Blue Gouda 1 (or Gouda Blueda)

[John@PC]

This is one of Karlin's cheeses I skipped over but now having the proper forms decided to give it a go.  I did go off the reservation a bit during draining and pressing which is the reason for renaming (knowing no one would ever give a cheese such a cheesy name ).

Ingredients:
- 2 gal. cream line milk from Hickory Hill Farms, SC
- M11 (1/4 tsp)
-  p. roqforti (1/8 tsp))
-  Calcium Chloride (1/2 tsp)
-  Single strength rennet (1/4 tsp)
-  Med. Heavy brine

Make:
  Warmed milk to 88F
  Added cultures; let rehydrate 5 min.
  Stir in with wisk
  Let still 45 min. to ripen
  Add NaCl diluted in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water and stir
  Add single strength rennet diluted in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water and stir
  Waited for clean break (40 min.)
  Cut curds into 1/2" cubes
  Rest 5 min.
  Heated 4 qts. water to 140F (recipe calls for two but I've been caught short before )
  Removed about 4 cups of whey
  Added hot water while stirring until temperature was 92F
  Drained whey to level of curds
  Added hot water while stirring until temperature was 98F
  Stirred for 20 min. @ 98F
  Let curds settle (about 10 min) and drained whey
  Transferred curds to cloth lined collander; let drain 5 min.
  Removed curds in cloth and set on flat surface over draining mat
  *Pressed curd into 1" thick slab
  *Let drain until pH reached 6.0, flipping every 15 min.
  *Cut curd slab into 1" cubes; toss with 1 tsp. salt and pack 1L Kadova form
  *Pressed 10lbs for 15 min., 20 lbs for 20 min, 40 lbs for 1hr.
  Once rind was smooth removed weight and let rest in form overnight
   Brined with med. heavy brine @ 55F for 4 hr.

My plans are to age at 55F, 85% RH for 3 to 6 months, coating with coconut oil after 2 weeks.

*Indicated where I deviated from the original recipe.  This cheese isn't skewered so I let the whey drain a bit longer in the slab form, cut the cubes and added just a bit of salt hoping that internal crevices would be maintained for blue growth.

[scasnerkay]

John, do you find the blues jumping from one intended cheese to others where it is not intended? I have not yet tried blues because it seems like I have enough trouble controlling the wild ones on cheeses where I do not want blue. My cave humidity tends to run quite high, and everything likes to grow. But no rind cracking anyway!

[John@PC]

I've had more problems with red mold jumping around than with blue (you should see my 4 month old "red" Stilton  .  In the "open" cave I've never seen significant blue mold develop on an oiled or washed cheese (yet, anyway).  I have seen it on some of my natural rinds but like the white mold it brushes away very easily.  I like to use mini-caves for all bloomy rind, surface washed and blue cheeses and have had pretty good results.   It would be nice to fill the cave with the same cheese but that would take all of the fun out of it, wouldn't it  ?  More fun to let those red, white and blue (boy is that patriotic or what ) molds duke it out.

[qdog1955]

John,
  This may not be the proper place or time to ask this, but how do I get over my fears of molds and cheese. Remember, I grew up in a time when mold meant BAD----when in doubt throw it out----A time when bread got moldy in two or three days. I would love to try natural rinds and Stilton----but when I see mold, I want to destroy it by any means necessary   An atom bomb should work
  My rational side says go for it, but hey, a lifetime of conditioning.
 I love blue cheeses----just afraid to make them.

Qdog

[John@PC]

... how do I get over my fears of molds and cheese. Remember, I grew up in a time when mold meant BAD----when in doubt throw it out

I grew up in the same era (no "5 second" rule back then).   I've read in a couple of sources that surface mold on pressed cheeses are not harmful and can usually be wiped or brushed away to keep it at a minimum or cut away before eating if the taste is objectionable.  Here's a simple explanation.  By the way, I took a picture of my 3 1/2 month old red stilton (hope it doesn't keep you up at night  ).

[awakephd]

John,

Was there by chance a step between reaching 92F and stirring at 98F? I look forward to the results -- this might tempt me to make my first try with blue cheese!

Andy

[John@PC]

Thanks Andy, I added the two steps into the recipe.  This has blue mold in it but isn't made in classic blue tradition (I did mill the curds like a Stilton but that's about it).  If you want to do a blue Mary Karlin's "Coastal Blue" is a good one to start with (that's what I started with) or pick a recipes here on the forum.