Basic cheese aging

[adalton72]

As stated in a previous post I want to start waxing and aging cheeses like Gouda or Colby. This will be my first attempt at these cheeses. Do you thing I should try an easier cheese or do you think these two are pretty easy to make and not screw up?

Andy
 

[awakephd]

I have made several Goudas ... only the last of which really came out right. The key, at least for me, is to keep it from becoming too acidified in the press. During my earlier makes, I pressed overnight, and had no way to measure the pH; they came out tasty, but very crumbly. For my last one, I pressed only for a couple of hours before reaching the target pH of 5.3-5.4. It came out very flexible, maybe a bit too moist, but quite good -- and I anticipate that it will get even better as I age the other half for a longer time.

Part of what I have discovered since getting a pH meter is that my cultures and dosing practices have been leading to much more rapid acidification than I would have thought. If you don't have a pH meter, one way to deal with this is to use a slower-acidifying culture like Flora Danica, and even then reducing the time in the press. Another strategy would be to do your pressing in a cool environment.

I have not made a Colby, so not sure what the issues would be there ... but you might face some similar issues (?).

Final comment: rather than wax, consider getting a vacuum sealer. I used wax at first, and now have a dedicated crock pot full of wax ... which has not been used for quite some time. I find the vac sealing gives similar results, but so much more conveniently and easily. The initial investment is only slightly higher than buying several pounds of cheese wax, as long as you don't go for too fancy a model. Mine is a fairly basic FoodSaver, but boy does it work well.

[Kern]

I second Dr. Awake's comments.  I think that the two single most important tools for making good consistent cheese are a thermometer and pH meter.  You can find some pH versus time graphs for various cultures on the maker's websites.  What you notice is that it takes a ton of time to drop from the initial milk pH of 6.65+/- to about 6.4 (drain time).  After this you start measuring curd pH and find that it is rapidly in high five/low six range and falling fast.  The difference in time between a pH of 5.7 and 5.3 can be as little as 30-60 minutes depending upon the initial amount of starter.  The cheese starts to get crumbly when the pH gets below about 5.1 - moisture content being equal.  Ultimately, you have to adjust the amount of starter to give yourself time to hit the goal pH for the cheese you are making (especially true with raw milk).  Once the cheese hits about 4.9 the reverse "S" shaped curve starts to level off and it can take quite a bit of time to drop from 4.8 to 4.6. 

For most of the cheeses made on the Forum need to be salted in the 5.2 to 5.5 range and this can be a very narrow window to hit without a pH meter.