Cracked Gouda

[davedoris]

Hi all,
I'm new at the cheese making, but I am enjoying it. I really enjoy Gouda and have made two small batches so far. One, I think i got to much heat on (110 degrees F.), the other seems to be alright. My question is, the cheese has cracked in the fridge, I'm guessing from drying out? I moved to ice chest. Secondly, how do I fix the crack or can it be fixed? How do I prevent future cracks?

Dave

[Cheese Head]

Hi Dave and welcome to the forum!

Congrats on making the Gouda's, sadly I find aging the toughest part as difficult to get the correct cool+high humidity environment.

One of my earliest Gouda tries I put in household fridge, cracked in 2-3 day due I believe from rapid dehydration as our household fridge is forced, dehumidified air type. If that picture of mine looks like yours then same problem.

I guess if small crack then you could try and heal it by rehydrating the cheese in a water or brine bath but frankly I think it will be tough. My recommendation is like you said, to try and halt any further dehydration.

An ice chest works reasonably well but needs lots of care and attention, if you don't have a hygrometer, I've found if condensation inside ice box then too moist, if no condensation, then too dry.

Good luck and let us know .

[Tea]

Good morning Dave and welcome to the forum.  I had a provolone that I was aging, and it too cracked due to the rind drying out too much.  I started doing an olive oil rub a couple of times a week and the crack sealed over.
If you didn't want to go the brine route then it would be worth trying the oil.  BTW the oil doesn't make the cheese soft or sticky, but gives a nice firm rind.
HTH

[wharris]

I have all the experience that 1 gouda batch provides....




But i am going to try and develope a natural rind on my goudas.

After pressing and brining, I layed them out to dry, and found that if I placed disposable plastic tupperware bowl upside down, over the cheeses, the moisture being given off by the cheese itself maintains about an 85% humidity inside the bowl.  (see the hygrometer in the bowl on left?)

Its been 7 days and no cracks yet.

[Cartierusm]

Dave, one thing you could do is wax it which would seal it from further moisture loss and contain the crack. Make sure you use cheese wax. Or maybe put it in a tupperware with a wet paper towel and the cheese on a cheese mat (bamboo sushi mat).

Just in case you are wondering what all those red things are under Wayne's cheese board, those are oversized shuttfleboard pucks. They play terrible but taste divine.

[wharris]

Someday i am gonna pull all the shelving away from my basement walls and scrub/paint those walls so you don't see the spider webs and such in my picts.  How embarrasing.

The Red Pucks are just there to divert your eyes....