Hello cheese friends!!
I'm looking for a bit of guidance as I move my Baby Swiss into the "warm room".
This is the recipe I used -
http://www.cheesemaking.com/SwissBaby.htmlI held the cheese for 3 weeks, turning 3 times daily and am now about to put it into the "warm room". I have a special closet that is 21C (70F). I have the cheese in a container on a rack and am trying to figure out how to monitor and control humidity in there during this time. (This closet is away from my regular cheese cave in my cellar) I guess I will try to find a hygrometer to measure the humidity and use bowls of water, if needed, to raise the humidity. Any advice on this is appreciated!
Also, the outside of the Baby Swiss feels moist and even a tiny bit sticky but not in any way that concerns me. There is also no sign of mold on the outside yet, but I haven't done ANYTHING to the rind while it was in the cold (cave) storage for 3 weeks - no washing with salt brine/vinegar - no dry salting - just flipped it again and again.
Now that it is going into the warm room, I expect that it may require some "rind maintenance" of some sort. I don't want to dry out the rind so that it remains flexible while it "bloats". Any advice on this? Should I wash the rind daily or dry salt it?
I must also admit that this is my first "natural rind" type of cheese. I have always dried and waxed cheeses before this and feel unsure of the methods for washing the rind. I guess I'm afraid of getting it too wet or drying it out (with salt/salt brine) too much.
Any advice on how I might proceed is welcomed!! Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience!