Port Salut - A first try

[JimSteel]

My wife really like Oka, so I told her I'd make her the closest thing I could. I used the recipe from "200 Easy" and it worked out really well.

2 things I'd like to change. 
1) The cheese has a pretty bitter after taste, and the rind is too strong to eat straight, unless mixed into a sauce or something. (linens was washed off before eating)
2) The paste is very creamy.  It's nice to spread on slices of bread, but it isn't what I was aiming for.

Can both of these be attributed to too much linens development? Or not washing it off early enough?

I ripened the cheese for 1 week before washing, washed for about two weeks, then let set for 1 week.  As time passed, the cheese became more and more liquidous and the profile eventually lowered from 2 inches, to 1 inch.  I've included some pictures of the week by week.

Just wanted to share a pretty successful cheese and see if anyone had any words of wisdom.  Oh, and I will definitely be making this one again.

[DrChile]

A cheese for you for sharing.
Looks really nice - thanks for posting!

Trent

[Schnecken Slayer]

Wow, that looks really good.
So that is only about four weeks old?

[Tomer1]

Did you use enough salt? I found that not using enough salt causes bitterness in many cheeses.  Lately a cambazola...

[JimSteel]

Correct it is  four weeks old.  Hmm, I think I brined this one for 2 hours in saturated, then washed with a 5%.  Forgot to put that in my notes.  I'm try to go easy on the salt with these washed ones, it is something I will consider.

[Boofer]

2) The paste is very creamy.  It's nice to spread on slices of bread, but it isn't what I was aiming for.

Can both of these be attributed to too much linens development? Or not washing it off early enough?

What are you trying to achieve? Creamy & gooey... Done! Good job!

If not that and you actually were trying for a semi-soft sliceable cheese, perhaps you need to reduce your curd size, floc factor, and/or stirring time. That last image looks remarkably like some commercial Port Salut cheeses I have seen.

I'd agree with Tomer about the importance of salt and reducing the incidence of bitterness.

-Boofer-

[KTownCheese]

great looking cheese! 

[JimSteel]

What are you trying to achieve? Creamy & gooey... Done! Good job!

If not that and you actually were trying for a semi-soft sliceable cheese, perhaps you need to reduce your curd size, floc factor, and/or stirring time. That last image looks remarkably like some commercial Port Salut cheeses I have seen.

I'd agree with Tomer about the importance of salt and reducing the incidence of bitterness.

-Boofer-

I was aiming for more of a semi-soft cheese indeed, though your kind words are a boon to my spirits.

I'll be making another go at this on the weekend and will make a few adjustments to my previous make to try to reduce water retention.  Both you and Tomer seem to think other factors besides the linens development are the major players involved in the "taste and paste" (can I coin that?) concerns I'm having.  In the first shot, the cheese was actually quite stiff and didn't melt until later on.  I'm torn between tweaking one variable in my next make, as proper science would dictate, and changing everything.  I'll probably just flip a coin like usual....

Thanks for the suggestions!