Author Topic: Tomme # 1  (Read 10092 times)

CWREBEL

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Tomme # 1
« on: February 22, 2013, 04:30:56 PM »
Hello all!  I'd like to take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Chris and I'm not an experienced cheese maker... yet.  I took a stab at a couple of cheeses a while back when I first discovered the forum. Tried and failed at a couple of Goudas - three to be exact. The first two were disasters, but by the third I was starting to figure things out. That last "Gouda" was rubbery and too salty, but edible. It was cheese - my cheese, and the results reminded me of my first all grain home brew. It was not a total success, but my feet were wet. I hoped to get back on the horse and try again the next weekend. That was two years ago. Life and everything that goes with it got in the way of my quest to make my own delicious cheese at home. But the truth is I never left the forum. Popping in on a regular basis, I lived vicariously through all of you, paying close attention to detail on every success and failure since.  This online cheese community is really something special, and truly important to so many - including myself.  I'd really like to be a part of it because, well... let's face it, our friends, family, and most people in general aren't passionate about cheese.  But you all are, and so am I.  (I got nowhere else to go!  ^-^) Anyways, sometime last month I bit the bullet and decided it was time to make it happen. I spent the last few weeks preparing, buying equipment and supplies, and now I'm ready to dive back in!  The wife saw the cheese making books out and the wild look in my eye and knew what I was thinking without me having to say it, "Looks like homemade cheese is back on the menu babe!"  ::)


2 gal milk (1 gal raw whole, 1 gal 2% pasteurized non homogenized (Not local, but from San Jaquin Valley - so regionally local I guess. The next cow I see in San Diego will be the first.)

1/4 tsp MA4001
1/16 PLA
1/16 Mycodore
Calf rennet

Heated milk and added cultures. Hydrated 5 mins then stirred.
As soon as I got a pH drop stirred in rennet (Approx 20 mins).
Flocculation at 13 minutes.
Cut curd at 39 minutes from rennet (3x)
Healed, stirred, and washed according to Linuxboy's recipe.
Pressed in pot with whey (5 lbs for 5 mins per side)
Finished in the press with 10 lbs at 15 mins, 30 mins, 1 hr, overnight

Brined with 20% for 3 hours per side
After drying (3 days), moved to the cave (56 deg F, 87% rh as of last night)

Thanks again for all the knowledge and inspiration you guys! Glad to be back in the game!

-Chris

CWREBEL

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2013, 04:34:28 PM »
For some reason, not all my pics will upload

CWREBEL

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2013, 04:38:28 PM »
Brining

CWREBEL

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2013, 04:41:08 PM »
After brining

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2013, 05:09:33 PM »
Oh goody!  Another cheese freak aficionado!    ;D  Thanks for posting photos!  Love seeing what others are doing.  I'll be posting the opening of my washed curd #3 today or tomorrow.   

bbracken677

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2013, 05:10:14 PM »
Welcome to the Forum! 

Nice looking start you have going there, and with pictures as well!  I am sure you will get the hang of how attachments work   :)

There is a link (more attachments) under the choose file option to add additional pictures. 

Am a bit of a cheese noob myself, still. I can say with confidence that my cheesy skills are improving and I am getting closer to making really really good cheeses thanks to the great examples and suggestions provided by the community on this forum.

JeffHamm

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2013, 05:32:02 PM »
Welcome to the forum.  Lot's of good information here.  Gouda is a decent cheese to start with, as butterkase (another washed curd cheese), and so is caerphilly (a cheddar type).  Search the forum and find a few cheeses that are ready quickly (in a month or two).  This will provide the feedback on your progress quickly.  Once you're happy with your makes, try something that requires longer aging (a traditional cheddar, parm,
romano, or even put aside one of your gouda's for a year or so); or mid-range aging (around 6 months, such as tomme).  Anyway, photo's are a real bonus, as everyone likes to see cheese!

Oh, and here's a link to a thread on rubbery texture. 

http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,4180.msg32413.html#msg32413

- Jeff

CWREBEL

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2013, 06:32:41 PM »
Welcome to the Forum! 

Nice looking start you have going there, and with pictures as well!  I am sure you will get the hang of how attachments work   :)

There is a link (more attachments) under the choose file option to add additional pictures. 

Am a bit of a cheese noob myself, still. I can say with confidence that my cheesy skills are improving and I am getting closer to making really really good cheeses thanks to the great examples and suggestions provided by the community on this forum.


Yeah, I saw how to attach more pics, It just wouldn't load them... no worries, hopefully I'll have many more oppurtunities to post photos.

Welcome to the forum.  Lot's of good information here.  Gouda is a decent cheese to start with, as butterkase (another washed curd cheese), and so is caerphilly (a cheddar type).  Search the forum and find a few cheeses that are ready quickly (in a month or two).  This will provide the feedback on your progress quickly.  Once you're happy with your makes, try something that requires longer aging (a traditional cheddar, parm,
romano, or even put aside one of your gouda's for a year or so); or mid-range aging (around 6 months, such as tomme).  Anyway, photo's are a real bonus, as everyone likes to see cheese!

Oh, and here's a link to a thread on rubbery texture. 

http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,4180.msg32413.html#msg32413

- Jeff


Thanks for the link Jeff. Overall this Tomme went very smooth and behaved very predictably (just as Pav's recipe described). I've put a lot of time into researching cheesmaking on this site. I was able to avoid many pitfalls that snared me and others in the past. I also realized the importance of having the right equipment and quality milk, and man did it make a difference. I don't want to say it was easy, but so far everything has worked out how I thought it should - I felt comfortable through the entire process, and had a good understanding of WHAT was happening and WHY it was happening. Again, it's all thanks to everyone who contributes to the forum that allowed me to stand on the shoulders of experience. I can't wait to make another one!

JimSteel

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2013, 11:16:19 PM »
Agh, another person showing off their raw milk! I'm so jealous.  You know it's the only issue I have ever had being a Canadian citizen :)

Good to see you are back in business, I'm very new my self.  Just a few months into cheese making.  It's a great feeling when things work out.  I remember when I was starting I would read through recipes and think "geez, how can anybody have time for this?  All these weird steps... so confusing"  Now it all seems so much simpler.  That entire paragraph just means it's time to put the rennet in.

It's great to see another person passionate about cheese.  Keep it up.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2013, 01:42:22 AM »
Alright...nubbins!!! ;D

Welcome to the forum, Chris. The Tomme style is one of my favorites. Very forgiving and very adaptable.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

george

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2013, 12:00:23 PM »
There are size limits on posting pics - yours are kinda huge, CWREBEL - almost 5MB a pop.  If you compress them before posting, it makes it easier and you can load more into the same post (a lesson I learned the hard way). 

Congrats on jumping back onto our happy cheesewagon!

Offline Boofer

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2013, 02:23:02 PM »
There are size limits on posting pics - yours are kinda huge, CWREBEL - almost 5MB a pop.  If you compress them before posting, it makes it easier and you can load more into the same post (a lesson I learned the hard way). 
In several cases over time I have tried to beat the drum for resizing pics down. Todays digital cameras can take really big photos. That doesn't mean that they have to be kept at that size. A pic can be shrunk down by any number of programs and it still communicates the content in the photo.

I try to reduce a normal pic down to screen size (1024x768, or so) except if I'm trying to show rind detail or some other nuance that would be missed by excessive picture reduction. In some cases I try to crop a pic to a particular area I'm trying to show and may even pop it into PAINT to include a bright ellipse or text around an object.

I also like to make the posting a little more engaging by labeling what the viewer is seeing or what my intent might have been.

Pictures that are posted can subsequently be clicked on to enlarge them for viewing in the posting.

FWIW, here's what I use: Paint.net

Have a cheese for your opening pictorial salvo.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

CWREBEL

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2013, 05:03:51 PM »
Thanks for the help with the picture sizes guys.

CWREBEL

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2013, 08:13:40 PM »
Starting to get a decent little bloom going on this guy. I added PLA and mycodore to the milk with the starter, so I haven't bothered washing it. Is that okay? Cave temp is 52 RH is 90. After about two weeks does the progress look pretty normal? Too fast, too slow, or should I just let it do it's thing and be what it wants to be? Is smells pretty good. When I open the ripening box I get hit pretty hard with the smell of cheesy feet (which I'm learning to respect), and then a little earthiness and mushroom.

JeffHamm

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Re: Tomme # 1
« Reply #14 on: March 04, 2013, 10:18:33 PM »
You should "wash" it with a 3% brine solution.  By wash, just dampen a cloth and moisten (not soak) the upper face, the next day, flip and do the other face.  Do the sides as well.  You might then add a day off, and then start repeating the process.  Basically, you need to keep the surface moist or damp to get the b.linens going.  The surface will start to smear up, and your cloth will seem to get dirty (like you are washing a painted surface and the paint starts to come off).  This is good (honest).  Smear that around the surface of the cheese. 

Boofer's done a fair number of cheeses with PLA so he can give you a better description of the wash schedule, but in short, you should wash the stinky feet! :)

- Jeff