Cheesy update

The first cheddar has been maturing for a few weeks now. It has gone pretty mouldy on the outside, but I have read not to worry about this. Although the first one isn't ready to taste yet, I have made a second one in the hope that it is ok and we will want more. I decided to 'wax' this one. Actually it isn't actually wax but some easier to apply stuff that you paint on with a brush and leave to dry, no need to mess around melting it like wax.
We plan on starting another one soon.

First cheddar maturing

Magic cheese coating stuff

Second cheese (with organised label)

I have made several more batches of coulommier as it is quick and easy and very tasty. It seems that if you use raw milk it is better if it is very fresh, I made one batch with raw milk that was a couple of days old and it was still nice but had a more sour flavour. The cheese is better if aged in the fridge for 2 or 3 days as it dries out a little more and has a less sharp flavour.

I have made more ricotta with the whey from the various cheeses and it is in the freezer mixed with spinash waiting to be made in to raviolli. We have a LOT of whey and so have been feeding it to the cats, dog and chickens. The dog and chickens seem quite keen on it, but strangely the cats are not sure. It is a shame we don't have pigs at the moment to feed it to, that would be a good traditional thing to do with it. We have also used it making bread and pizza dough. It is quite nice but slightly bland to drink, I have found some cocktail recipes that use it, but I am not convinced that is a good idea (typically they are a take on whiskey sours with whey instead of egg).

I started a parmesan and plan on getting more of them going soon too. This one is a bit covered in dog hairs as they were on the cheese cloth (I did not notice) when it came out of the washing machine. I did boil it before using it so hopefully it will be ok.

I have got the culture for making a brie/calembert type cheese. Basically it will be the same recipe as the coulommier with an additional mold culture added to give the rind and soften the inside.