# Hard Cheese Fail



## Elsinore (Mar 11, 2015)

I have Jerseys and have made several 3 lb wheels of Farmhouse cheddar and colby. They taste great when they come out of the press. And then, after they've aged for the appropriate time, something goes wrong. Every one of them looks great but they are pasty and sour. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I'm obviously doing it over and over! Surely this couldn't be that hard - pioneers did it in worse conditions and less resources. Of course, they probably would have eaten the pasty cheese anyway, but I'm not that desperate. 

Any one have any suggestions?


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

Our results went from random to predictably good when we finally got religious about sterilization. Sub-clinical mastitis milk will turn a batch bad, too. I don't know what is causing your particular symptom. My bad batches ranged from non-moldy & rancid taste to out-rite green through and through. It is frustrating to go through that much work to make compost.


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## Elsinore (Mar 11, 2015)

Thanks for the reply. I'll work more on the sterilization, even though I think I was pretty good on it to begin with. I lean more toward thinking that, at some point in the process, I'm either letting the cheese go for too short of a time or too long of a time before I move on to the next step. Just where that point is, I haven't figured out. But I am tired of just making cheese for the chickens.


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## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

How long does your fresh milk last in the fridge? 

Sanitation of your equipment is most likely the problem. Everything needs to be as sterile as you can get it. Everything that touches the milk can put bad bacteria into it, ruining your cheese in the end.

If you're certain it's not sanitation issues, then I would look at the temperature you age the cheese at, and/or the sanitation of the area you're aging your cheeses in.


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