Gouda Trial and Error Begins

[mjr522]

Today I made my first Gouda in a trial and error approach to getting more familiar with cheesemaking (in other words, actually getting a cheese to turn into something I'm happy with).  I plan to keep making a Gouda every couple of weeks until I get one that goes right and turns out right.  Today's was the first time I've used a pH meter.  Here's my make (that's, at least, my understand of how the vernacular is used...):

2 gallons p/h whole milk

0900   add 1/4 tsp Mesophilic-A     88 F, pH 6.64
0935   add 1/4 tsp CaCl diluted in 1/4 cup water, stirred in thoroughly
          add 1 tsp rennet                 90 F, pH 6.57
0941   early floc check surprise--it's already solidifying
          use 6min x 3 = 18 mins
0953   no clean break
0956   cut curd into 3/8" cubes (well, I tried, anyway)
0959   let heal for 3 mins
1001   stir 15 min                         89 F, pH 6.55
1016   let curds settle                    88 F, pH 6.54
1026   remove 1/3 whey, replace with hot water to 95 F, stir
1031   add more hot water to 101 F, stir
1043   reached minimum pH of 6.45
1045   drain, begin pressing under whey
1115   remove whey, flip, redress press at ~25 lbs/4" mold    curds: 80 F, pH 6.25
1220   flip, redress, press ~50 lbs                                       curds: 73 F, pH 5.75
1330   check pH 5.55
          I'm concerned that the pH is dropping too fast and I need to go run errands, so I put the press in the cheese cave
1545   pH below recommended (by Dixon) removal point--pH 5.23 (compared to 5.40 - 5.50) temp 64.8 F
          remove from mold, place in brine

And now it's in the cheese room, chillin' in the brine.  My questions for those who might be able to help:

1.  Why was the flocculation time so much shorter than I expected it to be (10+ minutes)?
2.  When I cut the curd into 3/8" cubes, they looked good, then, as I stirred them, half of them seemed to break up so that I had 2 groups, 1 that was the right size and another with significantly smaller (1/4 as large) curds.  What happened?
3.  The final cooking (which I started at 1031 was supposed to last about 30 minutes, but I was at the pH target in 12 minutes.  Any guesses why that was?  And will that have adverse effects on the cheese (because I might not have gotten enough moisture out)?
4.  Similarly, the pH dropped significantly faster during pressing than I anticipated it would.  Does the (apparently) precipitous drop in pH indicate that it will continue to drop rapidly, producing a sour, crumbly cheese?  Also, does missing the target to get the cheese out of the mold and into the brine (pH 5.23 instead of between 5.4 and 5.5) have serious implications for the final, aged product?

My guesses for the answer to most of these questions is that I used too much starter or I had temperature/time that was too favorable to growth early on leading to too large of a culture population.  Any other thoughts or answers to these questions.

Thanks for reading!

Mike

[linuxboy]

1.  Why was the flocculation time so much shorter than I expected it to be (10+ minutes)?

You used 1 tsp rennet for 2 gallons milk. Even with single strength, that is twice the correct amount. What kind are you using?

2.  When I cut the curd into 3/8" cubes, they looked good, then, as I stirred them, half of them seemed to break up so that I had 2 groups, 1 that was the right size and another with significantly smaller (1/4 as large) curds.  What happened?

You had fragile curds. How hard did you stir to firm them up?

3.  The final cooking (which I started at 1031 was supposed to last about 30 minutes, but I was at the pH target in 12 minutes.  Any guesses why that was?  And will that have adverse effects on the cheese (because I might not have gotten enough moisture out)?

Acid development too rapid. "adverse" is a tough word. It will make the cheese a little more moist if you did not stir enough, but maybe not. it depends on your entire stir schedule.

4.  Similarly, the pH dropped significantly faster during pressing than I anticipated it would.  Does the (apparently) precipitous drop in pH indicate that it will continue to drop rapidly, producing a sour, crumbly cheese?

No. Sourness in cheese is extremely hard to find in a gouda. Same with a tomme. the high drain pH and washing help minimize this, that's why it's a great beginner cheese. Also pH levels off. look at the curve for your culture. It will slow down and level off at ~5.2.

Also, does missing the target to get the cheese out of the mold and into the brine (pH 5.23 instead of between 5.4 and 5.5) have serious implications for the final, aged product?

Somewhat ordinarily, but gouda is forgiving. Typically, it will lead to slightly more brittle paste. If you had gone below 5.2, much greater likelihood of paste defects. Yours seems OK. It will age faster, so try at 60 days and see if you like it or if it needs to age more.

My guesses for the answer to most of these questions is that I used too much starter or I had temperature/time that was too favorable to growth early on leading to too large of a culture population. 

Sure, both of those are possible. Many ways to shift acidity curve... temp, inoculation amount, any native flora in milk, casein content, etc.

[mjr522]

Thanks for answering my questions. 

You used 1 tsp rennet for 2 gallons milk. Even with single strength, that is twice the correct amount. What kind are you using? 

My rennet is vegetable rennet from Mucor miehie--I'm not sure if it's double or single strength, though now that I'm looking into it, it looks like it is double....  I used the last of it on this cheese and will be buying some more in the near future and I'll pay attention to what I get.

You had fragile curds. How hard did you stir to firm them up?

I tried to be pretty gentle while stirring them.  The heal time was only 3 minutes, might a longer heal time have provided tougher curds?

[JeffHamm]

Hi Mike,

After you cut the curd and let it heal, if you're using store bought homogenized and pasteurized (H/P) milk, then the curds are often quite fragile.  For the first while of the stir schedule, it's more of a jiggle schedule.  I just stick my spatula (egg flipper kind, not the one for cleaning out peanut butter jars), down through the cuts and jiggle it a bit.  Try and get a gentle wave going through the curds.  Every now and then, bring the spatula straight back up  and put it down between two different cuts (usually 90 degrees to the previous) and jiggle again.  This will keep the curds from matting, and will move them enough to get them to start to expel whey.  As they expel more whey, they will shrink and get firmer, and you can move them a bit more firmly.  But really, don't think stir the curds so much as move the curds.  I find that helps a lot.

- Jeff

[mjr522]

Jeff,

That sounds like great advice.  I will be sure to try it on my next go round.  While I tried to be gentle, I certainly was more vigorous in my stirring than just jiggling in the beginning.  Thanks for the suggestion--I'll be saying in my mind as I stir, "move the curds...don't stir...move the curds."

Mike

[JeffHamm]

Hi Mike,

The quality of your curd will be related to the quality of your milk (meaning, it's cheese making quality).  Some milks are treated more harshly (higher temperatures for shorter periods) and this results in softer curds.  Adding the Calcium Chloride helps make it firmer, but it's not the same as working with raw milk.  So, even being really gentle you may find some of the curds will shatter.  Try different brands of milk.  I use the cheapest brand for most of my cheeses and it works fine (but I think most NZ milk is all pasturized by Fontera, so I'm assuming it's all done the same way).  Anyway, more expensive milk may not necessarily be better for cheese making.  Shop around and experiment to find the one that works best for you.

- Jeff

[mjr522]

Jeff,

That's a good thought that hadn't occurred to me.  I have just been using the cheapest milk I can find, and there are a number of different brands that I have access to.  I wonder if there's a way to determine which milks actually come from different processing plants and which come from the same.  I'll have to investigate that.

Thanks!

Mike

[Boofer]

Mike, you might be surprised at how much better your cheeses become if you find a higher quality milk supply rather than the lowest common denominator. GIGO. 

Just saying....

-Boofer-

[mjr522]

Boofer,

I'm sure you're right.  The question for me was, "Is it better to start with the higher quality stuff or to try to work through the mistakes with the cheaper stuff?".  I was getting fresh goat milk from a friend at work for a while, paying about $10/gallon.  After making a few unsuccessful cheeses with that (2-gallons/cheese or ... $20/cheese), I decided to go for the cheaper option until I was confident that I could make something good.  I hadn't thought of there being a middle ground in milk quality until Jeff's post--I could potentially find a milk that is less than the $10/gallon (delivered by the "farmer") and higher quality than the $2/gallon (from the big case at Sam's club) I'm using now.  I'll have to do some investigation.  Perhaps as my skills improve, my willingness to shell out for higher quality milk will increase as well.

Mike

[Boofer]

Good point, that's what I did early on, now that my memory seems to be coming back. 

Keep on doing what you're doing. Repetition is a good teacher. I'm still repeating...trying to hone my skills.

-Boofer-

[MrsKK]

3 minutes is a pretty short heal time for those curds.  I generally go at least 10 minutes.  Even so, sometimes they shatter anyway.

When I was experimenting with different milks and different rennets for my cheese classes, I had no luck with vegetarian rennet except when using raw milk or creamline milk.  Even with creamline milk, I always got a softer curd set.  I also researched the different milk brands and looked them up online to get phone numbers, then called in to the companies to find out how they processed the milk.  It was quite an education.

[mjr522]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.  I'm looking forward to doing another Gouda this weekend and applying all the new knowledge I have.  I'm sure doing so will expose other questions/problems, though I hope the problems become increasingly less significant.

[mjr522]

I opened this guy up at 4 weeks.  I took about a third of it off and will re-wax the remaining so it can continue to age.  My initial reaction was surprise at how soft it was (you can tell that the knife "pushed" through the center of the cheese as much as it sliced).  I was also surprised that presence of mechanical holes, since I thought I did a great job at pressing it under whey.

It is a little sour, but not bad.  I don't have a great "cheese flavor" vocabulary, but over all I'm satisfied with it--by which I mean if you gave it to me and asked me to guess what it was, I would be able to say, "cheese" and if you asked for specifics I wouldn't say, "a bad feta?" like many of my other cheeses have deserved.  You can tell by the fact the there is more than one chunk missing, I am enjoying it.

You can see in the picture the pH is below 5--which, if I understand correctly, matches the sour flavor.  Will it get more sour as time goes on and will other aspects of the flavor change with time?

And...while I'm attaching pictures, check out how good I can make my apples look--the other side of this one is covered in hail damage, and the apple is really small, but it looks good in this picture!

[george]

How you like dem apples?   

To answer the other question, the sourness will become less with age (at least in my experience) and the other more nummy nuances will come out.  Four weeks is pretty young - I age mine 3 months (sometimes a little more if I get distracted), then cut, divide, and vac-pack to the regular fridge.  They're really really good at 3 months, all that sourness is definitely gone.  One time I forgot one in the back of the cave for a while, and it was a little over four months old - the cave was running a bit warm at the time, and I ended up with what I can only describe as a sharp gouda.  Not sure quite how I accomplished that in only four months, but it didn't really matter 'cause it was still nummy.

[Boofer]

And...while I'm attaching pictures, check out how good I can make my apples look--the other side of this one is covered in hail damage, and the apple is really small, but it looks good in this picture!

The hail, you say?

Mike, you're an artiste. The cheese looks pretty good...maybe a little on the soft side for a Gouda. How does it melt? Might be tasty melted over veggies or in a casserole.

-Boofer-