Hi,
About 4 weeks ago I made gouda for the second time. It's now 4 weeks old, which is still a bit young. However, as I'm aging my first one for 9 months (and it's now 5 months into that) I realised I should make another just so I could taste it!
Here are my make notes:
Gouda
May 7th, 2011
Indoor Temp 21 C, overcast, Barometer: Low press
10 litres standard home brand
Warm to 32 C
11:30 : added 4 ice cube mesophilic starter (pre-melted)
: added ½ tsp Calcium Chloride (30% solution)
: stirred top to bottom 1 minute (placed in sink of water at 35ish C)
Let stand 10 min.
11:40 : Temp is 32.5 C added 0.6 ml Rennet (in water)
: floc time = 15.0 min use 3x, so cut at 12:25
12:26 : cut curds into 1 cm cubes (finished cut at 12:29)
12:29 : let stand for 10 minutes – temp 32.5 C – Whey is slightly cloudy
12:39 : drained ~ 2 litres of Whey
12:56 : added 80 C water until temp ~33.6 C
: let rest 10 minutes
1:06 : drained to level of curds
: added 55 C water to reach temp of 37 C
: gently stirred to keep curds separate
1:17 : finished adding water, now resting for 30 minutes
1:47 : drained the rest of the whey
: transferred curds to the mold
1:55 : started 10kg press in pot (20 min press)
2:29 : re-dressed the cheese, flipped it, and started 20 kg press (20 min press)
2:56 : flip and redress started 20 kg press overnight
May 8th, 2011
7:15 am : put cheese in saturated brine solution (2 lbs salt, 4 litres water) 12 hours (1486g)
12:00 pm : flipped cheese
6:35 pm : removed cheese from brine (1442g)
: patted dry with paper towel
Air dry
Measured cheese: 1442g
Sat. May 14, 2011: still air drying. Developing reddish brown tint, similar to the Butterkase.
Friday, June 3, 2011: cut into this. A bit tangy, and the rind is quite salty (probably due to brine washes to keep mold down). Rind has stronger flavour than interior, more mushroom like (wild b. Linens I think) Lots of mechanical holes. Definitely did not knit well internally (odd). Does not melt well, though goes stretchy. If left out to warm up, internal paste does taste much milder. Not really a gouda taste though.
Suggestions: Drain more whey for first washing. And maybe do 3 washes, rather than just 2.
Reduce starter amount?