Spoons' Gouda #1 and #2 (Taste notes @ 7 months)

[Spoons]

Over the holidays, I made 2 goudas using Pav's recipe. Both makes went pretty much identical, but the PH targets were slightly different than Pav's recipe. Overall, I've very satisfied with how both cheeses and plan to age them around 18 months.

Here are the details:

8L 0% P/H skim milk
680 ml 35% unhomogenized cream
Total fat content: about 2.74%
1/8tsp MM100
1/8 tsp Aroma B
1/2 tsp CaCl and Single str animal liquid rennet
22% adjusted brine

PH targets (both almost identical):
At start: 6.73
At rennet and draining (no drop in both cases): 6.60
Final PH after last press: 5.55
I also did a 15 minute light press in the whey with both.
All other presses were done at 4.86PSI. Total of 4.5 and 5 hours of pressing.

Air drying : both around 7-8 days at 13-14C and 80-85% RH
Aging, Phase 1: 10-11C at around 60-70% RH, 3 coats of cream wax for 1 or 2 months (currently at this stage. Not sure how long I'll let rind develop)
Aging, Phase 2: 10-11C vac sealed for the remaining long year and a half.

I'm trying to keep the temp closer to 10C to limit eye development.

I'm pretty confident I won't have any problems waiting out the 18 months. I like old Gouda too much (18-26 months)! I wouldn't want to spoil it.

[John@PC]

A cheese to you for the beautiful pictures and hardware (said while repressing a jealous envy).  Good to see your're square too.  What is the curd cutter your using? Did you make it or is it commercial? 

[Spoons]

Lol. Didn't know being square was a thing. I built my own curd knife. It's designed for cheesemakers who are square (did not intend to discriminate against round cheesemakers).

[Digitalsmgital]

LOL, I hope to be like spoons when I grow up to be a square! 

Really, I did LB's gouda recipe twice also, and at no time did it look as pro as the set-up you have going on! Plus, the first make weeped a little whey after the wax job, more than a little drama getting that under control, may need to purchase a Foodsaver to age mine past six months. Did you say eighteen months? You are a man after my own heart!

Dude, seriously. Is there a better aged cheese than a 500+-day-old gouda? No way you are gonna mess this up with a wax job. Cheese paint/vacuum bagged is the way to go!

AC4U!

[Spoons]

Dude, seriously. Is there a better aged cheese than a 500+-day-old gouda?

Yes, a 26 month old gouda  but even I'm not that patient! Seriously though, I've never found much difference in taste between 18 and 26 months. Just the texture/dryness of which I prefer the 18 month version.

Thanks for the cheeses guys!

[Geodyne]

Hey, it's hip to be square!

These are lovely looking cheeses Spoons. I'm sure we'll all look forward to the results.

Are you planning to keep them in that tiny fridge the whole 18 months? Where will you put your other cheeses during that time?!

[Spoons]

The tiny fridge is my air drying fridge which I keep at a slightly higher temp (around 13-15C). The humidity control is real easy in those tiny fridges. Once a cheese is done air drying, I put it in my cheese cave (36-bottle wine cooler) which has a range of 10-12C between bottom and top shelf.

I admit... I splurged 

[Digitalsmgital]

That is sweet, a dedicated drying unit!

That is what befell my first one, after weeping whey I de-waxed and during the second air-dry humidity took a dive and it got cracked rind, oh, the terror!

I like how you used a plastic baggie to keep the press dry while pressing in warm whey, we must protect our investments!

[Tom Turophile]

Yeah, I love the snugness of the pan to the outside box.  Much more efficient than my giant contraption.

[Spoons]

I opened this gouda today at 7 months.

Taste was very sharp, but lacks a rounded flavour (hard to describe). For instance, a 4 to 5 month old gouda is normally well developed and quite pleasant to eat. Then you have the 18-24 month old goudas that have such a sharp and sweet complexity that it's out of this world. It's as if this 7 month old is at an awkward age where it needs to develop it's sweetness or its complexity. It's still good, it just feels like an in-betweener.  Melted on toast is quite exceptional though!

I've sealed the other half and don't plan to open it for another year (yeah, right. I've said that before...). I also had fun with photoshop for some cheeseporn 

[Digitalsmgital]

Ha! Cheese at an awkward age!

Looks excellent!

[Boofer]

Beautiful presentation, Eric. Very professional.

-Boofer-