São Jorge-style cheese
Pressed cow-milk cheese with extended warm curd holding and a brushed rind. 10 L milk. Shared calculations and pH notes.
- Milk
- 10 L milk
- Make
- 6 h + 18–42 h press
- Salt at
- after warm curd holding
- Affinage
- 3–7 months after stabilisation
Ingredients
- Already-pasteurised whole cow milkRaw-milk option adapted to already-pasteurised input
- 10 L
- Calcium chloride, 30%
- 1.84 mL
- MA4002 starterDo not equate teaspoons and DCU without supplier data
- 0.0919 tsp
- Rennet, 200 IMCU/mL1000 IMCU total; dilute 1:10
- 5.00 mL
- Cheese salt1.2% of actual curd weight
- 12 g/kg curd
| Stage | Time | °C | pH | Do | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milk | |||||
| Pasteurise | Skip for this cheese | Use already-pasteurised milk; this heating stage is skipped. | |||
| Culture | mix gently | 30 | ≈6.6predicted, milk | Warm milk, add calcium chloride and sprinkle MA4002; rehydrate and mix. | Mixing duration is an estimate. |
| Ripen | 30–45 min | 30 | ≈6.5predicted, milk | Cover and ripen. | |
| Rennet | 60 min | 30 | ≈6.3predicted, curd | Add diluted rennet, stop movement and leave to a clean break. | |
| Curd | |||||
| Cut and rest | 5 min rest | 30 | ≈6.3predicted, curd | Cut to 1 cm cubes and rest 5 min. | |
| Stir | 10 min | 30 | ≈6.2predicted, curd | Stir gently. | |
| Scald | 30–45 min | 30 → 35–36 | ≈6.0predicted, curd | Heat with continuous stirring to 35–36 °C. | |
| Pitch | until settled | 35–36 | ≈6.0predicted, curd | Let curds settle; ladle whey to 2.5 cm above the curds. | Model assumes 6 min; source gives no duration. |
| Shape | |||||
| Drain and form | 15–30 min | room | ≈5.9predicted, curd | Drain in muslin. | Room temperature is represented as 20 °C. |
| Warm holding | 2–3 h | 24–27 | ≈5.4predicted, curd | Hold warm, stirring the curds every 15–30 min. | |
| Salt | until even | 24–27 | ≈5.4predicted, curd | Mix in 12 g salt/kg actual curd. | Model allows 5 min for mixing. |
| Press | 30 min + 1 h + 4 h + 12–36 h | room | ≈5.0predicted, curd | Press in stages, flipping and redressing at each increase. Turn daily during the final hold; remove when well consolidated. | Original-mould reference: 9.07 kg for 30 min; 18.14 kg for 1 h; 22.68 kg for 4 h; 34.02 kg for 12–36 h. |
| Mill | Skip for this cheese | ||||
| Cave | |||||
| Stabilise | 3–4 weeks | 14.4–18.3 | ≈5.0make-end baseline; recheck during aging | Hold at 70–80% RH for initial flavour development and curd knit. | Source 58–65 °F converted; relatively warm, so record actual rind and acidity behaviour. |
| Affinage | 3–7 months | 11.1–13.3 | ≈5.0make-end baseline; recheck during aging | Age at 82–88% RH; brush daily to control rind mould and flip weekly. | |
Source and cheese-specific notes
Sao_Jorge_Cheese_Dashboard_13.6L.docx
Scaled from 13.6 L to 10 L. Source 38 g salt at 1.2% implies a 3.17 kg curd yield; weigh actual curd and use 12 g/kg instead.
The source alternative make used 105 mL mesophilic mother culture and 35 mL yoghurt per 13.6 L, or 77.2 mL and 25.7 mL here. This sheet selects the stated DVI branch.
The source recorded make used 31.5 °C and approximately 38 min set; this sheet follows the recipe schedule of 30 °C and 60 min.
Press loads apply to the original mould. Adjust for mould area and free whey flow; do not scale force linearly with milk volume.
No source pH targets are supplied; predictions are provisional and need actual measurements.
≈ marks an illustrative prediction. Source targets and recorded readings are labelled separately; recorded readings are historical context, not targets for a new batch. Use a calibrated meter and the correct sample medium. Read the shared method and assumptions.