My first Success!

[MacGruff]

Tonight I sampled the first home made cheese that I am willing to share with others and consider it to be successful!

The picture below shows a cheese plate of three cheeses that I made as well as two commercial cheeses. This was tonight's dinner cheese plate.   

The Colby is the big yellow wheel on the left. That's the big success! I've written about it in this forum elsewhere, but the basics are that I made it in late January using raw cow's milk. The consistency and flavor were spot on and I am very pleased with it. So pleased, in fact, that I am taking a wedge to work tomorrow to share with my coworkers!!!

Unfortunately, the other two cheeses (A Gouda and a Havarti) have not improved with another month or two of aging so I will be disposing of them. On the good news side, there is a distinct difference in texture between all three and it's in the direction it should be, so I am not upset but rather chalk this up to my learning curve!!!

Woo hoo!!!  I'm excited!!!   

[DeejayDebi]

Congrats on the colby! So what is wrong with the other two? They look good?

[Boofer]

Hallelujah!  Satisfaction for a job well done!

Yeah, I'd seal those other two up and stick 'em in the fridge for a later assessment. You may be too close to the situation right now. They look okay from here.

-Boofer-

[JeffHamm]

Don't toss them.  Vac pac them and put them away in the back of the cave until next year or so.  They won't take up any room and you may be pleasantly surprised.  At worst, you just end up throwing them away in a years time.  You've done the hard work already when you made them, aging is just waiting.  Throwing them out doesn't stop time from passing, and in a years time the only difference would be you wouldn't have the cheese to try?  Where's the fun in that? 

- Jeff

[margaretsmall]

Well done MacGruff! What's next?

[Threelittlepiggiescheese]

isnt McGruff the name of the crime dog cartoon? and yes, yes it is http://www.mcgruff.org/

[Boofer]

Don't toss them.  Vac pac them and put them away in the back of the cave until next year or so.  They won't take up any room and you may be pleasantly surprised.  At worst, you just end up throwing them away in a years time.  You've done the hard work already when you made them, aging is just waiting.  Throwing them out doesn't stop time from passing, and in a years time the only difference would be you wouldn't have the cheese to try?  Where's the fun in that? 

- Jeff

Yeah, what he said...succinctly. 

-Boofer-

[MacGruff]

Thanks for all the encouragement, guys! Unfortunately, those other two cheese hit the garbage bin last night. They both had very distinctive bitterness and a slight bit of sourness as well that made them unpleasant to eat - so out they went!

BUT!!!!!

I still have about half a wedge of each in the cheese cave!!!!  I'll let them go another six months or so and we'll see if they improve any, although I doubt it.

As to the Colby, I took a quarter of the wheel to work today to share with my co-workers. I am very gratified by the responses I got and the whole quarter wheel was gone before 10 AM~!!!!  Even some people who hesitated when I mentioned that I had homemade cheese for tasting enjoyed it - and came back for seconds!  (their concern was that the cheese would be "like cottage cheese") HUH!

Anyway, I'm thrilled (as you can tell no doubt) and am already planning the next Colby (I have a whole wheel of Gouda that will wait another couple of months before eating ) and maybe go back to trying a Feta this weekend.

This is definitely a fun time for me!

[beechercreature]

Great job! A good success is what keeps us going in a sometimes frustrating hobby. keep it up.

[Caseus]

MacGruff, congratulations on your success.  I hope to achieve success myself one day.  It's always encouraging to me to see someone succeed.

you said the colby was the big yellow wheel on the left.  Did you mean on the right?  Is it encased in plastic in that photo?

[Cloversmilker]

Congratulations!  May this success be followed by many more!   

At this point, everyone I know expects me to bring cheese to each and every occasion, and consequently are all aware that cheese can be 'homemade'.  I bought a 'new' cheese cave recently.  Well, that is, I found another second hand wine cooler on craigslist.   I took a nice wedge of Gouda along for the seller when I picked it up and was reminded of the usual reaction to homemade cheese.  "What!  Can people really make that stuff!?!"  Yes, we can....

[MacGruff]

Oops!  You're right, it is the big one on the right (not left!!!)

And no, it is not encased in plastic. I will have to do a better job of photographing - maybe even get a real camera rather than the cell phone one I used, eh?

Not sure why it looked so shiny, but it was at the ready-to-eat stage when I took the photo - and then I cut the wheel...

[Boofer]

And no, it is not encased in plastic. I will have to do a better job of photographing - maybe even get a real camera rather than the cell phone one I used, eh?

Not sure why it looked so shiny, but it was at the ready-to-eat stage when I took the photo - and then I cut the wheel...

No, it looks fine to me. It has that characteristic shiny & smooth rind with contours that show it was vacuum-sealed. My cheeses look the same when they come out of the vacuum bag.

-Boofer-

[MacGruff]

Today we made grilled cheese sandwiches with a breakfast sausage and the Colby on English Muffins. I can now gleefully report that this cheese melts very well!!!

 

[Boofer]

I can not gleefully report that this cheese melts very well!!!

Why not? Are you sad to report all is lost? 

-Boofer-