Author Topic: Stinky's Emmentaler #1  (Read 7642 times)

Stinky

  • Guest
Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« on: January 14, 2015, 03:23:45 AM »
I only realized today that it isn't Emmental, but Emmentaler. Makes sense, but there you have it.

Made according to Alp's recipe. With a lot of help from this thread, but there are several things I noticed afterward that I didn't think about or did wrong. I digress.

2 gallons whole PH milk
1/8 tsp P. shermanii
1/4 tsp. Thermo C
1/2 tsp. CaCl
1/2 tsp. calf rennet

10:23 Added PS and Thermo C to cold milk.
10:26 Started heating milk
10:37 Added 72º tap water, 1 pint
10:48 Milk reached 91º; Added CaCl
10:52 Added rennet
11:31 Cut curds with knife to 1" and then tried to chop the columns with saucers, but they shattered very easily, so I didn't do that very long.
11:39 Cut curds more with hard rubber spatula, started constantly stirring
12:09 Added 1 cup 87º water, started slowly heating curds
12:50 Drained, put in press in a bucket with 96º whey. I think this warrants a little explanation. I was originally going to just put the screw press into the pot, but that didn't fit, same with all the large tupperwares, and the buckets. It sort of fit in this one, but not all the way down and it wasn't a very good situation
12:57 Flipped cheese, 8 lb?
1:05 Flipped cheese, moved press over to the counter and plugged it with a little bit of sterilized play dough, and poured whey in.
1:17 Flipped cheese, 16 lb?
1:43 "
2:23 "
3:28 "
5:55 "
9:00 "
6:45 Flipped cheese, in naked with very little pressure so that it looks nicer and more rounded.
10:30 Removed from press
10:59 Placed in 21% brine for eight hours, removed and put on drying mat

It's shaping up nicely now, getting a decent bit of linens. 2-5 more days, and then into room temperature, where I plan on rubbing it with salt rather than normally washing.

Offline Danbo

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Denmark, Europe, Earth, Universe
  • Posts: 1,277
  • Cheeses: 116
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2015, 10:21:18 AM »
Looks very nice! :-)

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2015, 03:53:17 PM »
Yesterday I moved it to the warm phase, and since I was moving it out of the nicely controlled cave I tuck in a little wad of wet paper towel, and then another. Just to be safe. The highest I read the humidity as yesterday on the monitor was 80%, but this morning it was 97% and I had this gnarly blue mold all over the side of the cheese. I didn't take a picture right away since I was in panic mode, but brushed some off. The smear came off as well. Right now I'm thinking rub salt on, and then use the moisture to schmier it around again so the open patches are linensy again?

Alpkäserei

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2015, 10:37:48 PM »
How is this cheese doing at this point? Do you have a good swelling? I constantly refine my recipes and for the small batch versions I appreciate input, because I only ever make in large batches.
Regarding the mold, you should just keep washing. Font even wipe it off unless it is very bad. Just wash and it will go away


Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2015, 04:41:27 AM »
How is this cheese doing at this point? Do you have a good swelling? I constantly refine my recipes and for the small batch versions I appreciate input, because I only ever make in large batches.
Regarding the mold, you should just keep washing. Font even wipe it off unless it is very bad. Just wash and it will go away

It's doing... fairly well? The rind has some mold, but not overmuch. I've rubbed it with salt twice a week since the wet period, and the sides are drying out, I think they're good. A bit wrinkled from the overhumidity earlier on.

But it's not swelling. I think it may be a little bit to the side, but not up/down.

See, my problem recently has been not being able to get the acidity down low enough, and this was not an exception. But I'm not sure how to go about this. Ripen the culture longer? But might that not affect the flavor?

Alpkäserei

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2015, 02:51:33 PM »
It is still early, I would not be too worried yet. These should have 5 weeks to swell

Regarding acidity, for this cheese you want a high pH. That's why we add water. If the acidity is too high, the PS will not work. That's also why we age it for a week or two cold before putting in the warm room, to stop acidification

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2015, 04:09:28 AM »
It is still early, I would not be too worried yet. These should have 5 weeks to swell

Regarding acidity, for this cheese you want a high pH. That's why we add water. If the acidity is too high, the PS will not work. That's also why we age it for a week or two cold before putting in the warm room, to stop acidification

Hm, we'll see.

High pH relatively. As in 5.4 range. But a lot of my cheeses have been showing up as around 6. Not sure what's up with that.

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2015, 01:02:51 AM »
I don't think this one is going to swell, but man does it smell good.

tnbquilt

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2015, 01:09:14 AM »
I love the smell of Swiss when it's aging. I make everybody who comes to the house smell my cheese.

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2015, 01:16:17 AM »
Hehe, keep your nose away from my cheese!  >:(

Alpkäserei

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2015, 04:27:11 AM »
If you have pH below 6 before pressing, that is wrong for an emmentaler.
I don't know the numbers exactly because I dont go by pH, but I do know it is above 6
If the pH is lower than that, then you will not get any good growth of PS

So then, that not being the problem I think the next likely place to look is brining. The easiest way to mess up this cheese is to give it too much salt. I've come to the conclusion that I want only to salt my Emmentalers enough to harden the rind. If you do too much more than that, you stunt the PS.

Looking at the steps you posted, I would say that is most likely your problem actually.
How much should you brine this? Really I couldn't say because I don't ever make anything so small. But for two gallons, maybe only 4 hours and no more than 6 to be sure.

Swiss Emmentaler is brined for like two or three days, but also remember those are wheels that weigh like 200 pounds!
I brine 10 pound Mutschlis for 18 hours, and those are much too salty to ever swell at that point.

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2015, 04:55:46 AM »
I think the pH was higher than that before pressing, but it was also higher than 5.4 or whatever.

Ah, I see. I'll try that differently next time, let you know. I'll go for four hours.

On that note I plan to make Emmentaler an installment cheese, and make a new batch every two months or so.

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2015, 10:23:16 PM »
Bother. I didn't think about how the humidity would be higher in the warm room than the cold, and so I cracked the lid the same amount as in the warm, moving it to the cold, and it cracked. Not much, but some. And some white mold. ???

And I think it's at the "tough and waxy" stage, on your nice little list. But it's really getting hard. You could knock someone's brains out with this thing, now.

Quote
Stage 1: Slippery and wet
Stage 2: Gooey and scary
Stage 3: Slimy and terrifying
Stage 4: Gooey and scary (see, we're loosing our goo)
Stage 5: Soft and waxy
Stage 6: Tough wax
Stage 7: Hard
Stage 8: Harder
Stage 9: Still harder
Stage 10: Really hard
Stage 11: Archaeological curiosity
Stage 12: Diamonds (this is when the cheese really goes up in value)

tnbquilt

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2015, 11:10:02 PM »
White mold is good. If you wash the cheese like Al says, you can grow the white mold all over. The white mold will protect the cheese from other molds. If other mold grows on the white it will just brush off. I try for the white mold all the time.

Stinky

  • Guest
Re: Stinky's Emmentaler #1
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2015, 11:26:46 PM »
Hmm. With my Tilsit, I am getting geo. I could leave it on, which would be easier, or try to keep it off. Obviously I've done something a bit wrong, because Alp always insists that washed rind shouldn't have anything except linens, but I'm not sure if it's worth the bother?