But the aroma! It still smelled cheesey in the house when I got home from work yesterday. Unfortunately a year ago I wasn't keep such good records and I don't remember whether I added lipase. I don't think I did.
I'm not sure how close it would be to Manchego without the lipase or some goat milk added in. The smell (and accompanying taste) I'm referring to is very distinct. It's not really a "cheesy" smell so much as one of
lipase.
Sailor, I made this (my second Manchego effort) in December 2009 so it does have some age to it.
I've not waxed it or oiled it and I'm planning on letting it sit for another two months. Currently my plans are to let it sit and even encourage a little white mold to grow (I had to wipe off a little colony of blue mold that started, which hasn't returned).
I would think you'd want to keep mold from growing on the rind. IMHO this is not a cheese with a complex rind like a Tomme or a Beaufort. Traditional Manchego rind has a basket texture from the mold.
Obviously after only two Manchego makes I am no expert. I offer what course I took for your consideration. I spent 5 months tending to the cheese in the cave, wiping with vinegar and salt where needed and picking creviced mold out with a toothpick (and applying vinegar&salt to that picked area). After that 5 months, I wiped with EVOO and then vacuum-sealed the wheel. At that time the rind was firm and dry and fairly resistant to mold incursions. I cut it and initially tasted in the 9th month. Within the past two weeks I have reopened one of the vacuum-sealed pieces and tasted the cheese again. In fact I just went down and cut a piece off to taste so I could more accurately describe it. It is slightly acidic and slightly crumbly. It does slice. As I recall, back when I first cut into it last September, I had left a piece of it after eating our meal. As we sat there, my wife apparently could not tolerate the odor coming from the cheese and she picked it up and took it out of the room. She does have a more sensitive nose than me.
-Boofer-