Hi Tiarella,
I'm glad these are of some use to you. I also found I learned most when people posted updates and progress reports, so I sort of got into the habit of it. It helps my own memory when I decide to go back and try something again. Sometimes I have things in the thread that I forgot to record in my records.
My first tomme split during affinage, and although I've rarely had that problem before, from what I've been reading I expect my humidity was too low. So, I've got the box lid less open for this one and the humidity is definately higher. Of course, the make went a bit differently and I used better milk this time as well, oh and I think the integrity of the cheese is better as a result. So, if it doesn't split this time, I won't know what I changed to make the difference, but I'll still be happy.
Anyway, my plan, subject to the whims of time, is to get a bit of a b.linens undergrowth, then let geo and other moulds grow wild. We'll see how that goes.
- Jeff