Author Topic: Is this coliform in my gouda?  (Read 1133 times)

Cheesebraids

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Is this coliform in my gouda?
« on: December 29, 2020, 05:36:43 AM »
My first post here, so apologies if it's not done in the right place/manner.

Dec 27, made gouda using Gavin Webber's recipe. My milk was sourced from a local dairy with a storefront (they sell their award winning cheeses nationally as well). It was pasteurized non-homogenised whole milk, used before the best before date of Dec 28. I picked the milk up myself and stored it in the fridge until shortly before use. I did my best to sanitize my equipment by boiling it all for 15 minutes.

I used mesophilic 2 by Biena and pressed initially at 22lbs
for 30 minutes andd then 30lbs for 12 hours. It Initially ran a lot of clear whey. 12 hour brine and now it's air drying. I noticed it appeared spongy (for lack of a better word), with a dry rind and a center that didn't feel as solid as the outside would suggest.

Cut it open and found little eyes everywhere. The centre is quite wet still and when squeezed gently, gives off little pools of clear whey.

I'm worried that the eyes indicate coliform bacteria, though I'm hoping it's just a case of a overeager initial press.

Offline Bantams

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Re: Is this coliform in my gouda?
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2020, 04:47:56 PM »
Given that this cheese was made from pasteurized milk and you followed good sanitation procedures, I think coliform is unlikely (coliform issues almost exclusively affect raw milk cheeses). 
The small size and number of holes does look a bit suspicious, but upon close inspection, most of them are irregular and likely mechanical openings.  But still, it is suspicious...

With a coliform afflicted cheese, it will seem normal going into the press and through the first few flips - then upon coming out of the press (especially if pressed overnight) or while in the brine it will have a noticeable change - it becomes spongy and floats (where it wasn't spongy before). And it smells odd (often a bit fishy).

I suspect that your curds weren't cooked adequately and weren't pressed properly = too much whey retention, lots of holes, etc.
How big is the wheel?

https://www.readkong.com/page/cheese-defects-the-blowing-defect-2479108
I found this link yesterday that is super helpful and might help determine the issue.

Cheesebraids

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Re: Is this coliform in my gouda?
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2020, 05:26:39 PM »
My wheel is about 1kg I think. 10 liters of milk.

It doesn't smell off and the bit of whey poking through when gently squeezed makes me think it was the cook and the press.

I've decided to wax it and age 6 weeks or so. Is there anything I should be looking for as it ages to determine more conclusively what went wrong?

Offline Bantams

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Re: Is this coliform in my gouda?
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2020, 05:53:27 PM »
Coliform impedes development of lactic acid, so in addition to the off smell you'll notice an absence (or less) of the usual tangy/buttermilk-y aroma in the press. And because of the lactic acid issue, affected cheeses will have whey retention issues like you're seeing. So that unfortunately doesn't help determine the issue. I think presence or absence of the normal aroma is the best indicator (in my experience).

If yours is solely suffering from excess whey, it will definitely smell tangy/sour and will likely taste excessively sour after aging.

I think your pressing weights were on track for that size cheese - maybe next time start at 5-10# for 10 minutes before working up to 30-40#. 

not_ally

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Re: Is this coliform in my gouda?
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2020, 03:12:51 AM »
Thanks, Bantams, for the posts and the link.   Especially this time, on an important topic.  ACF a very helpful post.

Cheesebraids

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Re: Is this coliform in my gouda?
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2020, 03:17:41 AM »
Thanks everyone for the useful resources and insight!