The Oxford Companion to Cheese by Mateo Kehler

If the cheddaring period is extended beyond the normal duration, the total time from rennet to milling is also extended. In modern day Cheddars, the whole process normally takes forty-five to sixty minutes, during which time the titratable acidity increases approximately 0.05 percent every ten to fifteen minutes. If the curd is still wet when it is milled, then more salt may be added and the curd stirred for longer before molding to aid the release of excess moisture. A common target for milling is a pH of 5.4–5.2 and a titratable acidity of 0.45–0.50 percent lactic acid. If the acidity development is slow, the curd is left for longer intervals and piled high to keep warm. If the acidity develops too rapidly during cheddaring, the blocks are turned more frequently to aid syneresis and not piled high to encourage cooling. During the whole process whey drains from the curd, and its texture changes from fragile and crumbly to smooth, with characteristic striations similar to cooked chicken breast. Failure to do this during long cheddaring periods may cause some parts of the curd to become cool or discolored. During this entire process the pH falls as the starter bacteria continue to multiply, and to this end the curd must be kept warm the outside end blocks should be turned to the inside of the vat and the top pieces to the bottom of the pile. As they relax and stretch, the large blocks may be cut again for ease of handling and to assist the expulsion of whey. The cheddaring process entails turning and piling these slices of curd. Subsequently, the blocks are turned and piled every ten to fifteen minutes depending on the rate of acidity development. At this stage the curd is very fragile and the first turn must be carried out carefully. This curd is then cut, within five to ten minutes, into evenly-sized blocks on each side of the vat. This method of handling significantly influences the final texture of the cheese.ĭuring the process, the curd mat left behind after the whey has been removed has a central channel cut in it, and the curd removed from this channel is piled on to the curd on either side of the vat in equal quantities. Ĭheddaring, or “texturizing the curd,” is the handling of the curd in the vat or cooler from the point at which the liquid whey is removed (also known as “whey-off”) to milling, the objectives of which are to control the moisture content by the removal of whey and to develop the body and texture of the curd. The following are extracts from The Oxford Companion to Cheese. Cheese, onion, walnuts, grapes by Unsplash.

The Oxford Companion to Cheese by Mateo Kehler