Now this is a good looking cheese. The curds melded together into one solid mass. You can even see the imprint of the creases in the cheesecloth. It's beautiful! I feel so affirmed!
This was the first time I made Monterrey Jack. It took a while, but wasn't hard. Because of my troubles with the last cheeses, I was extra careful.
I dunked all the equipment into boiling water to sterilize it and laid it on a clean towel. I used the exact amount of culture instead of a little bit extra like I have been. But then I messed up the rennet and used the amount in the recipe which is for two gallons of milk instead of the three I did.
Instead of using that nasty spring press, I loaded up eighteen pounds on top of the mold to press overnight. We balanced it inside a stock pot so that if it tipped over, which they do sometimes as the cheese compresses, the bowl of stuff wouldn't fall onto the floor.
Now we let the cheese dry for a few days, wax it, and wait two months for our first taste. Four months is probably better. I think I'll make another one soon so we have one for two months from now and another one to age four four months.
We had a major snow storm overnight, major for our desert climate, six inches. We've gone years without this much, so it's exciting for all, except the chickens. Normally when the girls open their door in the morning there is an explosion of flying and running chickens. Today they opened the door and... Nothing. Nothing happened. Apparently the chickens are completely creeped out by the stuff and have decided to stay inside. They are city chickens! Since then only a few have ventured outside, just to get under the coop.
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