Edam cheese recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 litres milk
• 1 capsule Semi-hard cheese culture
• 2 ml natural rennet
• 1 capsule lysozym enzyme
• iodine free salt

Use high quality, whole milk.

1. CULTURING: Wet the inside of a big pot, so the milk won't stick while heating.
Pour in the milk, and start heating to 30 °C. 
Stir it occasionally, and check the temperature. 
While the milk is heating, dissolve the contents of an Edam culture capsule in some lukewarm water.
At 30 °C add 1 capsule of Edam culture for every 10 litres of milk.
Cover the pot with a lid, and let it sit for 30 minutes.
At the 20-25 minute mark, to prevent butyric acid related puffing, dissolve a capsule of lysozyme enzyme for every 10 litres of milk.

 2. COAGULATION: Add 2 ml of natural rennet (210 IMCU) every 10 litres of milk. Let it coagulate under a lid for 30 minutes. 
During this process the milk should solidify.

3. CUTTING THE CURD: Cut the coagulated milk 1-1,5 cm curds under 8-10 minutes, so the curds doesn't get cold.
I use a cheese harp for this task, it's easy to use and creates even sized curds.
Cover with a lid again to keep everything warm. Let de curds sink to the bottom for 10 minutes.

4. WASHING THE CURD: Scoop out 30% (3 litres) of the whey collected on the top. By doing this, you take away the lactose source from the bacteria, slowing down further souring.
This makes the end result sweeter.
Add back the same amount liquid as 60-65 °C water, do this slowly, and mix everything while doing so.
The warm water will heat up the curds, their temperature will rise to about 34 °C. This takes 15 minutes. 
Save 1-2 litres of whey for later use.

5. SHAPING: Put the curds into a cheese mould lined with a cheesecloth, put the follower on, and weigh it down. 
Start with 2x the weight of the cheese, after 20 minutes flip it, and increase the weight to 5x for the next 40-45 minutes. 
Heat the whey that you've saved to 50°C, cut the heat, then put the cheese in it without the mould.
leave it in for 20 minutes, so the cheese gets evenly warm. Take the cheese out of its bath, and put it in a mould lined with wet cheesecloth. 
Weigh it down with 10 kg and let it press for 6 hours. Flip it 3-4 times during this process.

6. SALTING: Make a 20% (by weight) salt bath, cool it to 15-16 C°. (to 200 g of iodine free salt add as much water, that makes the solution 1000 g in total)
Put the cheese in a bowl, that is big enough for the cheese to float in the saltwater.
Soak 1 kg of cheese for 12 hours, but depending on how salty you like your cheese, you can change the timing around a bit.
Flip it halfway through.

7. AGEING: Let the surface dry for 3-4 days. When it's dry to the touch, cover it in two layers of cheese wax,
Age the cheese in 12-14 °C, and 85% humidity, for 6-12 weeks.

Happy cheesemaking! :D