I cut my Leiden today.

[Schnecken Slayer]

I cut my cumin seed cheese today, although it was a couple of weeks early, as I am heading up the coast on the weekend and wanted to take a sample with me.
I waxed the cut edge on half and put it back to age a bit more and vacuum packed four wedges from the other half.

I followed Boofers make: https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9107.0.html and halved all the ingredients except the brining time.  :-[

The result is, as expected, a cheese that is still a little young and a bit salty but otherwise very nice.
I will definitely make this again!  :D

[botanist]

That's a gorgeous cheese Schnecken Slayer (as in you kill sweet rolls?)--a cheese to you!

[Schnecken Slayer]

That's a gorgeous cheese Schnecken Slayer (as in you kill sweet rolls?)--a cheese to you!

Not quite.   8)
I came across a quote many years ago online and use it often, it confuses people. "die Schnecken sind meine Freunde" - this is in fact a lie! They are not my friends....

Growing my own fresh fruit and vegetables has led to a constant battle with my local Schnecken (A battle which I do not seem to be winning.) Thankfully I have the help of some local volunteers, i.e. blue tongue lizards, which frequent our yard. http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/blue-tongue-lizard.html

Thank you for your kind comments and the cheese.

Cheers,
Bill.

[botanist]

That's a gorgeous cheese Schnecken Slayer (as in you kill sweet rolls?)--a cheese to you!

Not quite.   8)
I came across a quote many years ago online and use it often, it confuses people. "die Schnecken sind meine Freunde" - this is in fact a lie! They are not my friends....

Growing my own fresh fruit and vegetables has led to a constant battle with my local Schnecken (A battle which I do not seem to be winning.) Thankfully I have the help of some local volunteers, i.e. blue tongue lizards, which frequent our yard. http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/blue-tongue-lizard.html

Thank you for your kind comments and the cheese.

Cheers,
Bill.

Die Gänse sind diene Freunde und die Schnecken des Feindes!  Oder die Enden!  So we should import your blue-tongued skinks like the English did the rabbits to Oz?  Just joking!  I found it wonderful to see parrots, parakeets and cockatoos flying in wild flocks and inhabiting gardens in Oz, but I understand they are just pests to you.

[Schnecken Slayer]

I don't see them as pests, except maybe the ones opposite my bedroom window who call at 3:30 am each morning for the last two weeks... Apart from that, the more local species the better.
The real pests as you state are the introduced species which out-compete the locals.
It's just a shame the parrots don't have a less annoying call. One of my colleagues at work is from Ireland and his first encounter with a sulphur crested cockatoo left him thinking he was being attacked by a demon from hell... Their call is that bad!

[Boofer]

Excellent effort, Bill. Sock some away for a little longer aging. You will be rewarded.

And according to Herman, it's spelled Leiden. I too had some trouble with the name.

-Boofer-

[tnbquilt]

Lovely cheese. I made Leiden this weekend, and I hope mine comes out as nice as yours.

[Schnecken Slayer]

Lovely cheese. I made Leiden this weekend, and I hope mine comes out as nice as yours.

It looks like it has a good start.  :)

[hoeklijn]

And according to Herman, it's spelled Leiden

Yes it is  :)

[botanist]

I don't see them as pests, except maybe the ones opposite my bedroom window who call at 3:30 am each morning for the last two weeks... Apart from that, the more local species the better.
The real pests as you state are the introduced species which out-compete the locals.
It's just a shame the parrots don't have a less annoying call. One of my colleagues at work is from Ireland and his first encounter with a sulphur crested cockatoo left him thinking he was being attacked by a demon from hell... Their call is that bad!

We saw a large flock of them in a cattle yard on a rural farm outside of Sydney.  Sure beats the flocks of crows we have here!

[Schnecken Slayer]

Lovely cheese. I made Leiden this weekend, and I hope mine comes out as nice as yours.

So how is your's coming along?

[tnbquilt]

Mine is aging in the cave. I think the recipe says 2 months so I haven't done anything but turn it over. I have to check my cheese log to see when it's supposed to be ready for tasting. I find that I usually like everything about month later than the recipe says.

I got a new freezer for Christmas, so I need to make a cave log and put it on the door. That would be easier than going to find my computer to look at the cheese log every time. I know, a dry erase board would work. I could note my cheeses as I put them in there and what maintenance needs to be done and expected date of tasting. AH, that's a good idea.

[tnbquilt]

I tasted my leiden's today for the first time. I've never had leiden cheese, but I wanted to make a cheese with cumin seeds so I tried it. I had 3 recipes for leiden, and one of them called for 1 tsp of rennet, one of them 3/4 tsp and one of the 1/2 tsp. Things like that drive me nuts!

I made two cheese, one with 2 gallons of milk and 1 tsp of rennet and one with 2 gallons of milk and 3/4 tsp of rennet. I used store bought pasteurized 2% milk for both of them.

I plugged them with my cheese trier for tasting, so I don't have a picture. The one that I used 1 tsp of rennet in has a much nicer texture than the one that I used 3/4 tsp of rennet in. I expected it to the other way, I thought that this one would be hard and rubbery.

The cheeses are both moist and creamy, but I think that it is a little young. My recipe says 8 weeks, so maybe I just need another week in the cave.

There is a definite cumin flavor to it, and now I'm wondering if I like cumin seeds in cheese or not. I've never had it before, so maybe by the time we eat my 4lbs of leiden I will have decided if I like it or not.

[tnbquilt]

I decided to cut it so I could see the inside. Pic 1 is of the one with 3/4 tsp rennet and pressed in a 5" mould. Pic 2 had 1 tsp of rennet and was pressed in a 6" mould and it came out rather flat.

The texture of the Pic 2 is better, but I don't know if it was the additional rennet or the fact that it was pressed differently.

I'm kind of leaning towards the pressing right now, what do you think?

When I pressed it, it was coming through the holes in the mould even though it had cheese cloth around it. At the time I thought that I was pressing it too hard, because it seem to become one with the cheese cloth. But the texture looks like it could have stood a little more pressing.

[Boofer]

Looks pretty good to me, Tammy. As moral support, here's a sample I took today.

-Boofer-