I began making cheese 5 days ago. Each day I made a 3.5 Gallon Whole Milk Gouda (until today when I made a Camembert). Here's the photo of the 4 brined wheels drying in the fridge....
So far, so good. The smaller wheel was made from a bad break due to a lack of salt in the milk. I learned, and the following wheels had far more curd. No cracks, yet. It was the typical procedure:
• Milk @ 90ºF, added salt, meso, stir
• 1 Hour later - added Rennet
• 1 Hour Later - clean break
• Cut 1/2" cubes, stirred 10 Minutes
• Set 5 minutes
• Drained 1/3 Whey
• Added 175ºF Water to raise temp to 92ºF, stirred
• Set 15 Minutes
• Drained Whey to level of Curd
• Added 175ºF Water to raise temp to 100ºF, stirred 15 Minutes
• Set 30 Minutes
• Drained Whey
• Transfered to cheesecloth in mold
• Pressed 25 lbs. - 20 Minutes
• Flipped, Pressed 35 lbs. - 20 Minutes
• Flipped, Pressed 50 lbs. - 12 Hours
• Brined 12 Hours in Whey-Vinegar-Salt Brine @ 5.0 pH
• Pat Dry, placed on rack in fridge, flipped daily
So far, so good. Any advice for me?
I'm going to eat one myself and give the rest away for Christmas. They'll be waxed in red later.