Well folks, it is official.
Having read so many stories and recipes and tips and warnings from this fine community, I had steeled myself for an emotional rollercoaster upon cutting into this, my First Cheese EVER!
I like a fine washed rind as much as the next cheese aficionado, stinky and moist on the outside, creamy and sweet on the in. I naively thought that my first cheese could be a goats milk washed rind, as that was the type of milk available raw, and the kind I like to try but can't afford regularly.
After three other makes, I was afraid my first try had retained way, way, WAY too much whey in the curd. I expected an acidic catastrophe.
Aged seventy days for safety's sake, washed with PC brine and lemon-infused vodka, this unpasteurized attempt smelled of Odor of Manly Men. The first few weeks of it's affinage were in the stifling California Indian Summer, forcing it from my styrofoam cave (LOL) to the fridge during the daytime heat.
I liked the looks of it, orangy and slimy.
I cut into it. I didn't expect or want a gooey, frothy foam, and was surprised by the texture. Creamy and smooth, with a hint of crumb near the orange colored rind. Wow!
I slathered the paste onto a cracker. Tangy and lightly sweet, with overtones of fresh-cut grass, and citrus. And asparagus. But overall that pungent odeur du Schwarzenegger. Not bad!