Gouda Question

[Monty]

First and foremost I want to say how much I have enjoyed this forum!  What a remarkable resources for home cheesemakers.  As a novice, I have spent the past several months as a ‘student of the cheese’, reading, learning and starting small.

Today I have two questions.

Question 1 – this weekend I made my first Gouda.  The recipe came from Ricki Carroll’s book and I had zero issues making it…until the end.  The last line instructs me to age the cheese at 50 degrees F for three weeks before waxing.  Any idea what my target humidity is during the three week aging?  Currently, it’s in my cheese cave (aka old frig) at about 60% humidity…which takes me to my second question.

Question 2 – How do I get my cheese cave more humid?  At best I’ve been able to get it up to about 62% but not much higher.  I have one cheese (see Gouda above) and four bowls of water in there at the moment.  Does anyone have any recommendations (short of purchasing a humidifier) for raising the humidity of my cheese cave to the recommended 85-95%???

Thanks again!

Monty

[MrsKK]

Get a lidded plastic container that is big enough to give your cheese some room on all sides.  Also referred to as a ripening container.

 You'll need a rack in the bottom to keep the cheese up out of any moisture that might accumulate.  Many people on the forum use "egg crate" - plastic grid made for fluorescent light figures.  I add  a piece of plastic mesh on top of that, otherwise I get 1/2 inch grid marks on the cheese.

If you see condensation on the lid or sides of the container, wipe it off and leave the lid open just a bit.  You should open it every couple of days anyway, to allow the cheese to breathe a bit.

I really like the natural rind that develops when using a ripening container.

[MacGruff]

Monty,

One thing that I learned on this forum is to stick a clean rag or cloth into your water bowls and let it drape over the edge. The cloth will help wick the moisture and disperse it in the fridge. In my case, I was able to go from 50-60% humidity to 80% with that simple addition.

Another thing that I found helps, is to have multiple cheeses in the fridge at the same time. My current "cave" has several wedges from multiple makes, and without additional water is sitting at 90% humidity.

[hoeklijn]

Also something that will help to create the right circumstances is a cave is a small fan. I use a 12 cm computer fan on the bottom of the cave, just to keep the air moving a bit.