Author Topic: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!  (Read 3927 times)

wcaprar

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Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« on: February 19, 2011, 08:16:24 AM »
Well as the title states, I made my first attempt at some Gouda. I made a mistake with the press, as you'll see but please feel free to tell me if I can do anything better with my next attempt. I finished making the Gouda, but I intend on letting it age in the fridge for 1 month, so I'll post more info then.

I used the basic recipe for Gouda found on this site and have copied the recipe here. The recipe was given in sections of it's major steps and I have included my thoughts and what I did after each set of steps including any problems I had with each section.


1. Warm the milk to 85-90°F/29-32°C in vat of your choice, i.e. double boiler.
2. Add Starter Culture, optional Calcium Chloride, and optional Annatto colourant and mix thoroughly with a whisk to make               uniform throughout the milk.
3.Cover and let the culture ripen at same temperature for 15-45 minutes.

*No problems here, relatively simple

1.Trickle in diluted rennet stirring constantly for 1 minute to evenly distribute, then stop swirl with ladle to enable better curd set.
2.Cover and let the milk stand at your target temperature for 40+ minutes until a clean break is achieved.
3.Cut the curds into 0.2-0.5 inch/0.5-1.25 cm cubes.
4.Allow the curds to sit and heal undisturbed for 5-10 minutes.
5.Stir gently, intermittently for 15-25 minutes to ensure the curds don’t mat together.
6.Let the curds rest for 5 minutes to settle to bottom.

*I know the recipe says 40+ minutes until curd set, but it took mine about 1hour and 10 minutes. Is that normal for the time to be so off? Should I just put more rennet next time? What are some possible solutions to this?

1.Remove and discard volume of whey from top of vat equal to one-third the volume of milk used. Add same volume of hot water to reach target 95-102°F / 37-39°C, normally 130°F / 55°C water will work.
2.Stir gently intermittently for 15-30 minutes, breaking any large lumps of curd.
3.Let the curds rest for 5 minutes to settle to bottom.

*I actually enjoyed this step a lot. I kinda got lost in all the subtle differences in the making of cheese, that its fun to see a major difference in making cheese, lol. Does that qualify me as a dork?

1.Drain/remove whey/water until the curds are just covered by whey.
2.Pre-Press washed curds for 15-30 minutes with weight equal to weight of curds (about 0.4 kg per liter / 1.5 pounds per 1 3.US gallon of milk). A perforated plate below your weight is best to allow whey to escape easier, I improvise with an un-perforated next size smaller stockpot lid and used milk jug with water for weight.
4.Remove plate/lid and weights, drain off the water/whey.


*I am quite proud of my idea with how I got through this step. It hit me like a ton of bricks the night before. I was in bed being quite excited about my plan to make cheese the next day, when I realized that my mom has a large stock pot with a strainer insert that would work quite well to press the cheese while in the whey and then transfer the cheese to the strainer for a makeshift cheese press.

1.Warm your mold/hoop.
2.Place the knit pre-pressed curds into cheesecloth lined mold, pack curds down into mold by hand (try to minimize breakage of the curd pack).
3.Press the cheese lightly for 15 minutes at ~2 pounds per US gallon or 0.5 kg per liter of milk used.
4.Remove the cheese from the mold and cheesecloth, turn, replace in cheese cloth and mold and press again at ~5 pounds per 1 US gallon / 1 kg per 1 liter of milk for ~1 hour.
5.Remove the cheese from the mold and cheesecloth, turn, replace in cheese cloth and mold and press again at ~12 pounds per 1 US gallon / 1.5 kg per 1 liter of milk for final ~8-16 hours (i.e. overnight).
6.Remove the cheese from the press and cheesecloth.

*I started pressing the cheese in my makeshift cheese strainer, but had to rush off to school (which I was too late for :( Thanks a lot Gouda! You better taste good!). Since I was in the area, I stopped by What Ale's Ya? to buy a maturing box, and lo and behold, they have increased their stock to include a lot more items... So I bought a real cheese press and a metered pipette. Now I ran into a problem here, the size my cheese would have turned out in my original cheese press would be too big to fit in the maturing box, and I have no effective way of controlling the humidity in the family fridge. So I decided that I would move my cheese to the mold that I had just bought, but not without consulting the trusty forum! But no one answered my post in time on the forum here :( but it's okay. As you can see in the pics, I made the switch and I must admit, it came with some problems. The cheese had set in its shape so I had to break it up a little to fit it in the new mold and it wasn't perfect. In the end the cheese ended slightly slanted, which I know isn't so good. And for some reason the last time I turned the cheese to press it for 12 hours I didn't cover the top of the cheese with the cheese cloth so it was right in contact with the pressure plate. As you can see in the picture (towards the end), the top didn't dry out as much as the rest of the cheese, is slightly whiter than the rest of the cheese, and has a couple of little cracks on the top, which I believe is due to the fact that there was no cheese cloth to absorb and move whey from the top. 

1.Place in saturated brine solution for 3-4 hours per pound or 0.5 kg of pressed curds, be certain to turn the cheese every few hours to ensure even rind development.
2.Note, after brining the cheese will have lost ~5% weight and the outer surface will have become firmer and almost tough.

*After reading some posts on here, I decided to only brine the cheese for 3 hours total. It lost the slightest bit of weight but it did dry out a bit. Also I overestimated the strength of the cheese and, I must admit, was handling it quite carelessly. Well I tore a crack in the side, that was small at first but got bigger as it sat in the brine for longer. I uploaded a pic of the crack at the end of the brining as well. I remember reading a post where someone's cheese was cracking from low humidity and when they increased the humidity, the crack "healed". Is it possible that my cheese will also heal?

1.Place the cheese on a drying mat in 50-60°F/10-15°C and 85-90% humidity.
2.After a few days the cheese should be dry to touch and then it can be waxed. Or it can continue to be aged with a natural rind.
3.If natural rind, if unwanted molds appear on rind, clean with a low 2-3% brine and cloth or disposable paper towel. After cheese hardens, a brush can be used with brine.
4.Turn cheese and replace mat if moist initially every ~2 days then every week and eventually every month if age that long.
5.Consume after 2 weeks to several years, flavour changes with age.

*The cheese finally ended in a wheel of about 6" in diameter and 1.5 to 1" in height (its slanted). Now the cheese is sitting in my fridge in it's maturing box. I am quite pleased with the box, because it seems to be holding the cheese right at my target humidity. I will keep up with the turnings and such and will enjoy my cheese in exactly one month. So hope back over if you are curious how it turned out... I actually never had gouda before, lol!

Wow! If someone actually bothers to read this to the end I would be touched, lol!
« Last Edit: February 19, 2011, 08:31:55 AM by wcaprar »

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2011, 08:32:55 AM »
Couple more pics

Cheese Head

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2011, 12:22:45 PM »
wcaprar, nice pics, yep long post :), which couple bad ideas?

I've had the same type of crack, see picture #14, mine was from incorrectly pinching the soft cheese to lift out of the brine, versus yours from pinching to lift in mold. I don't think if healed but it was manageable as you can see from my pics. FYI for others I added my pinch tear picture to the Wiki: Surface Defects, Cracks article and added a Wiki: Turning Cheeses article.

Also, your brine appears to be clear, many people here use whey rather than water for their brine base, see the Wiki Brine articles for reasons.

Also, also your top surface seems to have a couple of gaps, this will be a harbour for surface mold.

Nice tray in your ripening/humidity control box, have fun with next stages!

Offline Boofer

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2011, 03:17:39 PM »
Nice job! Except for the rough handling which probably caused the crack and the clear brine John mentioned, you seem to have played hooky quite well. Great job on the pics and the dialogue.

In your aging box it looks like the temp is too high and the humidity a tad low. Perhaps you'd just placed the sensor in there and it hadn't acclimated yet.

When I'm removing whey for a cheese such as this, I funnel it into one of the rinsed gallon jugs from the milk used. While it's still warm, I add my salt and shake to dissolve (both are measured). Then it goes into the fridge for preservation while the cheese process continues through pressing.

Looks like a pretty closed rind (except for the crack). Now we wait....  :)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2011, 05:49:05 PM »
Also, your brine appears to be clear, many people here use whey rather than water for their brine base, see the Wiki Brine articles for reasons.

Also, also your top surface seems to have a couple of gaps, this will be a harbour for surface mold.

Yeah, I don't know why but I always forget to save the whey, lol. I tried to "fix" the brine by adding 1T CaCl2 and 1T white vinegar to my half gallon of water. Next time though, I will save it

I believe the gaps on the top are from accidentally having the pressure plate directly on the cheese instead of being blocked by some cheese cloth... that would be one of the bad ideas, lol.


Nice job! Except for the rough handling which probably caused the crack and the clear brine John mentioned, you seem to have played hooky quite well. Great job on the pics and the dialogue.

In your aging box it looks like the temp is too high and the humidity a tad low. Perhaps you'd just placed the sensor in there and it hadn't acclimated yet.

When I'm removing whey for a cheese such as this, I funnel it into one of the rinsed gallon jugs from the milk used. While it's still warm, I add my salt and shake to dissolve (both are measured). Then it goes into the fridge for preservation while the cheese process continues through pressing.


Thanks Boofer,

The picture of the maturing box was right when it went in the fridge, so your right, the numbers are off. Right now its at 88% humidity, which the recipe says to shoot for between 85-90% and the temperature is at 41 degrees, which is actually a bit low. Should I maybe take the box out of the fridge to warm up a little and then put it back in when it gets too warm?

Offline Boofer

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2011, 08:14:08 PM »
I see you're in Phoenix. How cold is your garage? I'd maybe put the maturing box out in the garage if it's cool enough out there. Not do-able later when the weather turns, but for now...maybe okay?

If the garage is okay, make sure it's up where crawlies, drafts, termites, etc. cannot get to it.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2011, 09:19:59 PM »
I just took my kitchen thermometer in the garage, and we have a rack suspended from the center of the ceiling and it's 69 degrees up there. At night it might actually work out to keep it in there but mover it into the fridge during the day.

Good idea, I wouldn't have thought of that

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2011, 11:09:47 PM »
So John and Boofer, you guys are both old cheeses and certainly have a reputation of knowing your stuff,

I was reading the wiki for mold surface defects and all of them seem to be caused by high humidity and every mold is described as not harmful and can just be washed off. Are there other molds other than the ones listed on that wiki? I find it hard to believe that none of the molds are harmful and washing it off is okay. Is it just when it gets in the mold that it is dangerous?

And also, this may be overly simplified but it seems that humidity effects the mold development and moisture of the cheese, and temperature mainly effects the aging speed of the cheese. Would that be correct?

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2011, 03:20:27 PM »
Today was the first day to turn my cheese, so it was the first time I opened the maturing box.... Wow! This cheese smells delicious! I know it says semi-hard "Sweet" washed curd cheese but I didnt expect it to smell so sweet and delicious. And I inspected the sides of the wheel to see how the crack was doing and its vanished! Does that mean problem solved maybe? I hope so!

Cheese Head

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2011, 04:54:27 PM »
wcaprar, good point on that Wiki: Surface Defects, Molds article, it is a bit of a stubb, everyone is welcome to edit, I just don;t have enough time, just PM me for the code.

There are some unhealthy molds, search on Poil De Chat (Cat's Hair)!

Correct, excess humidity results in unwanted surface molds (except for intentionally white and blue and smear ripenening cheeses) and temp impacts ripening speed, but we are way off topic now, there are a few threads on this.

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2011, 09:17:24 PM »
That day has finally come! Well, its two days early, but who cares. I cut open my Gouda, and I must say.... I'm not terribly impressed. I'll copy down what notes I jotted down in my notebook this morning.
"Not quite what I expected. The cheese kept growing mold every other day which I just got tired of. So I opened it 2 days early. Smells a bit tangy, although a little sweet. The rind is hard but the inside is creamier than I would have expected, almost like feta. I believe the whole thing need to be aged more, it was in the fridge after all. The rind is what I would have expected throughout. Slightly rubbery (in a good way) and the flavor in the rind is also what I would have expected. The thinner side has a 'deeper' rind like it's slowly moving in, which makes me think it just needs to age more. The thicker side has a very thin even rind but inside is even throughout and less creamy. Tastes kinda like feta at first and is even spreadable to the same degree that Feta is spreadable. Starts a little salty, tastes mild, and then suddenly starts tasting like string cheese. I have decided to cut it into maybe 8 pieces, I already ate one, wax a couple of them — so I don't have to deal with mold — and then wrap a few in wax cheese wrap stuff I found and see what that does for it."

Although I was a little disappointed, it was all made better when I suddenly heard the ice cream truck coming around... And in March?! C'mon, that has to be God cheering me up, lol  I'm such a child sometimes

smilingcalico

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2011, 04:27:43 AM »
Congratulations on the Gouda. Sorry you didn't have the full flavor experience.  Really, most semi hard and hard cheeses really do need at least 2 months ageing before they start really showing character. I tasted a 1 year old Gouda this afternoon, and it was fantastic. I'd encourage you to slowly eat that cheese. Try to save a piece for at least 6 months. Also, as you pointed out, you were ageing at a very cool temperature, and that will also slow down the ageing process and flavor development.
As to the mold, I'd say it doesn't need to be washed that often. For hard cheese I like to wash it at 2 weeks, then again at 30 days, after that, you can wash as needed. This of course depends on having good rind formation, and not bad molds. Most molds are harmless, but you should research the site for the nastier ones. Keep up the good work.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2011, 01:37:27 PM »
Excellent work! Nice knit to the rind. Good to hear the crack healed.

Now you need to apply a little patience and let your efforts mature a bit. Smilingcalico gives good advice. What would typically require a minimum two months cave aging will stretch your aging time because of the cooler temp in the fridge.

In the meantime, how's that next cheese coming along?  ;)

-Boofer-
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Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

wcaprar

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2011, 03:14:54 PM »
Thanks guys! For some reason that picture was the only one that wanted to get uploaded, so you can't see that the bottom had some gaps in it. No biggie.
My family and I ate 1/4 of the wheel and then I cut up the remaining 3/4 into 6 pieces, so .25 lbs each, and waxed three of them and wrapped the other three in wax paper wrap. I am very pleased with the waxed wedges but the wax paper wrap leaves much to be desired.
Tomorrow I will make another Gouda! I have decided that I will try to perfect Gouda before I move on to more advanced cheeses. I hope to achieve a near perfect rind with this one and I think I might do something to the rind to make it more interesting. Cinnamon? Red pepper flakes? Maybe some kind of herb? We'll see

smilingcalico

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Re: Attempt #1 at Gouda! A couple of bad ideas? You tell me!
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2011, 06:22:40 AM »
That waxing looks solid!  You could let those bad boys age for years! I just started a new job, making Gouda, which I'd never made before. The first batch (from 200 gallons) turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. Time will tell. As I'm really just learning Gouda, I don't have tons of knowledge on it, but I'll help with pointers where I can.