Cheesemaking
Cheesemaking
Checking the Curd
After adding the starter bacteria (this gives cheese its texture and flavour) and vegetarian Rennet, the curd is tested to see if it is ready to cut.
Cutting the curd
The curd is cut twice - vertically & horizontally - into cubes, The smaller the cube the quicker the curds and whey seperate out - we'll spend another hour cutting by hand to ensure they are all the correct size. It's a skilled craft to ascertain when the curds are sufficiently ripe for potting up.
Miss Muffet's favourite food
Curds and whey are the 2 constituent parts of the mix after cutting. The Curd will eventuallybecome the solids used to make the cheese. The Whey will be drained off and fed to Martin's cattle ensuring no wasteage.
Swimming in milk
When the curd has become less fragile it must be kept moving constantly. If not it will 'mat' together and be impossible to press being too acid.
It is also scalded so it needs to be kept moving to prevent it sticking to the cheese vat and also to ensure an equal heat throughout.
Filling the cheese moulds
When the curd reaches the correct stage it is poured into special moulds to allow the remaining whey to drain off.
This picture shows our Old Sarum blue cheese being moulded. Our Woodfalls range is placed in the moulds in the picture below. Both cheese types require over 12 hours of pressing.
The Loosehanger cheeses after pressing
Here Ness is turning the cheeses in their moulds to ensure even pressing on both sides.
The instruments of torture behind are not stainless steel gallows but our cheese presses which work on a simple lever principle.
The Cheese store
After pressing the cheeses move into the cheese store where they are coated to ensure they do not dry out too quickly and allowed to mature for up to 9 months.
Managing the cheese store
The cheeses can't just be forgotten while they are in the store. They are turned daily to ensure the whey evaporates evenly and to check for any imperfections or natural mould appearing.
This is a 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year task. failure to do so risks spoiling a cheese that's taken up to 24 hours of effort to reach its state of perfection.
