This is a Raw Milk Gouda (Ricki Carroll's recipe) from December.
The cows were Bubbles (Jersey x Holstein) and Helen (Jersey), still on 100% grass.
The green cheese first.
The Basil and Garlic were grown here, washed and steeped in Citric Acid, then blended in a food processor and added to the milk.
The aim of this cheese was to replicate the flavour balance of a basil pesto. I considered adding Lipase to increase the "Parmesan" style taste, but decided to try it with the basic Gouda recipe. It worked much better than expected.
The base cheese is extra creamy and full of flavour. The garlic gives it a great "savoury" nose, and the basil is really good looking. The colour has been mentioned several times during ageing, it really stood out in the fridge. The vac packing has given it a really glossy finish, I must have got the moisture balance right.
There is enough basil and it's strongly enough scented to rise over the other flavours and complete the picture.
The second cheese is the same base recipe with Cumin seed.
The seeds were boiled for a couple of minutes in water. The water then added to to milk, and the seeds added at hooping.
The cheese has a delicate spicy aroma, very pleasant. The seeds rehydrated well and slice when cut rather than drag through the cheese as I have had occasionally.
The paste is fine and even but for my usual little holes, and it is super super creamy. Very bold flavour for a washed curd cheese, with that nice cumin finish.
