Wow, thanks for stopping off at your computers before bed!!! I ended up making a two-gallon batch, it seems like it worked. It is in the homemade press now, at 50 lbs or so.....I threw the press together, started at the same time I put the milk on the double boiler to warm up. Sheesh. Well, I had gathered my materials beforehand, and my design, sort of. Talk about deadlines.

I will try a three gallon batch soon. I realized that I only had packets of direct set mesophyllic (sp?) culture that are for a two gallon batch, so I will have to make the cultured culture (?) to adjust for a three gallon batch. I do have that packet waiting for me.

Wow, it is a lot of work. I will gladly pay premium prices for artisan raw cheese in the future if I run out of milk and cheese. Hoping to have a pile of waxed cheeses aging, though!

I keep telling myself that everything seems hard and involved at first, then becomes easy and second nature. I keep telling myself.....