My first Butterkäse

[shaneb]

Hi all,

Yesterday I made my first Butterkäse. It was based on the recipe that Danbo put together (Thanks Danbo!). A link to the recipe can be found here: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13916.0.html

My make was a half batch (12L) and I used TA61 instead of TA60. The instructions were brilliant and very easy to follow. My cheese has come out of the brine this afternoon and photos with make sheet are below. I hope that my cheese turns out even half as good as the original. 

Shane

[Kern]

Looks good!  A cheese for your efforts.   

[shaneb]

Thanks Kern.  I can't wait to taste it.

Shane

[John@PC]

Another cheese for you.  I've not made a Danbo Butterkäse but it's on the list.

[shaneb]

Thanks John. The shape of the cheese has changed a bit since the first photos. Here's an update. I'm not sure at this stage if I'll bag it or not. I'm considering trying natural since I now have decent humidity control in the cave.

Shane

[shaneb]

A couple of updated photos. It's looking really good to me. I decided I'd try a natural rind for the first time (if you ignore my first Jarlsberg disaster). It's firming up nicely. I saw a tiny spot of blue mould yesterday and did a light wipe of 3% brine.

Shane

[shaneb]

A bit over a month has passed since this make, so I decided to open it to take a look and a taste. The taste is very mild with a slight sourness. I've vacuum packed it and will try it again in a few weeks. Overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Below are some photos. It's the first hard cheese I've made that actually resembles cheese.

Shane

[shaneb]

Photos

[shaneb]

More photos

[JeffHamm]

A cheese to you for a fine butterkase!  It should be a mild cheese, so sounds like you're right on.  Should make good grilled cheese sandwiches.

- Jeff

[shaneb]

Thanks Jeff. I'll have to check is melting ability soon. Grilled cheese sandwiches sound good for lunch. 

Shane

[Boofer]

A bit over a month has passed since this make, so I decided to open it to take a look and a taste.

Looks good, pretty young, nice rind.

Another couple months will probably allow more complexity. Have a cheese, Shane.

-Boofer-

[John@PC]

A cheese as well Shane.  I've not done one of these but between you and Danbo's instructions I can see it making itself .

[shaneb]

Thanks guys. Today I final got to try the melt test. It seems to have passed and was delicious to boot. I can definitely recommend that recipe to anyone who hasn't tried it yet.

Shane

[Stinky]

It's mild, but it definitely has flavor.