Author Topic: John's Cheese #007 - Gouda #2  (Read 6223 times)

Cheese Head

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John's Cheese #007 - Gouda #2
« on: May 10, 2008, 11:52:59 PM »
My seventh cheese making, second time making Gouda, last time's info posted here. Again used this Gouda Recipe/Directions.

MAKING - MAY 10, 2008
  • 5:00PM Let milk warm outside fridge to room temperature.
  • 6:00PM Warmed and added ice cubes Mesophilic Starter Culture, covered and then let culture mature for 10 min holding at 90F/32C.
  • 6:15PM Whisked in Calcium Chloride and Rennet diluted in water, covered and then let culture mature for 75 minutes holding at 90F/32C.
  • 7:30PM Checked the curd, no clean break, kept warm at 90F/32C.
  • 8:15PM Checked the curd, clean break, cut the curd into "diamonds", let rest at 90F/32C.
  • 8:30PM Slowly increased temp to 100F/38C over 45 min, then started removing whey and replaced with warm water roughly every 15 min as per recipe.
  • 10:00PM Poured curd and diluted whey through cheesecloth sock lined colander, then placed sock with curds in press, pulled up edges of sock so that none bunched at bottom and evenly distributed excess cloth around perimeter. Installed cheesecloth covered wooden follower and ~10 lb/4.5 kg weights with thread holes up so that easier to remove.
  • 10:30PM Removed 2 hand weight ends by screwing in bar and lifting, removed follower, carefully unwraped cheese, turned upside down in sock, replaced all with same ~10 lb/4.5 kg weights.
  • 11:00PM Repeated flipping cheese but used ~20 lb/9 kg of weight (all 4 ends) and closed sock drawstring above weights so none fall off.

MAKING - MAY 11, 2008
  • 7:30AM Flipped cheese for last time and used same ~20 lb/9 kg of weight.
  • 2:30PM Removed Gouda from press and floated in saturated brine solution, flipped every ~15 minutes so that even rind development.
  • 4:30PM Removed Gouda from brine, patted dry, placed in mini-cave (small cooler box with freezer ice pack & plastic table for cheeses and remote Humidity-Temp Gauge) for ripening/aging.

MATURING - MAY 11-24, 2008
  • Once per day, flipped, wiped away water puddle (sweat from air frome freezer block) in mini Cheese Cave, replaced freezer block with new frozen one.
  • After day 3, washed outside of cheese with saturated brine daily when outside of cousin Cumin Gouda started becoming slippery with presumably bad bacteria/mold.
  • Around day 5 aging, got exterior light brown mold, so put in household forced air very low humidity fridge overnight to dry out. 10 hours resulted in cracks!
  • Humidity-temperature gauge reads good 50-55F/10-13C but humidity consistantly too high at 98% (gauge more not be highly accurate when this high).

THE END - MAY 24, 2008
  • Needed cheese for nice bagel, so started eating even though sadly only aged 12 days!
  • Exterior visually has little bit of exterior brown discolouration from I think my Cheese Cave being too moist and also cracked from 1/2 day trying to dry out in household forced air super dry fridge (note cheese exterior is not as whte as photo shows, just my inability to correct for interior lighting).
  • Interior is very nice white paper colour and firm, not hard, homogenous consistantcy and cuts nicely just like a gouda cheese.
  • Flavour is, I think beautiful, albeit more like a cheshire than a gouda cheese!



THOUGHTS
  • Cheese making phase: Should have started making cheese earlier than 6PM at night!
  • Cheese ripening phase: Cooler box Cheese Cave is good for temperature but too high humidity as freezer block sweats, led to light brown mold, so put in household fridge overnight to dry out, dried out way too much resulting in cracks. Need to get better Cheese Cave.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2009, 05:35:13 PM by Cheese Head »

Cheese Head

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« Last Edit: May 11, 2008, 03:45:27 AM by Cheese Head »


Cheese Head

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« Last Edit: May 12, 2008, 12:37:34 AM by Cheese Head »

Cheese Head

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« Last Edit: May 24, 2008, 12:37:34 PM by Cheese Head »

Cheese Head

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John's Cheese #007 - Gouda #2
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2008, 03:41:23 PM »
Fifth 2 pictures . . .
« Last Edit: May 25, 2008, 12:30:16 PM by Cheese Head »

reg

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Re: John's Cheese #007 - Gouda #2
« Reply #6 on: May 25, 2008, 09:42:54 PM »
CH , how did you like the texture and flavor ? looks good from here.

reg

Cheese Head

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Re: John's Cheese #007 - Gouda #2
« Reply #7 on: May 25, 2008, 09:54:50 PM »
To me, the parent, it is wonderful of course. Frankly though it is very nice even though only 12 days old. Texture is even, nicely not hard, except rind is a little harder, asthetically though the slight barrelling shape is nice, but the brown spots and cracking were not good.

Here in Houston we have no good basement type cool area like you to act as a Cheese Cave as i) we have no basements as high water level and chance of flooding, and ii) we are very hot and humid for 1/2 the year. Thus I'm thinking of buying a wine cooler type fridge with flat shelves to act as my cheese cave as they radiate cold vs big forced air type fridges that dry the air significantly. The other option I have is to restart an old medium size 240 volt Toshiba fridge in the garage . . .

reg

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Re: John's Cheese #007 - Gouda #2
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2008, 01:12:47 PM »
" as my cheese cave as they radiate cold vs big forced air type fridges that dry the air significantly"

i think thats a great idea

reg