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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Other => Topic started by: SalMac on September 09, 2008, 10:33:03 PM
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Just for a laugh if anyones interested in the output of a complete start from scratch novice...
Please find below a record of my first 4 gouda making events made at precisely 1 week intervals (err yes I know theres 5 please ignore top right cheese which is a mongrel - just dont ask) and you can assume the waxed one is number 1 but on rind definition and mould etc what was the order of production of the bottom three all made from 5l of the same cows milk.
And when I read reg's posts I feel totally unworthy :-)
Sal
PS those arent cracks but mould/muslin/mat marks
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Hey they look great, nothing to laugh at at all, congrats!
No cheese in top right so assume the mongrel ran away, I won't ask!
I get the same marks, to reduce them I think you need to use thiner cheesecloth and ensure pulled up sides when pressing.
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nothing there to laugh at from what i can see, great job Sal.
" And when I read reg's posts I feel totally unworthy :-)"
don't think for one second that there has not been a few train wrecks, you have not seen the ones that hit the trash can lol. everyone has to learn and this is one hobby that does take time. that time can be reduced when we share info via sites like this
have a good one
reg
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I don't know Sal, they look pretty great to me. I think from the looks of things, you've got that one going very well. How are you aging them? Have you tried the final product yet?
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All cheeses made from 5l whole cow milk from same shop to same recipe.
My first is the red waxed one top left: notably smaller as I bogged up the entire recipe. We've tried it by cutting an eighth before waxing. OK taste a bit too salty, curds a bit too large so some small voids. Had mold problems that you can see from my postings (yellow, blue and brown)
Second is bottom left one. First time i got the recipe right. Aging ok-->well. Far less mold problems but still some. A bit rubbery, slow to develop rind as too humid in fridge and possibly although it had 40lb of pressure it wasnt being applied appropriately.
Third is bottom central. Bogged up the recipe again had very fine curds that I had to rescue to get anything. But using new press found better pressure meant less water in cheese and earlier rind development.
And here we need to talk about top central cheese aka the mongrel. I began to get too many curds for the mould in cheeses 2 & 3 from 5 l so I squished em all together :-) I got a mini gouda accepted, with a wildly different fluid balance top to bottom to start off with but its now settling down. Started using salt to lower humidity in fridge, visual improvement in rind development almost immediately.
Fourth is bottom right. As a result of getting the recipe right more often I was getting more curds (also the new draining bag was clearly more efficient) so I switched to a normal mould as opposed to the gouda mould (which is cute) but not really the right size for 5l of milk - slightly (25%) too small. With the better press the cheese was dryer from word one, it has continued aging well if not better than significantly older cheeses. It is denser, weeps less and probably will have less mold issues.
But note the size and rind differences as you eliminate mistakes!
Sal
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Having a bit of a giggle, I thought the dark one had had a bath in some wine by the colour. If that's all mould, you certainly found the right growth medium for it. :D
The bottom right one I notice has some yellowing around the edges. That is the same with my monterey jack that are dried for 3 -4 days before being sealed. So it definately looks like it is heading in the right direction. I hope you are taking good notes on all these cheeses, as it seems like there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from them. Keep us updated on how they all turn out, as I am interested in what the final outcomes will be.