Boofer looks great! On those stainless molds I set them on two spaghetti spoons (wood spoons so they don't roll but dowels work) to drain and it works well. I love the character the little dipples add to the cheeses but I know some of you don't like it. Was it you or Likespace that was shaving the bumps off the Tome mold? The plyban does keep them to a minimum but still very pretty I think.
As for the recipes ... Dansco's is much better than the 200 Recipes book. I haven't been impressed with the recipes "as is" from the 200 Cheese Recipes Book I have tried but it gives a starting point I guess. Thankfully we have Linixboy, Francous, Sailor and a few other to fill in the gaps.
I have been known to shave off nubbins from some wheels. Since then I have learned that washing and rubbing takes care of most of them anyway...and they disappear. The bumps appeared on the brick because I removed the Plyban and lightly pressed naked. At first I wasn't so sure about the effect. I have grown fond of the effect and may actually try to implement it as a finishing element in my bricked cheeses (not
Brick cheese). It adds character.
I removed it from the wax and put it back in the ripening box for around 11 days. The swelling dissipated fairly quickly and the cheese smelled just fine. So then I re-waxed it and it's been good as gold ever since.
I might have to follow a similar procedure. I've had this happen to Goutaler cheeses in the past. You would anticipate some swelling in them though. This...I'm not so sure.
Is it normal for cheeses to give off some sort of gas (co2) initially?
A lot depends on the cultures involved. The Goutaler style (Jarlsberg, Leerdamer), Emmental, Baby Swiss, etc. all involve PS (Propionibacterium shermanii) which you want to produce gas. I didn't add PS to this cheese. I'm no gas expert. The production of gas in this brick actually comes as a surprise to me. I checked the Alp D and PLA makeup. I didn't see anything like LM (Leuconostoc mesenteroides) which would cause a lot of gas. It all seemed benign.
One of the big mysteries will be uncloaked when this cheese is cut open. I don't expect that to be too much further down the road.
-Boofer-
