Author Topic: Hello from the UK  (Read 5532 times)

SalMac

  • Guest
Hello from the UK
« on: August 12, 2008, 10:22:33 PM »
Im Sal. Just joined after making my first cheese.

Even after all the prep it didnt go entirely to plan :-) But husband says it looks good.

It certainly looks like cheese and smells like it. Well we'll see :D

reg

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2008, 01:27:49 PM »
welcome  Sal. give it a chance and with some aging i'm sure it will be good. what type of cheese did you make ?

reg

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2008, 02:31:05 PM »
Welcome Sal in UK to these forums! We are all learning and have all had problems, that's why it's more fun here with support and ideas from others rather than just from a book ;).

So far I've found it more fun and challenge than other artisan foods like bread, wine or beer.

Tea

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2008, 08:42:07 PM »
Hi Sal and welcome to the board.  Great to see that you have made the first step.  I think the first batch is the most nerve racking.  SO what cheese did you make?  Don't worry if it doesn't look right, as long as it is edible that's the main thing for now.

Cheese Head, are you saying that you have made wine and beer?  You never said that before, or maybe I missed it.  Do you still make your own beer?  Just wondering.

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2008, 09:28:49 PM »
Tea, used to make beer and wine when teenager growing up in Vancouver, Canada, sadly not for a lot of years now.

Wine making is especially popular in BC due to the very high taxes on wine. Here in Texas, booze tax is very low so we can get some excellent Australian wines for $5-8.

Maybe if we retire there I'll take it up again.

Sal, as Tea asks what did you start with? Simple hung soft cheese or complicated pressed cheese?

Tea

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2008, 09:30:44 PM »
So when you going to join me making mead??  :D

SalMac

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2008, 07:38:22 PM »
I made a gouda.

It didnt really set and looked more like junket but after draining the whey it pressed OK. But didnt get cut or cooked properly.

Also got cheese bits all over the kitchen after flipping the mould when our weights fell off the press! I have a proper mould but not a press.

So used 20 l of water to provide pressure on a piece of flat plastic placed on the mould and the water bottles on top. Water bottles slipped off plastic, plastic flipped up and catapulted mold into air. Ah well. :-[

And PFA a picture of my very modest attempt compared to some i've seen on here ! 5 days old.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2008, 10:35:52 PM by SalMac »

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2008, 12:07:05 PM »
Sal, it looks great, congrats!

Yep presses are a tough thing and those weights if fall can damage things, not so much water bottles but more if metal weights as denser/smaller and more rigid.

Shame you didn't get a picture of your mold in mid air ;).

Now comes the tricky part, aging the cheese and controlling the humidity so that don;t get unwanted mould and don't get cracking from paid drying!

SalMac

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2008, 04:56:54 PM »
Yes It looks fine after five days its in the fridge at 8 deg at the top, in the box you can see it on. I wipe it and flip it every day. So far it doesnt look any different from the beginning of the week and definitely no rind or skin  which is beginning to worry me a bit!

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2008, 06:12:51 PM »
Normally in my experience you don't get much of a rind unless you do a salt bath.

I think I understand that you are aging it in that box for humidity control and keep box in top of your fridge where warmest at 8 degrees C / 46 F. Sounds good but little too cold for most recipes, but that's a function of your fridge. If you have a humidity gauge inside the box then you can control how much to crack it open to keep at your target humidity, if no gauge and you have condensation inside your box then your humidity is too high.

Hope helps.

SalMac

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2008, 06:43:39 PM »
Yeah thanks i figured as much! Cant sort a cave at mo or specialised fridge.

Requirements are 3 weeks to mature at 10 deg and 85% humidity

Locally currently average day time temps  is 12 deg and humidity 75%
Locally currently average night time temps  is 17 deg and humidity 75%

Fridge is at 8 degree too low with prob too much condensation. Not sure what the humidity is (I will buy a humidity temp meter).

Could I leave it in the fridge during the day for about 8 hours and take it out at night? Kind of averaging the correct environment? Or is stability very important?

Thanks for all the help btw.

Not sure the cheese is going to survive anyhoo :) as my husband keeps looking at it and saying "3 weeks? Get outta here, it smells like cheese already" (We're making Gouda because of his bad Mature Gouda habit)

And I havent told him yet Mature Gouda takes six months lol

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #11 on: August 15, 2008, 09:56:03 PM »
SalMac

I would go for temperature stability and leave in fridge, even if it means slower aging as colder. Humidity is more important to get right. Without a gauge I would crack the lid until you have minimal-no moisture on walls of your container, that's probably around 85% RH. Also, if you haven't, you should raise the cheese off the bottom so that the bottom can also slowly fry. Many people use some sort of mat.

PS: I think you can reduce rind washing and turning to every other day.

Tea

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2008, 08:59:53 PM »
Hey Sal, that cheese looks great, although I had to have a giggle at visions of it flying through the air.  I agree with Cheese Head, what a pity you didn't get a pic of that.  :D
I originally matured all my cheeses in the fridge, but this year I had another go at my "esky" cave.  What I did discover is that the cheeses aged at the colder temps didn't have the flavour that the ones aged at higher temps.  But then of course the toss up is, whether you have a cheese at the end of it or a rotten mouldy mess.  If you don't have any other option for now, just stick with the fridge, realising that it is not going to aquire quite the flavour it would have otherwise.

SalMac

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #13 on: August 17, 2008, 06:13:15 PM »
Gouda no 1 at day 7

It smells a little odd but bascically cheesey and has gone a bit yellow.

Cheese Head

  • Guest
Re: Hello from the UK
« Reply #14 on: August 17, 2008, 06:16:59 PM »
Hi Sal

I haven't seen yellow like that before, you sure that it's not some sort of mold and that your humidity box is not too high humidity? If cheese when you take it out is wet to touch then I think it's too humid and you will get molds.