Gouda - my first hard cheese didn't turn out as expected

[Jessica_H]

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

[TommyTW15]

Hey, My fist Cheddars had the same taste. It turned out iwas using too much starter. Now i test the PH at each step to make sure it does not produce too much acid

[Tomer1]

texture and tanginess is a factor of Ph\Acidity , its possible that despite the fact that its a washed curd cheese you over acidified it.

"•Press at 20 lbs for 12 hours
•Press at 30 lbs for 12 hours
"
I think this is where it happend.
I have yet to see a recipe which states to press for that long, usually its overnight (10-12 hours).

[MrsKK]

Another thing that I'm picking up on is that you bought your milk the same day you made the cheese...but when was the milk taken from the cow?  Raw milk will acidify really rapidly - I've had pure disasters trying to make mozzarella with milk that is 4 days old.

All of my first cheeses were dry and tangy, too.  Not at all what I expected.  However, I can't say that I ever figured out what I was doing wrong, except that I quit making cheddar and branched into other varieties.

[ArnaudForestier]

Another thing that I'm picking up on is that you bought your milk the same day you made the cheese...but when was the milk taken from the cow?  Raw milk will acidify really rapidly - I've had pure disasters trying to make mozzarella with milk that is 4 days old.

All of my first cheeses were dry and tangy, too.  Not at all what I expected.  However, I can't say that I ever figured out what I was doing wrong, except that I quit making cheddar and branched into other varieties.

Something making me curious here...from Pav, I know that depending on the make, a decent emulation of raw milk dynamics is a pre-ripening with meso cultures of say, 0.2-0.4 pH drop, before adding whatever other, say, thermo starter cultures one wants.  (Pav, hope I've recalled this correctly). 

So - with raw milk, (and I apologize in advance, as I'm sure this has been covered before), in a dairy operation doing, say, morning and evening milkings; does one actually essentially seek a defined pre-ripening with evening milk, held overnight at what would be normal bovine temp, to then be mixed with morning milk?  If so, any of you farmers - do you have any protocols for typical holding temps, and hours, and how far a delta pH do you shoot for in your evening milk?  Or do you just hold your evening milk, allow it to ripen, add it to morning milk, allow it to drop to some extent (to some total "pre-ripening" target), and then go ahead with your make?

Sorry if this is convoluted and unwieldy...not a ton of sleep last night and tonight's not looking much better.

[linuxboy]

Or do you just hold your evening milk, allow it to ripen, add it to morning milk, allow it to drop to some extent (to some total "pre-ripening" target), and then go ahead with your make?

I chill everything to grade A. Sometimes, if I know I'm making a specific type, I'll toss in .2% bulk (most often leuconostoc types), stir, and then cool to grade A, anyway. The bacteria will still be there, sleeping, and then will grow as you heat the milk, and then by the time it's up to temp, you can pitch right away and rennet because it will be at ~6.5. Usually only do this for cheeses like gouda, or bloomy rinds, or lactic/semi-lactic curd. Otherwise, always chill immediately, and take care of the rest during the make.

[ArnaudForestier]

Great, thanks, Pav.  Can you go into why you might do this for gouda/bloomy/semi-lactic, but not others? 

[susanky]

And one more question.  Is the chilling necessary if I'm using the milk immediately. Made a Pyrenees and had it going 20-30 min after milking.  I didn't bother chilling as I didn't want to reheat in that short time.  I had to add 1/2 gallon chilled milk to my 3 1/2 of fresh.  This put my milk at exctly 90 degrees (what I needed).  I'm guessing you are chilling because it is overnight.  But is there a reason to ALWAYS chill, even if using right away?
Susan

[linuxboy]

Of I want a different bacterial density (without excess acid), or if I want my milk to be ready to rennet by the time I wake up in the morning. Sometimes, I'll do it as a slight flavor manipulator. A long, slow, acidification to drop .1 is going to mirror the natural acidification that happened in farmsteads hundreds of years ago, when refrigeration options were limited.

No need to chill if using right away.