Author Topic: There's Gruyere in there.  (Read 3869 times)

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
There's Gruyere in there.
« on: May 15, 2016, 09:52:15 AM »
This weekend's task has been a Gruyere style.
I put the recipe together as an amalgam of the recipes on Cheesemaking.com and Curd-Nerd together with Caldwell's "Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking". The notes are as follows:

8 L Fleurieu Jersey unhomogenised milk P=3.3%, F=3.8% + 2L Fleurieu  low fat P=4.6%, F=0.2% (target P:F = 0.91-0.97; actual = 0.92) brought to 32C
Sprinkled on  1/4 tsp (3 dashes) Italian and Swiss thermophilic culture and 1/44 tsp (1 smidgen) of Propionic culture. Allowed to rehydrate for 2 minutes and stir in for 2 min.
Allowed to sit for 45 min and then stirred in 3.0 ml of CaCl2 in 60 ml of water.
Left for 5 min and then stirred in 2.5 ml of 140 IMCU rennet for 2 min.
Flocculation time =13 min. Coagulation time = 13 x 2.5 = 32.5 33 min 
Cut to 3 cm, rested for 5 min and stired with a whisk to cut to about 6mm.
Heated slowly to 46C over 30 min, with frequent gentle stirring.
Rested 10 min and then drained whey to the level of the curds.
Gathered the curd mass together and consolidate by hand.
Transferred the curd mass to a lined mould and pre-pressed under whey for 15 min at about 4 kg.
Remove from the whey and press:
   - 0.22 PSI for 30 min. Turned.
   - 0.76 PSI for 1 hr. Turned.
   - 1.5 PSI for 4 hrs. Turned.
   - 1.5 PSI for 6 hrs. Turned.
   - 1.5 PSI for 8½ hrs. Removed cloth.
   - 1.5 PSI for 1 hr.
Brined for 8 hours.
It is currently in the beer fridge at about 8C and (hopefully) 85% RH to dry for 2 or 3 weeks.
- Andrew

Kern

  • Guest
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2016, 03:06:50 PM »
And after 2 or 3 weeks?

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2016, 09:47:56 AM »
And after 2 or 3 weeks?
That's a good question, Kern.
This is new territory for me but the general idea, from what I've read, seems to be to move to 13C and 85% RH and age for 8-12+ months.
Another option which I'm considering is to wash the rind with light brine for 2-3 months after moving to 13C.
I will probably play it by ear a bit but I would appreciate any suggestions. I am mindful that it is only a small cheese, especially for this type, and do not want to allow it to dry out too much.
- Andrew

Kern

  • Guest
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2016, 12:25:46 AM »
For what its worth I made a Gruyere a couple of months ago and coated it with the clear polymer emulsion containing natamycin.  So far, it is looking great and I can see the paste under the clear plastic coating.  Not sure if you can find this in Australia but it is worth a look.

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2016, 07:32:04 AM »
Thanks for the suggestion, Kern.
I'm not sure if that is available here but oiling and waxing are definite options, especially if it looks like getting too dry.
- Andrew

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2016, 02:40:37 AM »
Time for an update on this one and a couple of questions.
The process since the last post has been:
  • 4/6/16 Transferred to 13C and wash with light (3%) brine with BL. Repeated every 2-3 days. Some small spots of dark mould appearing.
  • 11/6/16 BL appearing but also more mould spots. Washed with strong brine to stop mould before I resume with light brine.
  • 14/6/16 more mould. Gave it a good brush and then washed with 3% brine. Added a little water to the bottom of the aging container and sealed it to raise the RH.
So here we are a few weeks further down the track and I have continued to keep it at about 13C and high humidity. I wash it every 2-3 days with the light brine. The surface is firm and slightly tacky with the nice pink blush that I was hoping for. The only minor concern is the variety of moulds around the side which have resisted the washing and the competition from the BL.
I now have to work out where I go from here and I would appreciate any thoughts on the following:
Should I be doing more to combat the mould?
How much longer should I keep washing it for?
How do I proceed after washing?

Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions.
The surface is firm and a little
- Andrew

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2016, 12:42:53 AM »
I decided to wax this one today out of concern that, being a small cheese, it would end up being all rind. Things got interesting.
There were a couple of soft patches on the surface where condensation had dripped on it. When I started to wax these became very soft and opened up to reveal a bright yellow ooze. I thought it would be best to cut these patches off but the result looked a bit concerning. I have had some patches of this fluoro yellow before, under blue surface mould but none that penetrated so deep. After halving the cheese I am inclined to think that this is the same thing and that the cheese will be alright. It tastes good; very mild and quite nutty.
I think that I will cut it up and vacuum bag the pieces but I would appreciate any thoughts that anyone else has on this.
- Andrew

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2016, 01:10:55 PM »
Condensation on the rind is pure evil.  I fight it during the really warm months and often resort to boxing that works very well.  I hope all turns out well.

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2016, 07:19:31 AM »
Condensation on the rind is pure evil.  I fight it during the really warm months and often resort to boxing that works very well.
Boxing sounds good but trying to land a punch on those water drops is a challenge ;D
Thanks for the suggestion though. It actually was in a box but I had removed the lid to reduce the humidity on what it had been earlier in the aging.
- Andrew

Offline Fritz

  • Mature Cheese
  • ****
  • Location: Toronto
  • Posts: 316
  • Cheeses: 15
  • So many cheeses.... So little time...
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2016, 04:44:11 PM »
I lay a paper towel lightly across the top of the cheese whilst in a maturing box ... If anything does drip from the lid... It hits the paper towel, not the cheese... Just make sure the paper towel doesn't get soaked ....or bad things will happen! A few drops here and there on the paper towel are just fine, replace as needed :)

Nice cheese :) my Gruyere picked up some B. Linens all by itself... Has the pink look to it too. No other organic matter otherwise... Good luck :)

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #10 on: November 12, 2016, 07:01:32 AM »
I noticed that the bagged pieces of this one were losing liquid. Some were also out-gassing.
I opened one  and let it dry a bit. While it is definitely cheese, it is quite strong tasting and somewhat bitter. Not nice.
This is the second vacuum-bagged cheese which I have had problems with recently, the other being a Port du Salut. Vacuum bagging has worked well on other cheeses such as Cheddar and Romano. I'm thinking that their may be a problem with this method of storing for cheeses which have B Linens in the rind.
I would be interested to hear what others think.
- Andrew

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
  • Posts: 5,015
  • Cheeses: 344
  • Contemplating cheese
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #11 on: November 12, 2016, 03:27:38 PM »
I'm thinking that their may be a problem with this method of storing for cheeses which have B Linens in the rind.
I've had that problem in the past. One solution is to remove the linens as I mention here and here.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South Australia
  • Posts: 822
  • Cheeses: 115
  • Default personal text
Re: There's Gruyere in there.
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2016, 08:44:09 PM »
Thanks, Boofer.
Worth knowing for next time.
- Andrew