Gouda # 7

[SalMac]

Same recipe as before same equipment but made with 14l milk instead of 5 or 10

Really pleased with this one, actually smelt like proper cheese whilst I was making it.

14l milk to start
Cheese Size: 20cm diameter 7 cm height
Cheese Volume: 2200cm 3
Cheese Weight: 2462g/5.43lb

[Tea]

Wow Sal, that looks really good.
Isn't it a great feeling when everything goes just right. Looks like a great size too.  Should age beautifully.

[SalMac]

Yes its a bit of a relief to have found a size/shape that makes sense and looks and feels right. The 10 l tall one that had such a bad time has kinda bulged around the middle it was too tall for its width.

Also the right size I can manage in a small kitchen and it isnt really much more work than doing 5l.

Bringing the temperature down after pasteurisation does take more time but I've found if I freeze a 2l plastic milk bottle and put that in the sink that really helps to speed up the cooling.

Now finding a permanent home/cave is getting critical, seriously running out of space :-)

Sal

[Tea]

The cooling time with pasturisation is why I usually skip it.  An ice bath is always the quickest way for me too.
I managed to clear out my "cave" on the weekend, so now I only have the Brie and Monterey Jack in there.  Tossing up whether I will do another hard cheese today, so there maybe one more to go in there yet.
Hope you manage to find a solution for your cave.

[mokumeguy]

I would be interested in knowing what everyones reasons for pasteurizing are. Is it worry about bacteria or because it makes for a different quality of cheese?

[Tea]

It is usually done to kill of any latent bacteria/germs in the milk so that is doesn't effect the final cheese and people eating it.
As I use milk that is usually freshly milk that morning, and I know the source that it is coming from is kept clean, I usually don't worry about it for our own use.
However if I were to be selling to the public, it is defiantely a process that I would do.
Personally in quality milk, I don't find that pasturization changes the yield or flavour of the cheese.  It is when milk is processed at prolong high temps that the yield and quality of the cheese changes.  ie: UHT milks.

[reg]

nice looking wheel of cheese Sal. have you decided how long you are going to age it ?

reg

[SalMac]

Thanks reg

The short answer to that is no!

I want to slowly build up a range of ages (say up to 18 months) I really like mature gouda and its expensive so justifies making it yourself.

We also want to eat some along the way so I'm planning to do a gouda a week for a while until I have a good stock.

Which is why the space thing is becoming an issue!

I dont think I'm going to age less than 12 weeks given the gouda I've already tried at six weeks.

Whats everyones thoughts as to the least time to age?

Michael I pasteurize to kill bugs and because the recipe says so :-) I'm very new to this and have found following the recipe a surprisingly tough challenge.....

Sal