Cheesemaking: Making Monterey Jack

I made a wheel of Jack cheese a few weeks ago but never got around to posting it as I have been too busy travelling for work.  Now that I am back home for a week (and sitting at my daughter's orchestra practice) I figured it was time.

Here is what was used.  I have changed how I heat the milk and instead of doing it on the stove I am doing it with water in the large plastic container.








Begin by heating the milk to 90F.  I found the easiest way was to keep the water in the tub at 110F until I was almost there.  This took around 30 minutes.  I run two thermometers.  One shows the milk temperature and the other shows the water.





Add the mesophilic culture and after stirring in cover and let ferment for 30 minutes.

Add the rennet and allow to set for 45 minutes.

Once you get a clean break (my picture was blurry it is time to cut the curds into 1/4 inch cubes.  Allow them to set for 5 minutes to heal.

Time to start raising the temperature to 100F.  Raise no more then 2F every 5 minutes.  This is where the two thermometers really comes in handy.  The left thermometer is showing the water temperature and the right is showing the milk temperature.  Stir the curds every few minutes so they do not mat.

When the half hour is up and the temperature is 100F scoop out about half of the whey leaving just enough to cover the curds.  Maintain 100F for 30 minutes.  Remember to stir every few minutes so the curds do not mat.

Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth (save the whey to make ricotta if desired).  Stir in salt and allow to drain.

Transfer the salted curd to the cheese mold.  For fun I zero'd my scale and weighed the cheese before pressing.  It comes in at just over 3 pounds.  Press at 5 pounds for 15 minutes.  In this case I just over 1 liter of water weighing 2.5 pounds and it is hung at the 2 multiplier.  See cheese press .

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After 15 minutes flip and rewrap the cheese. You can see it coming together already.  Then press at 10 pounds for 12 hours.  I used the same 2.5 pounds of water but it is at the 4x multiplier.

Looks good after 12 hours.  Lots of whey has been pressed out.  Weight after pressing is just under 2 pound 5 ounces.  It is 14 ounces lighter after pressing.  Let the cheese air dry for 3 days, then wax and age for 2 months.