{"id":346,"date":"2016-04-16T03:03:39","date_gmt":"2016-04-16T03:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cheese.sunspotdesign.com\/cheese\/?p=346"},"modified":"2016-06-04T18:33:52","modified_gmt":"2016-06-04T18:33:52","slug":"big-block-parmesan-april-16-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cheese.sunspotdesign.com\/cheese\/?p=346","title":{"rendered":"Big Block Parmesan – April 16, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago this week I made my first Parmesan.\u00a0\u00a0A\u00a0couple weeks ago we cut into\u00a0that wheel\u00a0and although it wasn’t like most Parms you buy, it was tasty and now it’s gone. \u00a0It will take a year before I have Parmesan to eat, so this time I made a much larger batch, 7 lbs.\"20160416_180116_001\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I started with 6 gallons of 2% and 1 gallon of whole milk. My pot will hold 3\u00a0\u00bd gallons, so I am doing two batches side-by-side. As I started the prep I discovered two \u00a0different recipes, one with Lipase and one without. \u00a0I had planned on making the double batch and combining the curds for one\u00a0wheel, but decided to keep them separate. \u00a0As the make continued I noticed that the milk\u00a0looked pretty different. The milk without the lipase<\/p>\n

\"Lipase<\/a>
Lipase on the right<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

had a lot of small floating curds, while the lipase batch was almost completely clean on top. Up to this point everything was the same except the addition of lipase.<\/p>\n

Before we get into the recipe, I want to share the final product and discuss it.
\nAs all home cheesemakers will attest you are always struggling to check temperatures<\/p>\n

\"lipase<\/a>
lipase wheel on the left, non-lipase wheel on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

and keep the milk at proper temperatures. \u00a0So here is where I share I made a potential\u00a0error that may have affected the final product, I let one pot go up about 5 degrees just before the cut. The temp was slipping and the mass of the curd was blocking the thermometer from getting to the bottom. I was able to bring the temp down in about 10 mins but it may make a difference. \u00a0At this point in time I will have to remake this batch to really know but as you can see in the picture, the lipase wheel has tight curds and finished beautifully. The wheel without the lipase has curds that aren’t as tight, they didn’t bind as well.<\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n