Stinky,
This recipe is largely the result of Me and Al working out and trobleshooting my recipe which is taken from very large cheeses (I make my Emmentaler in 80 to 100 gallon batches...) and figuring out how to make it work for a small at home make. For many cheeses this is simple, for Emmentaler it is anything but.
So I recommend using Al's recipe. SOme time I'll go back to my small batch Emmentaler post and edit it with what we have worked out here.
A little insight for the rest of the world, me and Al worked on the problem of not swelling, and for my part I focussed primarily on the issues of over acidification and over salinization, so in simple terms we worked out the details to give the Thermophilic cultures less time to drop the pH of the cheese, and put the cheese into the brine for a very minimal amount of time to ensure PS could thrive, which it has.
Perhaps Al can give some more insight into his side of things -it's his cheese after all, I don't know anything beyond out conversations before the make.
But I must admit, my failure to convey an Emmentaler recipe that works well for small batches had been bothering me. So Al's success, for me, feels like a major victory. I think now I understand the issues you will face with a small cheese.
Al,
80 degrees seems a little plenty, I like between 70 and 75 myself. I'd be afraid it would swell so fast it cracks, or of the rind getting out of hand, at that temperature.
But hey, great job, I couldn't be happier to see this success!
