Cantal Cheese Making Recipe

Acidify & Heat Milk

Using 7 Gallons of Milk heated to 90F, then add 1/4 -1/2 tsp MA 4002 culture or 1 packet of C101 Mesophilic Culture. Let ripen for 30 minutes.

Coagulate with Rennet

Add 3 ml calf rennet for coagulation in 60 minutes.

Cut Curds

The curd is then cut to 1/2" size and stirred for 20-30 minutes, after which it is allowed to settle to the bottom.

Remove Whey

Whey is removed, leaving 1-2" above the curd. A plate is then placed over the curd and a weight is appplied (20-25 lbs)

Dry & Press Curds

The remainder of the whey is removed and the curd is wrapped in cloth and moved to a draining table and the weight reappplied.

At 30 min intervals the curd is unwrapped and cut into 2" strips and turned over, re-wrapped in cloth and the weight reapplied. This cycle is repeated 3-6 times with increasing weight to get a cheese of appropriate dryness.

The curd should be kept at 80-90F during this period

Cut & Ripen Curds

The curd mass then is broken ito 3-4 inch blocks and left to ripen overnight.

Salting

The curd mass is then broken into small pieces as per cheddar (3/4-1"). The cheese is then salted at 1.8-2.5% by weight according to final moisture.

Pressing

curd now goes into a cloth lined form with follower and weight is applied, 25 lbs at first and turned 3-5 times increasing the weight to a final press weight of 250-300 lbs.

Aging

Ripen for 3- 9 months at 54F and 80-85% RH% keep the rind clean by brushing.