My 4th Gouda

[Boofer]

I read a post about the gouda blowing up like that once. Herman said that they put something in their cheese to keep it from happening, it had something to do with feeding the cows silage in the winter.

From one of my Maasdams, "Also, where I had used sodium nitrate as per Jarlsberg guidelines to control late-blowing in Jarlsbergs I've made in the past, I acquired and implemented Holdbac with this make to achieve the same purpose biologically."

The Dutch use sodium nitrate (saltpeter) to control late-blowing. The Holdbac is an improved, biological corrective.

A clarification.

Another datapoint.


That's pretty impressive rind control to not have it burst wide open like a ripe melon. My hat's off to you, sir.   

Pretty scary too. You may be in for a Gouda similar to my Leiden, which is just a cumin-dosed Gouda from what I gather.

-Boofer-

[JeffHamm]

Thanks Boofer.  Some interesting information.  I would think the probability of butyric acid bacteria in the milk would be low (it's pasturised and homogenized store bought milk), but we'll see when it's cut open.  If it is that, then the cheese will be inedible and, presumable, have off smells, etc.  Otherwise, and what I suspect, it's the buttermilk producing CO2 and the rind, pressed under whey, was tight enough that none of it is escaping, hence the large swell.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

- Jeff

[Boofer]

Sounds reasonable. Yes, I have been made to believe that the butyric acid bacteria would be rare.

I think the bit of insurance from the little bit of Holdbac that I add would be worth it if I ever encountered the problem.

-Boofer-

[Tiarella]

Thanks Boofer.  Some interesting information.  I would think the probability of butyric acid bacteria in the milk would be low (it's pasturised and homogenized store bought milk), but we'll see when it's cut open.  If it is that, then the cheese will be inedible and, presumable, have off smells, etc.  Otherwise, and what I suspect, it's the buttermilk producing CO2 and the rind, pressed under whey, was tight enough that none of it is escaping, hence the large swell.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

- Jeff

Jeff,  I'm curious about how one would recognize if cheese is contaminated or not.  My brother tells me that a few of the most deadly contaminants are odorless and that my "smelling of leftovers to see if they are still good" is a bit useless.  That made me wonder about cheese contamination, especially since frankly, some stinky cheeses DO smell inedible to me even though they are "fine".   . What do you think about it?   -Kathrin

[JeffHamm]

Hi Tiarella,

Most contaminations produce bad smells, and the description in Boofer's thread of butyric acid bacteria contamination is for the cheese to become foul and inedible.  So, if I have that and not a CO2 build up, then it will be easily determined.  I'm thinking the likely culprits are CO2, either from the buttermilk or, possibly, a wild yeast got in.  I suppose there are some contaminations that don't get picked up by the sniff test, but there are a lot that do. 

In someways, this cheese is contaminated (in that something is producing gass that wasn't intended to), but it is determining what that contamination is that becomes the challenge.

- Jeff