Another day, another blue cheese to make. Today it was a 300 pound batch of Boucher Blue, the largest we have ever made.
That translates as 2900 lbs. of raw milk, about 365 gallons. As you can see, there is a bit of room left in the tank for more, but not a lot. In this photo, the set curd is being cut into smaller squares. I know it doesn't look like much is going on, but cheesemaking on our scale is largely about completing a step and then waiting around.
The smaller curds shrink and sink below the whey, and then the whey is drained off - as in the photo at the top. In another hour, the curds will be in moulds; in 24 hours they will be seventy cheeses ready for 60-days of aging.
