Everything old is new again, because today we started up a brine tank. Lots of salt and whey. Back when we started cheesemaking 11 years ago we would brine the 18-24 lb. cheeses. This eventually gave way to hand salting because Dan would forget to take them out of the tank for days, and they would crack on the inside (moisture sucked right out).
So we retired the tanks. Now we have a problem with excessive butterfat content, and need to revisit brining to ensure the proper amount of salt in the cheeses.
See the spots in the center? They are weeping, and that is caused by a lack of salt in the cheese. This should be fixed in a few months, when the first brined wheels ripen out. Cross fingers - if this works we should be able to increase production another 50 pounds - which sounds like nothing if you are one of the big cheese producers, but it is significant for us since we are chronically sold out.
