Author Topic: My 4th Gouda  (Read 8125 times)

JeffHamm

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My 4th Gouda
« on: March 24, 2013, 06:01:56 AM »
This is my 60th Cheese (not counting a bunch of ricotta makes).  I decided to make a Gouda.  I have 1/4 wheel that is over 2 years old, and another full wheel that is a year old.  Seems I have a tendency to age my Goudas out.  This one, however, I'm planning on eating younger, perhaps somewhere around the 4-6 month range.  Anyway, the make has gone extremely well, or so it seemed at least.  I'm pleased with it, but just going into the all night press so we'll see how it is in the morning.  The knit looks superb (did the first 1.5 hours under warm whey, which worked a treat) and the curds seem to have expelled all their whey during the make as there's not been a lot coming out during the pressing.  It was clumping nicely at the bottom of the pot when I drained the whey to move it into the mould as well. 

Since I've aged my gouda's quite long in the past, what is a good time for a young gouda?  As I say, I was thinking 4 to 6 months, but do people find it worth trying closer to 4 or 6?

I'll post photos tomorrow when it comes out of the press.  For now, here's my make notes:


Saturday  March 24th, 2013
Indoor Temp 220C, sunny, Barometer: 1012
11 litres Homebrand Standard (3.3% fat, 3.1% protein; P/H)
3 ice cube buttermilk
1.65 ml calf rennet 280 IMCU
½ tsp 50% CaCl in egg cup water
1)   Add Starter and warm to 32 C (time 7:45 ish am final temp Temp 32.0 C @ 8:02 am)
2)   Ripen 15 min (start time 8:02 finish time 8:17 temp ??.? C)
3)   Add CaCl, stir in, then immediately
4)   Add rennet (time: 8:19:30 floc time 8:33:30 14 m 00 sec 3x multiplier=42m 0sec cut time 9:01:30)
5)   Cut into 1 cm cubes
6)   Let stand 10 minutes (start time 9:11 - 9:21 temp 30.9 -> placed in pot with 36C water -> 30. C)
7)   Stir 10 minutes, cutting any larger pieces (9:21 - 9:31)
8)   Let Stand 10 minutes (9:31-9:41)
9)   Drain 1/3 whey (9:41)
10)   Add 80 C water until temp 33.3 C (start time 9:45 finish 9:57 temp 34.0 C) (didn’t require much as the curds around 32 ; bumped up to 35 or 36, so added some cold.  Still lower volume of liquid added than whey removed)
11)   Stir 20 minutes (start time 9:57 finish time 10:17)
12)   Drain to level of curds
13)   Add 55 C to reach temp 37 C (start time 10:21 end 10:29 temp 37.0 C)
14)   Stir 30 minutes (start time 10:29 finish time  10:59)
15)   Drain whey
16)   Move curds to mold
17)   Press under whey with 10 kg (0.72 PSI) 30 minutes (start time 11:15 finish time 11:45)
18)   Flip and redress
19)   Press under whey with 20 kg (1.43 PSI) 1 hour (start time 11:50 finish time 12:50)
20)   Flip and redress press (30 kg 2.15 PSI) (start time 1:00 – 2:00 pm; great knit at 2:00)
21)   Flip and redress press overnight (35.2kg 2.53 PSI, 2:05–6:50pm flipped/redressed-5:45am; 1442g, 15.5 x 6.2 cm = 1.23 g/cm3)
22)   Place in saturated brine for 1 hour per lb per inch of height (7 hours 45 min) (start time 7:00 am; projected flip at 11 and finish time 2:45; cheese didn't get removed until 3:30 ish)
23)   Air dry then cave.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2013, 05:43:15 AM by JeffHamm »

hoeklijn

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2013, 10:03:21 AM »
Hi Jeff, we had a discussion earlier about aging small Gouda's and I was really surprised that yours were aging so well. I managed to keep a 1 kilo baby Gouda up to one year and it was delicious. But I adjusted the make a bit for that reason: I washed it only once, which is recommended in a Dutch book called "Around artisan cheese" (free translation) and I added some thermo culture. I'm looking forward to your pictures....

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2013, 06:18:49 PM »
Hi,

Thanks for the info.  Here's this one just before going into the brine (1442g, 1.23 g/cm3).  The ones I've aged have been waxed, if that makes any difference for the make procedure for long aging?

- Jeff

CWREBEL

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2013, 03:19:29 PM »
Another good looking cheese Jeff!  Looks like it knit really well.

Offline H-K-J

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2013, 04:41:23 PM »
Hey Jeff, Looks Gooouda tuh me, very nice knit ;)
A cheese to you for your 60th born 8)
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JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2013, 05:19:45 PM »
Thanks Chris and H-K-J.

The pressing under the warm whey really helps to get a good solid knit.  It was looking near perfect after about an hour and a half. 

- Jeff

shotski

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2013, 01:42:46 AM »
Hi Jeff, in your first post you said

" I decided to make a Gouda.  I have 1/4 wheel that is over 2 years old, and another full wheel that is a year old.  Seems I have a tendency to age my Goudas out. "

my question is when you cut a wheel do you wax the cut edge for further aging after cutting the wheel or do you cut the wheel at the start of the ageing into the sizes you want then wax? 

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2013, 03:06:20 AM »
Hi shotski,

I wax the whole cheese.  If I'm not planning on using all of it when I cut it (meaning all of it over a few weeks), then I cut and re-seal the edge. 

Curiously, I seem to have some late blow with this one.  It's swelled up quite a bit, even more so than my swiss and this is something I've never had occur before.  I think it's the buttermilk producing gas (similar culture mix as in flora danica, which apparently produces CO2 though buttermilk would have different strains), as there are no off smells.  I'll wait to see how it is when I cut it open.

- Jeff

shotski

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2013, 10:19:08 AM »
Thanks Jeff,

  that is what I thought. I made a Edan about 2 months ago now and I am trying not to get into to it just yet but re-waxing a half wheel for further ageing sounds like a great option.

John

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2013, 06:16:12 AM »
Hi,

This one has swollen up like a football!  I've never had a cheese do this before.  This is even larger than my swiss, which has prop.sherm. in it!  I'm assuming the buttermilk is forming gass, although I've never had it do this before.  I suppose it could be contamination, but there are no off smells?  I used store bought milk (pasturised and homogenized), same brand I always use, and the starter is the same brand of buttermilk I've used before, etc.  I don't recall when it started to swell, but it's only a month now, and I figure it's been swollen for at least 2 weeks.

- Jeff

george

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2013, 10:19:10 AM »
I had a gouda that did that a while back - after determining it wasn't going to kill me, it was the best one I ever made.  Even if it was full o' holes.   ;D

bbracken677

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2013, 01:01:55 PM »
Wow!  Maybe it's pregnant and you will have a bunch'o little cheeses running around!!   :)

Or, maybe not....

Should be interesting when you cut it open. You may have a swiss gouda going there.    :o

tnbquilt

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2013, 03:01:43 PM »
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.

I had some gaseous cheese last summer, but I had waxed it and the wax was what swelled. I cut the wax off and rewaxed it.

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #13 on: April 28, 2013, 06:02:06 PM »
Hi bbracken677,

So, I could be getting a bunch of baby gouda's.  I would be ok with that :)  I am planning on aging it out, so hopefully this will be like george (MaryJ)'s, and not kill me!  Best I ever made would be a bonus, but it's really the not kill me that I'm going for this time.  :)

And I thought I had read something about silage as well, but it's only going into fall/winter here in NZ, and there's grass available year round However, we had quite a drought this summer, so perhaps they've been feeding the cows something they don't normally include and it's come round to haunt my cheese this time?  But if that were the case, I would think this would occur in other cheeses, or at least, to other cheese makers here in NZ as well?  So, anyone from NZ out there who's finding it difficult to wrap your cheeses in anything but your rugby gear bag?

- Jeff

MrsKK

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Re: My 4th Gouda
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2013, 02:21:39 PM »
That is one outrageous looking cheese! 

For aging out my Gouda, I've been vacuum sealing after about three months.  I just cut into a year old Gouda and it was wonderful.

Keep up the great work!