Recipe for a Manchego-style sheep milk cheese
Ingredients:
- 2 gallons raw sheep milk
- 1/8 tsp MM100 culture or similar
- 1/16 tsp thermophilic culture
- 1/4 tsp liquid animal rennet
Note: This recipe refers to the use of a special Manchego mold that has a basket-textured inner liner. To use a regular mold, ignore the mentions of the liner.
Recipe:
- Heat 2 gallons of raw sheep milk to 72F
- Add 1/16 tsp thermo + ⅛ tsp MM100 culture
- Allow 20 mins @ 72F
- Heat slowly to 86F (15 mins)
- Allow 30 mins @ 86F
- Add ¼ tsp rennet diluted in water
- Allow to coagulate for 30 mins and then check for clean break
- Cut vertical to ¾-1” and allow to sit for 5 mins
- Cut into ¼-⅜”over about 5 mins
- Heat slowly to 102F over 40 mins, stirring gently
- Remove about a gallon of whey to leave a couple inches covering curds
- Press under whey with 8 lbs pressure for 15 mins
- Transfer to mold without inner texture liner
- Press for 10 mins at 15 lbs
- Flip and put back into mold with liner
- Press overnight at 20 lbs
- Saturated brine for 8 hours
- Air dry and then age in cheese cave
- Rub with oil after a couple weeks of aging
- Age for a few months or more