Author Topic: March experiments with Swiss styles  (Read 1663 times)

5ittingduck

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March experiments with Swiss styles
« on: June 20, 2017, 01:57:47 AM »
Back in March, I ran an experimental series using Propionic Shermanii for the first time.
I also used the cheeses I made in this period to find out if I could age these cheeses at room temperature during Autumn and Winter in Tasmania.
None of the cheeses went quite as planned, and none showed and tendency to inflate, so I thought they were all failures.
They hit 3 months old (pretty much my minimum age for testing hard cheeses) so I thought I would split them and see if they were OK.
The first cheese is a traditional Swiss.  Recipie from Ricki Carroll, using a Thermo culture.  The cheese refused to knit adequately in the mould, and I thought it would be a complete loss.  I stuffed it into a vac bag and just ignored it (at inside room temp, maximum it got on the logger was about 16 Celcius).  It gassed up a bit, puffing up the bag, but didn't swell.  I didn't expect eyes in this one as the paste really didn't hang together very well.
Out of the bag, nice nutty aroma, texture surprisingly was OK apart from a major internal crack, firm and held together nicely.  Taste is excellent.  Big, nutty flavour with a lot of richness, it tastes like a much longer aged cheese.  The wife immediately asked for another piece and gave the order.....  "You will be making more of these, tastes like a St Claire" (a really nice swiss style made by Lion in Tasmania, quite desirable and rather hard to get).
The second is a Jarlsberg knockoff from a "Norwegian Cheese" recipe on the internet.  Made with a Mesophillic culture, this one went smoothly when made, but seemed quite soft in the vac bag as it aged.  It deformed a bit and didn't swell visibly.
Out of the bag, it had thrown a little whey and smelled a bit funky.  (Some of my cheeses that get damp in the vacuum bag develop a bit of a "Fishy" aroma.  I have not figured out where this comes from yet, but it fades as the cheese dries out of the bag, and the wife can't smell it.)  A very soft cheese, big eyes for a little cheese (600G).
Taste is very soft and smooth, lots of character, not as much nuttiness as No. 1 but definite Swiss character. 
Number 3 just had everything thrown at it.  I used my standard Gouda recipe as a basis, threw in PS and also Lipase, to try a Swiss/Dutch/Italian fusion cheese.  It also aged at room temperature.
Great texture, a little whey in the bag, fine, even eyes, very attractive I thought.
The lipase was a bit too much though.  It nearly swamped the PS flavour (not quite) and although I liked the flavour, it didn't quite work as intended.
Visually it's very satisfying, and I will age it a year and get some use out of it as a complex stinky cheese with a unique appearance later in it's life.
Of these, my first was the best, despite the knitting problems, this was the one we both went "Wow" about.  I'll be making more of this and trying to iron out the kinks.

smcaro@gmail.com

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2017, 02:51:17 AM »
Very nice looking cheeses, and many thanks for all your input.

I have never got to taste a home made Swiss yet. I have two ( both the yield of 9 litres of PH milk): one spent 5 weeks at room temperature of about 21ºC, was oiled with EVOO developing a nice color rind, but no swelling apart from a couple of slight bumps. I forgot to leave it in the cave for the first week. So basically it started its life only at room temperature. After 7 weeks I vac packed it late March and left it in a 11ºC environment in my farm back in Spain. Haven´t seen it since, nor will I until the end of July.

Second is just starting its life here in Hong Kong. I did have it in the cave for a week, and it then spent 3 weeks on the counter at room temperature, mostly A/C at about 20ºC and humidity inside at 70%. I also oiled it with EVOO occasionally during those 3 weeks. No swelling whatsoever, still maintains its perfect shape, and is now another week old in the cave. Again, when I go back home for vacation late July, I will vac pack it and leave it in my wine fridge cave, which cannot always cope with the high heat here and can go up to 12-13ºC.

 RH is a real problem. I keep ordering cheap hygrometers from Alibaba. None of them survive a week before they go blank. I now have a quite big analog one and RH is max at 70%. I do have the wine fridge full of wet cloths, wet sponges, salt bowls etc. And every day I open the door, flip the cheeses and take out for airing my cams, cambos, Gorgo and Munster which are in ripening boxes. Simply with this movement, RH, having the door open of the wine fridge, it being in  the kitchen with no A/C or dehumidifier, goes well up into the 80s%.

To end up with RH, I have also ordered quite a number of small USB humidifiers which I put in a glass of water. You know nice little ducks that float. None of them survives more than a few days either, and cease to work.

Anyway I don´t know if I can give you a cheese but I will now try.

Santiago

DoctorCheese

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2017, 06:00:11 AM »
Cool cheeses. I think my "ButterNut" shermani cheese I made is similar to your first one. It too tastes like a much older cheese with a lot of kick. Here is a cheese for you and your holes you made.

Offline awakephd

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2017, 01:25:39 PM »
Great work! AC4U.

If your experience with lipase is like mine, you may find that the longer it ages, the more overpowering it gets. As a result, you may want to consider aging the last one out for at least a year, and then use it as a grating cheese, where a little flavor can go a long way.
-- Andy

5ittingduck

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2017, 09:53:12 PM »
With the last cheese looking so nice I will age it another year and use it as a garnish.
Shaved with a microplane it should look pretty good on top of pasta or minestrone.

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2017, 04:22:59 AM »
All very interesting.
Also encouraging as I have a Jarlsberg which has shown no sign of swelling and is due for opening soon. Who knows, I may be pleasantly surprised.
Have a cheese from me just because I love experimentation.
- Andrew

John@PC

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2017, 09:31:22 PM »
I like the experimentation angle too so a cheese for that as well as the result.  By the way we watched a very good movie (Lion) earlier this week that was filmed in part in Tasmania.  Beautiful country and coastal areas.

AnnDee

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Re: March experiments with Swiss styles
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2017, 10:28:24 AM »
Wow nice eyes! AC4U!