Farmhouse Cheddar - 1st try

I'm not going to put a lot of detail here. The process was so similar to the Monterey Jack chese that I made the week before, that the details would be repetitive. The key differences were:

• Started with 2 gallons of milk instead of 1
• When the curds were separated from the whey, they are allowed to sit and drain for an additional 45 minutes.
• More pressure was used with the three times in the press

When it came to waxing, I tried to minimize the grief I experienced the first time I tried waxing. I rolled the cheese in the molten wax instead of trying to paint it on with a brush and I set the cheese on foil instead of a plate when it was drying. Still a bear to clean up the kitchen afterwards, but much better than the previous time.

Any cheese makers out there reading this, please send me your hints on waxing.

Farmhouse cheddar doesn't need months to age like traditional cheddar so the tasting will be in February after just 4 weeks. Will add to this post when the tasting happens.