Exploding cheese

[mdmoore00]

I just opened a Havarti and a Gouda at 90 days. I had a Havarti of the same make at 45 days and it was great, I thought 90 days would be better. The additional 45 days yielded a nominally better cheese and giant fissures. I have a 4lb Gouda approaching 45 days and I am very tempted to take the knife to it and share! I used a meso from Rikki Carol and MD-89. Too much md-89?

[mjr522]

I'm not sure about those cracks, but they're seriously looking.  What's the texture like?

[mdmoore00]

The havarti is smooth and creamy with a little zip. The Gouda is similar but slightly more elastic. I have been using the same cultures for both, though my freezer is quickly collecting more varieties. My more recent Gouda, see: https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,11214.0.html, I pressed under whey and changed culture proportions. That's what I love about cheese, it's an never ending experiment.