It seems these cheeses are going to be coming to the end of the line. Overall I think the cheeses from the 2nd batch have turned out to be better eats than the 1st, but the 1st seemed to have better PC coverage. The 1st batch just seems like it will never soften as much as I was shooting for, yet it smells of ammonia. They ended up being roughly 260g and 290g and the smaller of the 2 had to be tossed as it was too much while the 290g cam ended up being edible once I cut the rind off (normally I am not one to abuse my cheese like this but it was necessary if I were to keep it). I had finished off the 1st cheese from the second batch awhile ago, you can see pictures of it above, and opened up the second today. The paste was no longer mild, it developed more of an umami/mushroomy flavor, while the rind was a touch bitter and beginning to turn to the ammonia side of things, and the paste texture was finally consistent all the way through the cheese. Curiously there seemed to be some orange color beginning to cover the PC, linens from the ARN perhaps, which I am not complaining about. I cannot get the smell off of my hands even after several hand washings. I am thinking everything would have tasted a bit better about a week ago even though the texture was not yet where I wanted.
Notes:
Even if mold is not entirely covering the cheese, get them into the cold fridge sooner next time.
Watch pH next time now that a meter is available again, hopefully this will better tell me when to stop draining to get better PC coverage next time.
Use 2 4.5" hoops for a gallon.
Do not drain in a bag next time.
