Swiss Style With Eyes - Natural, Vacuum Bag, Wax?

[BethGi]

Okay, I have read many of the past posts regarding this topic, and my head is spinning! A fairly new cheesemaker, I have had good successes thus far. I made a 2# generic Swiss about three months ago, and followed the instructions to wipe it  with a salt solution (but not wax it). It ended up very hard, had a thin surface mold, and rather dried out (think Parmesan?!). I finally went ahead and ate it -- excellent flavor, but no eyes..

On to attempt #2 for a Swiss this week. I used a recipe for a 4# Jarlsberg, having read that larger cheeses did better with eye formation, and were less prone to drying. The pH is right on target, and the cheese leaves the brine tonight.

So..after it dries for a day or two, do people think that waxing is the way to go? I do have a vacuum sealer, so could just use that to close it up (without a vacuum, as I understand the advice). My 'cave' tends towards the humid, but I can get the temp pretty close to target.

Help! (eyes are the prize?!)h

[Sailor Con Queso]

I personally would go natural rind for 2 or 3 weeks and then vac bag.

[Boofer]

Boy, now I'm confused.

I believed the current thinking was to brine---airdry at 55F---vacuum-bag loosely---and hold at 70F for some 3 weeks to let the eyes develop. The vacuum-bag would assist in maintaining moisture and act as a supplemental rind while the cheese swells.

Am I mistaken here?

I've got a baby swiss loosely vac-bagged sitting out hoping to swell. I've also got a jarlsberg in the cave drying waiting to come out and develop eyes. I'd like to know I'm on the right track with both of them.

I've got lots of wax, but I found that vac-bagging is more efficient and more productive.

-Boofer-

[BethGi]

Thanks for the feedback. Cheese is 'going natural' and into the cool stage. I will check daily for any signs of mold. Should I wipe down daily as a preventive measure, or just watch and see? (I fear that I could accidentally add more moisture in the wiping..)

And do you recommend it be in its own box or can I leave it on a shelf near other cheeses? (The others are all waxed or bagged.)

[Sailor Con Queso]

Boof - I don't recommend vac bagging loosely. If the rind wants to crack, you'll find that a loose bag will do no good. Think of the vac bag as an Ace bandage for a sprained cheese (ankle).

Current thinking??? Vac bagging early in the eye development is just one of many choices. I prefer to do natural rind, but I do vac bag early SOMETIMES, especially if I feel that I didn't get a really good meld during pressing. I am always ready to bag at the first sign of ANY superficial cracks. The advantage of bagging early is that you will end up with a rindless cheese and very little waste. I have a Jarsburg aging that way right now. The disadvantage is that bagging stiffles gas and oxygen exchange. The first 2 or 3 weeks is critical in the development of any cheese, so a natural rind usually produces a better flavor. You have to be the judge of that for your cheeses.

The real key to Swiss types is brining. If you overdo the time or salt concentration, the rind WILL be hard and crack. Personally, whatever time that the recipe calls for, cut it in half or use a much lower salt concentration. Gives a much more flexible rind. The Hansen culture sheet for Emmental (posted elsewhere in the forum) call for just a 1% brine. NOT the saturated brine that the recipes all call for. This is a MAJOR, MAJOR discrepancy in every recipe that I have seen.

Beth - You cannot wax until after eye formation is complete - 3-4 weeks at room temp. Swiss types do NOT just air dry for a day or two. After pressing and brining, you need to move it into a cool 55F cave environment immediately. THERE you will air dry for 10 days up to 3 weeks depending on the source that you read. Hansen call for 2-3 weeks for Emmental, 3 weeks for Gruyere and 5-6 weeks for an Appenzeller. This cool time is VERY important. The 55F environment will stall the Propionic bacteria while the cheese starts to develop a rind. Then you move it to 70F room temp for eye development. The Propionic will kick in and start to produce gas.

[linuxboy]

+1 Sailor, agree on all points, especially salt. Propionic is extremely salt sensitive.

[BethGi]

Thanks, all! I have placed the cheese in its own box* in my mini-'fridge 'cave,' which I have running at 47-52 degrees (cycles on and off).

Now the next decision point: I will have to decide whether to leave it there unattended when  I travel next week or if I take it with me in a cooler with ice packs. I think I will see if it starts to need wipe downs for mold or if it seems fairly 'clean.' If the latter,  I may risk it and leave it here for the 5 days I am away. Otherwise, it's making the road trip with me!

* I saw your customized box with its elevated platform, Sailor -  very nice! I will have to build some of those for the future.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Beth - if you fly, they are going to charge you extra for bringing your pet cheese. If you drive, be sure you let it out for a run every few hours.

Seriously, wipe it down before you go and it'll be OK for a few days.

[Cheesetart]

I had a swiss swelling on the counter -- and we got an unexpected call last weekend that my mother-in-law was in ICU and we had to fly to Tulsa for the weekend.  I opted for leaving the cheese on the counter -- as it was swelling nicely and I could not bring myself to vac bag it.  Came home to some mold -- but at this stage, it had a nice rind and cleaned off nicely.........

[BethGi]

Thanks, all. (And I appreciate the tip on making sure the cheese stretches its legs on a long drive, Sailor! Wouldn't want it to get a clot, would we?)

Looks unsullied thus far, so I imagine the cheese will not be touring this week. I will keep you posted on its development once it leaves the cool stage in another week or 10 days.

[BethGi]

Update: the cheese survived my absence...

I came home after four days and found that the cheese was ok -- it had begun to develop just a tiny bit of mold, which I wiped off with a vinegar solution.

It will have been in its cool stage for two weeks come Thursday -- so I will probably take it out to begin the warm-up then. It is not showing a lot of rind development -- perhaps there is too much moisture in the box? I also think I need better mats so there is more air movement. (As I said, I plan to mimic Sailor's inset suspended "racks in a box" when I get some time to build them.)

[Tropit]

What size is your wheel?  I have a 4" wheel that I ended up waxing after a 3-4 weeks.  I was worried that the rind would crack, or dry out too much, especially since it's a small wheel.  If it were 6", or 8", then I wouldn't worry so much about that.

~ C.

[BethGi]

The wheel is 7" diameter and about 2-1/4" high. There were some tiny edge cracks visible when I took it out to warm up. So I did go ahead and vacuum bag it (and dusted with some cinnamon a la Sailor!?).

It's now in a box on my dining room table, about 70 degrees. I had a choice between that location and the basement which is in the low- mid-60s, so I opted for the upstairs. If I want it even warmer (?) I could move it to my second floor.

[Sailor Con Queso]

If you are going to vac bag, you might not want to use cinnamon because even a small amount can really add to the flavor of the cheese. In a closed bag, the vapors have nowhere to go. However, I vac bagged an Emmental with cinnamon and the flavor is really nice - but I wouldn't want that all the time. Cinnamon is a natural fungicide, so it is good for natural rinds. Use sparingly or it will change the flavor even with natural rind.

70F is perfect.

[BethGi]

thanks for the tip. I might open the bag and wipe off some of the cinnamon, just to avoid too much of it in the flavor..and reseal it. I do like cinnamon, but it might be best to start with an 'unadulterated' version of this cheese! (I guess I am just paranoid about unwanted molds.)

Cheers!