My Jarlsberg #1 & Jarlsberg #2

[DeejayDebi]

Don't let the rind dry up to much or it almost has to crack. Did you try polising the rind with the oil so it gets nice and flexible? That will help keep cracks from forming.

[Boofer]

Debi - It actually didn't spend that much time drying out (1 week) so the rind didn't dry and crack.

It's a balancing act...you want to develop somewhat of a rind but not so much that the darn thing dries out. For these two puppies, the rind will be all edible. I've got a pretty good feeling about them overall. Time will tell of course.

#2 has begun to produce gas within the past three days. That would mark it at the 3 week point.

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

Yes it is indeed a balancing act. Time, temperature and humidity all in balance. Had to tell by a picture sometimes. The light can change the whole pitcure. Looks like a nice texture good luck.

[Boofer]

Well, Mother Nature finally kicked the temperature above normal over the past couple days. I have a photo of the thermometer sitting at 65 degrees F at noon on July 4th. The temp had not reached 75F since September 2009. That all changed this week.

I was forced to move the two Jarlsbergs and the Baby Swiss into the cooler reaches of the cave (~51F). The temperature inside the house had been getting above 80F (no AC). The Baby Swiss hadn't been showing any gas development and it has been out at room temp (~68F) for five weeks. The Jarlsbergs have been generating a lot of gas. Hopefully they will continue to do so in the cave.

Jarlsberg #2 had been giving off a bit more whey so I pulled it out of the vac-bag and put it into the mini-cave within the cave to dry out a little more. I don't expect it will be very long before I seal it up in a vac-bag again for long-term storage.

It was really a great window of time to make these cheeses. It had been unseasonably cool outside and nice and cool inside the house for as long as I needed. Just excellent! I'm glad I did them in rapid succession like I did.

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

Gosh send me some of the cool weather we have been frying all week abnormally high 94 to 101 F degrees! That's just not normal! I've been shuffling cheeses between my mini caves all week. Even my basement is up to 78 F degrees. Had to put a few older cheese in the regular fridge just to keep everything cool.

Sounds like luck was with you temperature wise.

[Boofer]

OMG, we're having a heat wave...a tropical heat wave...! 

It was like...80F today. I had to take my sweatshirt off. 

Seriously, except for several days after the 4th, it still is comfortably cool for this time of year. Watch, now that I've said that, I've no doubt jinxed myself. It'll probably swing the other way now.

The two Jarlsbergs are in the cave, still pumping out the gas and swelling their vacuum bags. Yeegads, I put 1/8 tsp of propionibacteria in each of them. Is the 1/8 tsp of sodium nitrate assisting in gas production here?

The wheels look good. I guess I mentioned that previously. Can't help it. This aging time is killing me with suspense.

-Boofer-

[Sailor Con Queso]

Why did you add sodium nitrate?

[Boofer]

Why did you add sodium nitrate?

Following the initial lead I took from Debi's recipe and then the study I attached on page one of this thread, here is an extract from jarlsberg cheese technology.doc:
"The experimental design comprised the production of cheese without the addition of nitrate and with nitrate added at three levels. Addition of nitrate is a well-known technical aid in cheesemaking to avoid butyric acid fermentation. Butyric acid fermentation in cheese is due to the growth of spore-forming bacteria in the genus Clostridium, so-called butyric acid bacteria, and the species Clostridium tyrobutyricum is the most common in cheese. Growth of such bacteria in cheese can render it totally inedible, mainly because large amounts of butyric acid are formed. In addition, so much hydrogen is produced that the cheese structure is destroyed. Unlike CO2, hydrogen is not soluble in the cheese moisture and large holes and cracks are produced in the cheese. The effect of adding nitrate to the cheese milk was dependent on the presence of butyric acid bacteria in the milk and the potential for them to develop in the cheese."

-Boofer-

[Sailor Con Queso]

I understand what sodium nitrate is for. We you having a problem with late blooming?

[Boofer]

No I haven't had a problem with late blooming, but then these were my first Jarlsbergs.

Here is another extract from that document:

"cheese to which nitrate was added obtained a better score for general quality and eye formation than cheese made without nitrate addition. The aroma and taste of the cheese were superior, with intermediate levels of nitrate addition and whey dilution. The conclusion was therefore that both too much and too little nitrate had a negative effect on the cheese quality."

That would indicate to me that some nitrate will improve the cheese.

At this point I don't have enough experience to know whether the addition is a good thing or a bad thing. Just going through the motions with these two Jarlsbergs has been an education for me. I've seen how long it can take to see gas production (3 weeks) and that I need to find a way to harden up the rind a little more...perhaps more long-term oiling and air-drying in the minicave. I had both of these crack and so panicked and vacuum-sealed them. The problem I saw was that they continued to produce gas and I changed vacuum bags several times.

-Boofer-

[Sailor Con Queso]

Swiss types should not take 3 weeks to show gas production. If they are at reasonable room temp around 70F you should see swelling within 10 days. If you don't see it by at least 14, IMHO something else is wrong - pH, salt balance, bacteria levels, etc. In particular, Propionic is very sensitive to excess salt. In fact, the Dansen fact sheets in the library call for a 1% brine instead of the saturated brine that we usually use. I have 2 babys swelling right now with a natural rind brined at 1% and dried in the cave for 10 days.

Less salt would not only be good for the Propionic, but that also means a more flexible rind (and less cracking). Ironically. the harder rind that you mentioned is more subject to cracking. As they say, it's the flexible trees that can withstand a hurricane.

I try to avoid unnecessary chemicals like nitrates as much as possible.

[Boofer]

I was a little hesitant about the nitrate, but decided to go out on a limb for these two wheels to hedge my bets. In the near future I want to do another Jarlsberg without nitrate and use the calf rennet I bought recently. I'll get more data for my process and hopefully improve the final product.

Have you had success with decent eyes and limited rind-cracking? Seems like you had one that looked promising but it cracked slightly and deflated anyway? Do you oil any of your rinds? Do you make any Baby Swisses and not vacuum-bag?

-Boofer-

[Sailor Con Queso]

Yes, I make natural rind Babys (an other Swiss types) with good eye formation on a regular basis. This thread might help.
My Baby Is Swelling Up

A few quick points.

• Full fat milk is more prone to cracking so add a little skim. (In general skim makes any cheese harder).
• Brine with 1-2% salt and added CaCl2. It's important that you don't pull calcium out of the rind.
• After brining, pat dry and immediately put into your cool cave.
• It is imperative that you keep the humidity up. I use a ripening box.
• Keep cool for at least 10 days. I usually go 14. The Danesco culture sheets call for 3-5 weeks for some varieties.
• Move to room temp for the swelling or eye formation phase. I just move the entire ripening box.
• I only vac bag if I feel there is a problem with the rind. Push gently with a fingertip. The rind should be pliable, not stiff. If the rind is too hard you probably should either go ahead and bag or start olive oil wipes.

[DeejayDebi]

Boofer -

Just to let you know ... When I tried the recipe from that report the first time I used the nitrates as they suggested. The second time I didn't and saw no difference in the cheese so I haven't used it since. I've notced several instructions for Nowegien cheeses include nitrates. Maybe it's something related to the feed in the area they are in that doesn't apply here?

[Boofer]

Yes, I make natural rind Babys (an other Swiss types) with good eye formation on a regular basis. This thread might help.
My Baby Is Swelling Up

A few quick points.

• Full fat milk is more prone to cracking so add a little skim. (In general skim makes any cheese harder).
• Brine with 1-2% salt and added CaCl2. It's important that you don't pull calcium out of the rind.
• After brining, pat dry and immediately put into your cool cave.
• It is imperative that you keep the humidity up. I use a ripening box.
• Keep cool for at least 10 days. I usually go 14. The Danesco culture sheets call for 3-5 weeks for some varieties.
• Move to room temp for the swelling or eye formation phase. I just move the entire ripening box.
• I only vac bag if I feel there is a problem with the rind. Push gently with a fingertip. The rind should be pliable, not stiff. If the rind is too hard you probably should either go ahead and bag or start olive oil wipes.

I've got 2, 3, 4, 6. My brine is the whey with salt added so that should have enough calcium already without the CACL2. On #5 I kept it in the cave for 7 days. I guess that needs to be longer. On #1 I used whole milk. Maybe I'll try 1% milk. I think the store skim milk has non-fat dry milk added so I'm not sure that's what I want. On #7, my rind is pliable, not stiff or hard. Overall the whole feel of the wheel appears very nice. I am anticipating a wonderful product. I hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment.

Boofer -

Just to let you know ... When I tried the recipe from that report the first time I used the nitrates as they suggested. The second time I didn't and saw no difference in the cheese so I haven't used it since. I've notced several instructions for Nowegien cheeses include nitrates. Maybe it's something related to the feed in the area they are in that doesn't apply here?

You're probably right. Perhaps they feed silage or some other stored feed that would require the nitrate to counteract.

At any rate, I've done those two Jarlsbergs with nitrate. I did the Baby Swiss at the same time without nitrate. I am looking forward to making one of those styles without the nitrate and with the newly-purchased calf rennet. That should hopefully give me a good sense of what the style can be. I'm a little concerned that my room temperature will be off the charts for eye production. As I said previously, that long cool period from September '09 to July '10 was phenomenal for letting the cheeses sit at room temp. Maybe I need to hold off until the cooler weather comes rolling in...but that's a long time.

-Boofer-