Havarti - the good and the bad

[cbenner33]

Made a Havarti 1 month ago (200 cheese-making recipe book)

1. ripened in container for first 2 weeks, took on a funky fermented/sour smell
2. removed from container and let it sit "au natural" in the cave
3. rind dried out, formed various molds, wiped molds off
4. aged for 1 month, broke open the other day and low and behold:

The good:
It's absolutely beautiful
texture is spot on

The bad:
tastes very tangy - we vacuum sealed it and put it back in the cave.

Do we need to let it age more? What could have gone wrong?
Of course I attached pictures. Please help!

Chris

[AnnDee]

What type of milk did you use? What and how much culture did you use on the make?

[cbenner33]

What type of milk did you use? What and how much culture did you use on the make?

We used store bought whole milk with 1/2 tsp of MM100 for 16 qts of milk per the recipe.

[Gregore]

The ph probably dropped a little low , ageing will certainly help, I can not say for sure if the tangyness will completely go away.

If it melts then it did not drop overly low , and should come around .

But it sure looks fabulous

[cbenner33]

The ph probably dropped a little low , ageing will certainly help, I can not say for sure if the tangyness will completely go away.

If it melts then it did not drop overly low , and should come around .

But it sure looks fabulous

Should I cut off a piece and see if it melts? I know it will the texture came out perfect, just has the sour/tangy taste. This all began while it was in the ripening container. Stayed very soft (you can see the indents of the platform on top of the cheese. The smell began in there and just stayed once we removed it. I'm hoping that letting it mature for a couple more months will fix it! I'll check in 1 month to see if its changing.

[cbenner33]

Update: It seems that I didnt get a good seal on one of the halves and had to reseal it a few days ago. The tangy/sour smell has all but disappeared and I can smell the havarti starting to develop. I think it will be okay. As I mentioned before I'm going to let it age for another month before we check it again...Whew!

[DoctorCheese]

What happened! Update please.

[awakephd]

I missed this the first go round, but - in general, one month is not going to be enough aging. I'd wait at least another month, if not two, and try it again.

[cbenner33]

What happened! Update please.

Well after letting it age for about 3 months We broke it open again and figured out what happened. We forgot to add salt. I had to dump all 4 pounds of it...Very sad indeed! We must have assumed the other person added the salt. Lesson learned. On to the next batch...

[awakephd]

Ooo -- not only would that let it continue to acidify, but also it would taste awful. I made a Gouda that was just a bit short on the salt, and it was quite, quite noticeable.

Of course, I've also made a Stilton with way too much salt, and it sure is noticeable! But I can use that on veggies or salads and just not add other salt, and it is still yummy.

[cbenner33]

Ooo -- not only would that let it continue to acidify, but also it would taste awful. I made a Gouda that was just a bit short on the salt, and it was quite, quite noticeable.

Of course, I've also made a Stilton with way too much salt, and it sure is noticeable! But I can use that on veggies or salads and just not add other salt, and it is still yummy.

There was no saving this cheese. It was beyond redemption. IT WAS BAD!!! next time I will make sure to not assume my wife added the salt and just ask her lol

[Gregore]

Sorry to hear that ,

next time try a make sheet ,  left side of work sheet column should have steps and the right side Column should have the time  each step happened at . Then nothing gets left out

And the middle should have space for notes , changes or observations .