Ellen's Gouda #1

[ellenspn]

Tomer, the fridge is hovering around 75%

[Tomer1]

Try getting it up to  80-85% so you lose less cheese to rind.
But dont go any higher because molds strive at higher humidity.

[ellenspn]

It has some mold spots on it now.  Mainly browns and blacks with a tiny bit of blue.  On Sunday I treated it with vinegar and salt then rubbed it down with brine. 

Last night the mold didn't appear to be spreading any and despite being in a box the edges were becoming translucent I decided to go ahead and vacuum pack it.  I'll keep an eye on it to make sure it continues to age well.

[ellenspn]

5.5 years later.....

Yes it was in my cheese cave that long. And while it didn't look too bad it tasted bitter.

So goes the story of my first pressed cheese.

[ellenspn]

Let me try one photo....

[DoctorCheese]

5.5 years later.....
Yes it was in my cheese cave that long. And while it didn't look too bad it tasted bitter.

When I read "5.5 years" my mouth hung agape in disbelief because I could never wait that long to eat my cheese. Did you wait 5.5 years on purpose or was it lost in the back of the fridge?

[ellenspn]

I totally forgot it was in there. I thought the cave was empty.

[awakephd]

Ellen, what type of rennet did you use? I ask because I've read that vegetable rennet can become bitter - though I don't know from personal experience, and may be mis-remembering.

[ellenspn]

It was calf rennet. I think it was a problem with the pressing and the low humidity the exposed cheese was at during the drying process when forming the rind.