Perhaps you all can look at my notes and give me some advice?
This was my first ever cheese.
Date - 12/26/10
Recipe followed - Ricki’s Basic Cheese Making Kit Recipe page 13
Rennet and Mesophilic culture - from Basic Cheese Making Kit (1/2 a tab veggie rennet, C101 culture - s.lactis, s. cremoris, malto dextrin)
Milk - 2 gallons Jackie’s Jersey Milk (raw) from the Food Coop purchased the same day as making the cheese
- Heat the milk to 86F
- Add 1/2 tsp MM100 culture and ripen for 30 min.
- Add 1/2 tab of rennet disolved in 1/4 cup of water
- Let sit 45 min (I wasn't using the floc method at this point)
- Cut curd in 1/2" chunks
- Remove 1/3 of the whey, then add water at 130 F over 15 min. for a final temp of 92 (I ended up at 95)
- Remove whey to the level of the curd and add hot water for a final temp of 100 degrees
- Press at 5 lbs for 15 min (it DIDN'T have me press under the whey)
- Press at 10 lbs for 30 min
- Press at 15 lbs for 2 hours
- Press at 20 lbs for 12 hours
- Press at 30 lbs for 12 hours
- Brine for 3 hours in a saturated brine at 55 degrees
After 6 days the cheese looked dry but still leaves a little moisture on the cutting board. Also after 6 days I moved it from the cutting board to a mat. It was drying at about 55 degrees and 55% humidity with no mold growth so far.
Waxed 1/15/11 (20 days of drying at a temp of 52 degrees and 55% humidity).
I suspect I may have waited too long wax this cheese. I was quite hard and felt a bit like a rubber mallet. You could get a little give when you squeeze it but not much. It really dried with no problems. In the last 2-3 days it started to get a little mold...little white and black specks. Before waxing I scrubbed them off and cut out the mold that was in the cracks. At that time I tried a tiny chunk of rind and it tasted good...but like a mild rind so not much flavor but it wasn't salty.
It waxed beautifully and I think I covered any and all pin holes.
I opened it on 3/5/11 (10 weeks of aging).
Here's where the question comes in...the cheese is dry and tangy. I actually really like it but it's NOTHING like a gouda. It tastes more like a mild feta or parm. It's not creamy. I'm most worried because this was supposed to be the "sweet moist cheese"...so if this one is dry and sharp what will the others be like!!!
I rewaxed half of it to save for another few months.
Thoughts?
TIA