Author Topic: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt  (Read 12971 times)

Cheese Head

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Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« on: September 12, 2009, 01:31:19 PM »
Most nonprofessional home cheese making recipes for brine bathed cheeses (such as Gouda) recommend using a saturated brine, which is what I have been doing.

To better understand this cheese making step, I researched it and one recommendation is not to use saturated ~26% brine (which is simpler for home cheese makers to build and maintain), but rather to use brines between 18-23% salt. This is because higher % salt brine increases the risk that moisture will be lost too rapidly from the surface of the cheese, which can result in a very dehydrated layer which may hinder or reduce the further uptake of salt into the body of the cheese and thereby stop the cheese from reaching it's correct % salt in cheese, depending on cheese type.

While I can't check this on my cheeses as I have no way of measuring % salt in the final cheese, it makes sense. So in future I will use a lower % brine for salting my brine bathed cheeses. To measure that lower % brine (as I reuse my brine) I bought an analog hydrometer style Salometer.

Please agree/disagree, experiences, other recommendations?

Baby Chee

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2009, 01:38:42 PM »
Good heads-up.  I used saturated for my 6 brined wheels this week.

The Goudas have thicker skin while the Havartis are still extremely soft.  I took a tiny taste of the first Gouda's skin and it is extremely salty, naturally.  It'll be weeks before I can judge the meat of the cheeses- November.

hplace

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2009, 05:21:34 PM »
I e-mailed New England Cheesemaking once to ask about measuring salt content in brine. This is the response I received:

Quote
... the short answer is to not worry about it since most cheese calls for saturated brine .. just make sure you sprinkle a bit of salt on  the tops of the brining cheese and always make sure there is some undissolved salt in the brine
.... if you want something less than saturated brine then you will need a salinometer which can read the salt % .... normally saturated is 22-23% at salting temps of 52-55F but never let it get below 16% since there are many halophilic critters that will  set up camp n your brine below that ... not good

Have you noticed a problem in your cheeses that you have brined in saturated brine that is leading you down this path?
« Last Edit: September 14, 2009, 03:16:00 AM by squirrel »

Cheese Head

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2009, 07:25:26 PM »
squirrel, hard to tell for me, here's some reasons here why accurate salt content is required. That said none of my brine bathed cheeses have ever tasted remotely salty and so far they don't have enough flavour development and are too moist. So I'm just trying to reduce one more point of uncertainty as I have no idea how to measure the final % salt content except by appearance and taste results.

FRANCOIS

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2009, 07:31:41 PM »
I use 22%, other makers here like 18%.  I whole heartedly agree that something like 26% and dumping salt on the tops of the exposed wheels in the brine can cause rind issues.  I just flip the cheeses part way through and make sure whenever I walk by, that I splash a little brine over the tops. 

Our commercial brine bath is maintained at full saturation (about 26% right now) but none of us agree with that, it's just easier to produce and maintain for the cheesemakers on the floor.

hplace

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2009, 03:39:51 AM »
The problem with saturated brine is that the rind quickly absorbs salt and dehydrates forming a barrier to the absorption of additional salt into the interior of the cheese. I'm pretty sure I have had this problem with some of my goudas because I have noticed a bit of a pasty interior with some bitterness. This is with 10-lb wheels that were brined using the 12 hours per 2.2 lbs of cheese formula with saturated brine for the entire brining duration (I even added salt to the brine part-way through to account for dilution of the brine as whey is released from the cheese and salt is absorbed). The brine was at pH 5.2 and the cheese at pH 5.3-5.4.

I am interested to see how well your salometer serves you. With 18-23% brine, I would imagine you would have to check salt levels periodically during brining and add more salt as the cheese would absorb salt, release whey, and dilute the brine. One recommendation is to have the volume of brine be five times the volume of the cheese you are brining. I suppose with a larger volume of brine, the dilution problem would be lessened.

FRANCOIS

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2009, 06:18:38 AM »
I have to check brine levels maybe once.  I make up a 5 gal bucket, dosed with cultures usually, brine a batch or two and then instead of filtering or cleaning it, I just dump it.  Of course I have access to all the salt, CaCl and whey I want to make fresh brine.  I realize that is a luxury but even when I had my own cheese plant I ran 22% max.  I would check salt levels when I boiled and filtered the brine weekly.

Baby Chee

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2009, 01:08:19 PM »
The problem with saturated brine is that the rind quickly absorbs salt and dehydrates forming a barrier to the absorption of additional salt into the interior of the cheese. I'm pretty sure I have had this problem with some of my goudas because I have noticed a bit of a pasty interior with some bitterness. This is with 10-lb wheels that were brined using the 12 hours per 2.2 lbs of cheese formula with saturated brine for the entire brining duration.
My 4lb wheels of gouda were brined in saturated solution for 12 hours, which is approximately half of what you have done.  At that time per pound, I have gotten very good results in flavor from rind through to center and no bitterness.  So far all four goudas were extremely creamy in flavor to the center, though it should be noted they were pressed at around 1.3 psi for 12-18 hours each and weren't quite so hard as a traditional gouda from stores.

hplace

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2009, 04:00:07 PM »
That's good to know. I have had good flavor and results on the young goudas - it's the really old ones that have a problem (6 months to a year). I think I will keep the wheels smaller in the future. I think the salt will penetrate better on the smaller wheels.

FarmerJd

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2009, 07:30:25 PM »
Baby chee, how long did you age them?

Squirrel, same question; what is a young cheese to you? When is the best time to open a gouda? I know that with a cheddar the longer the better but is it also that way with gouda?

Baby Chee

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2009, 10:57:40 PM »
The good goudas were all opened between 4 and 7 weeks.  The 4 and 6 week openings were quite good!  My 7 week is almost as good, but just a little less creamy.  I know, should have waited 8 weeks, but I was hungry. :P

hplace

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #11 on: October 26, 2009, 11:16:45 PM »
My preference on raw milk goudas is 60 days. All of the 60 day old goudas I have eaten were very good. The ones that were 6 months to a year were quite sharp, pasty, and a little bitter (which I'm pretty sure is an issue with not enough salt).

Baby Chee

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #12 on: October 26, 2009, 11:25:04 PM »
My milk is always Sam's Club, so maybe the pasteurization helps with earlier opening.

It'll be a cold day in hell when I don't open a gouda before 8 weeks.

I opened my first ever gouda at 12 days.  Mistake: crumbly, saltier, not nice, but edible.  Such a cheese could easily work in sauces for pasta and so forth.  It was edible on its own, but it wasn't the 4 week gouda.

FarmerJd

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2009, 12:52:15 AM »
So shoot for 8 weeks; wait at least 4 weeks; or open in 12 days and use in pasta; hmmmmm.....

If I cut a waxed wheel in half at 4 weeks, then vacuum seal one half in wedges and eat the other half, does the sealed half age the same way or does the whole wheel need to age together?

Baby Chee

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Re: Brine Salted Cheeses: Brine % Salt
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2009, 01:42:58 AM »
I was wondering that myself.  I figured I could rewax the remainder and it would keep on going if done fairly immediately.