This is a Gouda made to my usual recipe, (I think I have made nearly a hundred of these cheeses in the last 3 years) with no additives, and a rub of Cajun Spices added before I vac bagged it and matured it 6 months.
Milk source was 100% Jersey (Roxy and Helen) from February, feed was grass and hay.
The spice rub was just a commercial packet mix with salt, thyme, paprika, cumin, Garlic, pepper, sugar and a few other things.
On opening the bag, I noticed a slight haze of moisture, not unexpected with the extra salt in the rub.
Cut, the cheese has definite eyes, very pronounced orange colour, and a little whey weeping from the bubbles. I didn't add any secondary cultures.
The cheese is salty, spicy, very rich in flavour. It's a nice balance, and even the wife liked the saltiness though she's not usually a fan. I'll do this again.
It was a surprise to me that the colour and the salty spiciness migrated so evenly through the paste. I thought I would get a "smoke ring" effect.
The eyes are interesting. They are clearly P.S. style eyes which formed even at the 12 Celsius I mature at. Clearly my milk hosts the organism or a similar strain, and the different salting here has promoted it's growth past the usual little "mechanical gaps" I have traditionally found in my Gouda.
LOL, the more you learn in this game, the more you realise you don't know........
