Lancashire Cheese (again - finally)

It is nearly 4 years since I last made this. We didn’t even have the Jersey cows then! I got disappointed making hard cheeses, some of the soft ones I made came our REALLY well, but the hard ones were never great - the thing I wanted (and still want!) most was one that would melt like cheddar for toasted cheese. As a result I stopped making them (it is a lot of effort so hard to continue for disappointing results) and so this is the first time making with our own Jersey milk.

We are getting 7 or 8 liters a day at the moment, so I have to find something to do with it all which makes trying again a good idea, it may waste my time if it doesn’t work out, but we had the milk anyway.

I have read many things about cheese making recently, so I have made a few adjustments.
1st is making sure things are really really sterile. I took a tip from somewhere and have two bowls of water, one for rincing and one with a suitable steriliser for dipping spoons etc in before they go in the cheese. Unfortunately dog hairs have magic powers and can gt ANYWHERE. But trying to minimise this.
2nd I have adjusted the rennet for using fresh home made milk. I have dropped 30% off the amount used.
3rd I have added calcium cloride which is meant to make the calcium more accessible again after pasurisation (or something like that).I did this because I had it in a kit I was given and I pasturised the milk first.
Finally I was more gentle with stiring and handling the curds than previously as I have read they are very fragile and you lose good things like fat if you are not gentle.

I am also going to press at a slightly lower weight - which is frustration with the cheese press rather than because I thnk it will be better. I have a new one on order as the one I have is USELESS (no calibration and it tips over unless clamped down - which is tricky to do somewhere the whey can safely run off). It is ‘artisanal’ apparently, maybe it is just meant for decoration!
http://laviealapetiteferme.blogspot.fr/2014/06/lancashire-cheese.html

I can’t remember how I managed the temperature befor. This time I had the water in the bottom pan at about 35°C and look the top one in and out to keep it at 31°C. Ove the time the temperature in the bottom pan dropped and I just let it so it was cooler for the draining of the whey off the curds.

4l pasturised fresh Jersey milk - very creamy - perhaps 1/3rd cream (I heated to 70°C then cooled in a sink or cold water)
1/8tsp (0.625ml) animal rennet (possibly should be even less according to the recipe I am copying, but went for somewhere between that and the instructions on the rennet as rennet can be different strengths)
1/8th tsp calcium cloride (added with the rennet - maybe should have been with the culture)
Mesophilic culture for 4l of milk (according to the culture instructions)
14g salt (not iodised) 3/4 tblsp

I followed the same process as before (which is described best in the original recipe that I link to).

The curds didn't quite fit in to the mould! But one they have drained overnight they hopefully will... (unfortunate brown colour of the cheese cloth is because it has also been used brewing beer which has stained it - it is clean, honest!)