The recipe was from 200 Artisan Cheeses, and the milk was Land of Lakes whole milk. Used the same equipment (an electric roaster with a double boiler insert, and a battery operated pot stirrer) and the process went the same, at least visually. We didn't check pH at any point.
The first cheese was pressed in the press I bought from eBay, nicely made, with a 4:1 mechanical advantage. At four weeks old, it had a bright, somewhat sour flavor; pleasant, but not like Gouda. It was excellent shaved with a cheese plane and rolled in some home cured smoked pork loin. the texture was firm enough to shave with the plane, but broke easily, just a bit crumbly, very similar texture to Cracker Barrel cheddar. I guessed that it had gone a bit too acid in the make, but now I'm not sure.
the second one was made in my second home made press, with a 20:1 mechanical advantage, and we tried it at two weeks. Too soon, I know, but it seemed like a good idea at the time because of an excess of cider consumption. It tasted like Gouda; not great Gouda, but simple and pleasant. the texture was such that we could slice it with the cheese plane and it was flexible enough to roll up without breaking. Elastic but not rubbery. I resealed it yesterday and it went back into the cave.
If I had had a pH meter I could have documented that they were the same in the make, but I really don't know. I doubt that the acidity levels could have been too far different, so I'm guessing that it is the press weight. I'm using open ended number 10 cans to press in, and the second cheese was hard to push out of the mold because of the reinforcing grooves in the side of the can, which didn't happen the first time.
Speaking of which, is it important to have holes in the sides of the mold? I see that the plastic molds seem to, but the photos I've seen of traditional Dutch wooden molds appear to have solid sides.
Dave in CT
