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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Other => Topic started by: Geodyne on January 31, 2014, 02:28:51 AM

Title: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: Geodyne on January 31, 2014, 02:28:51 AM

Lots of people have made Cabra al vino and Vaca al vino. I wanted to compare the two, so this was a dual make (on the same day as I made the orange-coriander cheese, I must be crazy!) of cow's milk and goat's milk cheese, using the time-honoured path of Pav's Tomme recipe soaked in wine.

The makes:

• 8 litres pasteurised, unhomogenised cow's milk
• 150 ml prepared MM101
  
• 1 ml CaCl
  
• 1.6 ml rennet


• 3.75 litres pasteurised, unhomogenised goat's milk (that's 5 750 ml bottles)
• 70 ml prepared MM101
  
• 0.6 ml CaCl
  
• 0.6 ml rennet
  

I broke the cows milk into two cheeses, so one was roughly 600g and one 400g out of the press. The goats milk cheese came to 450g. I pressed these, soaked them in brine for 4 hours for the smaller cheeses, and 5 hours for the larger. Then I did three soaks in an off-Rioja rioja. Each soak was 24 hours, with 2 days of drying in between. I wanted depth of colour and possibly a bit of the wine flavour permeating the cheese, but a slight scratch on the Cabra shows me that the wine is only on the surface.

In the photo, the two Vacas are in the front (or on the right) with the Cabra in the back. I plan to age these for something like 6 months.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: GlabrousD on April 07, 2014, 09:57:21 AM

Hiya Geo how are your Cabras coming along please?

I tried Cabra al Vino and Cabra al Bira recently and they developed a slimy coat despite frequent brine washes. They're now dried & waxed to try to control them. I'm hoping the wax doesn't ruin the lovely surface finish I had on the wine cheese.

Cheers, GD.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: Geodyne on April 07, 2014, 10:40:42 PM

Hi GD,

Still vacuum-sealed, and waiting...the vacuum-seal doesn't seem to have disturbed the rind any.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: GlabrousD on April 08, 2014, 10:34:51 AM

Thanks very much Geo - I should have thought to vacuum seal them myself :(

Oh well the high temperature of the wax should kill off any nasties anyhow :)

Cheers, GD.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: Geodyne on April 08, 2014, 11:07:16 PM

I should add that I didn't do any brine washes. I did several soaks, allowed them to dry, and put them in the cave.

Hopefully the wax should kill of any nasties indeed. And so long as you're careful when you remove it, hopefully your surface will remain pristine.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: GlabrousD on April 09, 2014, 04:06:29 AM

I do hope so. The red surface of the wine soaked cheese was lovely to look at. Only time will tell :)

Cheers, GD.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: Geodyne on July 31, 2014, 10:41:01 PM

I opened the smaller vaca al vino last night to have for supper. It's around the six-month mark now.

There was some slight salt staining from expelled whey on the outside of this cheese. The vacas have been expelling whey throughout their aging, and I've been periodically breaking them out of their vac-bags, dabbing them dry with paper towel and allowing them to air, then sealing them back up again.

Despite the extended multiple brinings, the wine has not soaked into the paste of the cheese, and the wine flavour does not extend far past the rind. The paste of the cheese is mild and more cheddary than nutty in my opinion, but tasty with a touch of tanginess. Not a complex flavour but a pleasant one. I let the cheese air for a couple of hours before eating and I noted that the flavour improved as it sat out further near the fire and lost the 'whey' taste. I expect the flavour to further develop over the next few days, and and looking forward to that adventure.

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: Spoons on August 01, 2014, 02:45:12 AM

Very nice looking cheese, Geo! The rind/paste contrast just looks beautiful!

Don't worry about the "whey" taste. Vac-sealed cheeses take 2-3 days before getting full flavour.

A cheese for you!

Title: Re: Cabra/ Vaca al vino
Post by: JeffHamm on August 01, 2014, 07:30:21 AM

That looks very nice!  The wine on the surface only is how these seem to turn out (based only upon what people have posted here, I've never tried to make one).  It seems that most people also comment that the wine flavour doesn't penetrate far either, and some have found very little wine flavour at all in fact.  As for the whey taste, I too find that vac sealed cheeses need a few days to air out to shed a sort of fermented whey flavour.  They will improve a great deal over the next week, so if they are good now they will be great by this time next week.  Anyway, looks to me to be a nice result.  A cheese to you!

- Jeff