Trult awesome! Nice pics too!
Why do you choose to dry salt now instead of brine?
Giving you a cheese!
I think I'm the only maverick around here currently advocating dry salting, and I certainly don't have as many cheeses under my belt as most folks here. It's the way I've always cured meat products, and it's a pretty standard way of salting cheeses like Reblochons and Gorgonzolas. I've just carried the practice forward to everything I make.
1. You don't have to worry about brine pH.
2. You don't have to worry about the brine leaching calcium out of your cheese.
3. You don't have to worry about brine concentration.
4. You don't have to concern yourself with variations in cheese density. (I don't believe that Parmesans take up salt from a brine at the same rate as, say, a Tomme.)
5. Less salt waste.
6. You don't have to consider changes in brine concentration as salt is taken up by the cheese. This is especially problematic when using a less than saturated brine.
7. You don't have to ponder how long to soak your cheese. 3 hours per pound? 6 hours per pound? 1 hour per pound per inch of thickness? Not a concern. Keep putting salt on it until your calculated dose is dissolved. There is always some spillage and salt that doesn't get onto the cheese, but I just add about an additional 20% of the desired salt quantity to account for it. I think that's still more consistent than brining.
Here is some information posted a while back on salt quantities:
Re: Salt, Amount For Making Cheese (If Not Defined In Recipe)
« Reply #9 on: January 10, 2011, 10:40:16 AM »(Linuxboy)
If you want generalities:
chevre and similar fresh lactic or semi-lactic curd: 0.8-1.0
Bloomy rind types: 1.0-1.6%, depending on style
Milled curd types like cheddar: 1.8-2.2%
continental types: 1.6-2.0%
various cheese with eyes: 0.7-0.9%
pasta filata types: 1.2-2.0%, wide range here
Blues: 2.2-3.5%
2.5% for a fresh lactic cheese is about average, the salt helps to balance the acidity. A little high to my personal taste, I use less salt. I'll use about 2.5% for a higher fat lactic curd.
Let me know what further questions that raises.
Larry