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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cooked (Swiss) => Topic started by: JeffHamm on March 02, 2013, 11:00:42 PM
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Hi,
Well, here's my first go at a swiss type cheese. I picked up some PS culture that is low gas producing, so this shouldn't result in large eyes. Still, having seen Boofer's wonderful outputs, I just had to give it a go. And, as Sailor had posted his make procedure, I figured I would go with it since I had it copied into my file of cheese procedures.
So, the cheese has now completed two press under whey cycles and the knit is fantastic, though the cheese feels very soft still. Mind you, that's probably not unexpected. I've pressed under whey once or twice before and the result is always a good knit but the cheese feels soft. It will firm up as the pressing schedule progresses. This should be very interesting, but it is going to take awhile to find out how this adventure unfolds. :)
Sailor’s Alpine Beaufort: Sunday, Mar 3, 2013
11 litres whole milk (Siliver top; creamline)
Mesophilic -MA011 (1/8 tsp). 2 ice cubes
Thermophilic - ST B01 (1/16 tsp).
LH (1/10 tsp).
Propionic shermanii (1 pinch – 1/20 tsp).
¼ Tsp CaCl in egg cup water
1.6 ml 280 IMCU calf rennet in egg cup water
6.25 inch diameter tomme mould
Make time : 128 minutes in recipe plus “activity time”
1) Starter Cultures and warm to 32.2 C
2) Ripen for 30 min (7:53 - 8:23)
3) Add CaCl
4) Rennet: Adjust as necessary to achieve flocculation at 10-15 minutes. Floc multiplier is 3. (ideal: 30 to 45 minutes) 8:30:30 floc time 8:42:30 12m 00 sec x3 = 36 m 00 sec cut time: 9:06:30
5) Cut into 2.5 cm cubes, then rest for 3 minutes (9:10:30 - 9:13:30)
6) then cut to 0.6 mm cubes. Heal for 10 minutes (9:25 - 935)
7) Cook: Heat and stir curds slowly to 53 0C over 40-60 minutes. (31.4 - 53.0 C ; 9:35 - 10:25)
8) Prepress: Press under whey or “In The Pot” for 30 minutes with 10 kg (0.72 PSI) for better curd consolidation. (10:45-11:15)
9) Flip and repeat. (11:15-11:45)
10) Pressing: Move cheese to regular press and gradually increase weight to 2-3 psi. Continue pressing overnight. As the acidity continues to develop, the curd can aggressively stick to the cheesecloth. To avoid this, soak the cheesecloth in acidified whey (or vinegar) with a little calcium chloride added. Resoak after each flip. (11:50 @ 20 Kg, 1.43 psi; 12:45 @25kg; 1.72 psi; 1:45 @ 30 kg, 2.15 psi; 4:10 @ 35.2 kg, 2.53 psi; 7:00 @ 35.2 kg, 2.53 psi)
11) Salting: Remove from press (1412g, 15.5 x 6.5 cm = 1.15g/cm3), but keep cheese in the hoop. Allow unweighted cheese to cool and rest for 24 hours.
12) Remove from hoop and brine for 6-8 hrs.
13) Aging: 80% RH at 11-12 0C. This is traditionally a washed rind cheese. In about 7-10 days surface molds will start to develop. This needs to be wiped down with a saturated brine at 3-6 day intervals to start. Traditionally the surface of large Beauforts is sprinkled with salt and allowed to develop its own brine. This is rubbed into the surface the following day, the cheese is turned, and the cycle repeated. A red rind will form in time and will require less frequent treatments.
Age for 6 -18 months depending on the flavor desired.
I made ricotta out of the whey (raised whey to 93 C, added 1/4 cider vinegar, and let it sit for 15 minutes or so). Got a decent yield , though it's still draining. After draining, it weighed in at 574g worth, to which I added 10g salt.
After a few hours in the press (not under whey), the curds have compressed well, and do not have that loose moist feel. This is coming along very nicely.
Now, just flipped again at 7:00 pm and going into the overnight session. It smells fantastic, and has a great knit. The wobblies are gone, and it's looking promising for this phase. The affinage will be the key, as per usual.
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Ok, so it's now out of the press and sits at 1412g, 15.5 x 6.5 cm, for a density of 1.15g/cm3. The knit is fantanstic, although a small piece did tear out when removing the cheese cloth. As Sailor indicated in his make, the cheese is sticky. Probably should have pressed naked for the over night press. As it is, I still got wee nubbins (just for you Boofer! :) )
Anyway, it smells great, and the production phase has gone very well. Now, it's just a matter of time. Probably will aim for 6 months, but you never know.
- Jeff
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Yeah, nubbins! ;D
Looks good, Jeff. I've grown very fond of this cheese style (you might have guessed!). I'd say 4-6 months affinage would be good for an early peek. Then vacuum-seal the rest for longer term. The one I recently sampled (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10316.msg84226.html#msg84226) at four months was very nice. If you wait for 12 months, try it and find that it has dried significantly, you may be put off from making it again.
I'm kind of rolling the dice with my Beaufort #6 (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10762.msg84786.html#msg84786) that I cream-coated today. My desire is to age it out to a year, but I'm afraid that it might not be as nominal at that age even though Beauforts can age out to 6-18 months. That may hold true for larger wheels, but not necessarily be valid for a 3-4 pound (1.5-2kg) cheese. Time will tell.
-Boofer-
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I thought you would like those nubbins! :)
And yes, your continued presentations of these wonderful outcomes got me interested in trying one.
That 4 month one is really nice looking. I might try then, and see what the next step is. Must make up a 3% brine for the washings, but they won't start until next week, so no rush.
- Jeff
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Well, it's finished it's post-press-pre-brine period, so it's now into the saturated brine for about 7.5 hours. It now weighs 1398g, and was 15.8 x 6.1 cm (in the mould naked, so it's expanded), which gives a density of about 1.17 g/cm3. This is the only time I think the density has increased, but it had a bit of a slant before, and I think I measured the tall side, which would underestimate the density. As it is now quite flat both surfaces this is probably more accurate (but, what use this information is I"m not sure, but hey, I can measure it :) ).
- Jeff
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Just an update post-brine. It will air dry a couple more days, then into the cave, and the saturated brine wash will start next week.
- Jeff
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Looking good Jeff. Do you have any eye formation expectations?
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If you want more of a Swiss (Propionic) flavor, then you need to give a warm phase. You are looking for minimal or no eye development.
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Hi,
I bought a strain of PS that is not for eye production (shouldn't produce gas), so I'm not expecting eyes to form.
Sailor, would the days where it's sitting at room temp (around 20-22 C; 68 - 71.6 F) be sufficient to develop the PS? Or is the warm phase later, after a week or two of washing? I know with other Swiss, where eyes are being formed, it seems the warm phase is after a period in the cave.
- Jeff
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This is nicely dried now, and so into the cave at 1312g this evening. It has a great smell! :) Will start the washing next week. Saturated brine made this morning, so it's ready to go.
- Jeff
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Just updating the washing routine:
Monday, Mar 11, 2013: Started washing with sat brine (one face per day with sides, flip before wash so not sitting on a wet face)
Sunday, March 17th, 2013: finished wash with sat brine wash.
It's looking good. Will age it out for awhile yet. May wax after a couple months to prevent drying out too much.
- Jeff
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Hmm, I noticed that this cheese has swelled a bit, so I'm expecting it has formed some eyes. Oh well, I'm sure it will be a fine tasting cheese and it's not for market. Will post a photo when I get the chance.
- Jeff
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As you can see, a bit of swelling. There was a bit of blue mould, so I gave it another brine wash today as well. It now weighs 1242g.
- Jeff
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Definitely some swell there! More than on my Jarlsberg which is supposed to swell. Here's what it looks like on day 6 of the warm period...hope to get more swelling in the coming days/weeks, but not sure when the peak swelling occurs (this is my first make with PS).
p.s., you put it back in the cave wet from the brine-wash, right? Just not the bottom as you said.
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Jeff I think it looks great even if you weren't expecting eye's or swelling 8)
High Altitude, yours too is nice, hope you get the swelling you are looking for :)
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Thanks HKJ...hope so too, but as long as it is tasty, I will be thrilled as Jarlsberg is among my favorites (as a Norwegian!).
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Hi High Alt,
Yes, I just wash one face and the sides, then put it back in the cave with the dry side down. Tomorrow I'll wash the dry side. This is about 3 weeks since make day, and the only warm period its had was the first 4 days of air drying, after that, it's been in the 10C cave. Go figure.
Hi H-K-J,
I figure swelling is like weeds, try to grow roses and the weeds win, but try to grow the weeds and the roses take over!
- Jeff
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Jeff your wash cycle is what I have been doing, tomorrow my bitzli Swiss will start the warming period,
It feels more relaxed than my last one, not so compact and the rind is very flexible and the wash is doing its thing
so I think I will know within the next week If the added PS will make it go or blow :o
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Hi H-K-J,
That's a beautiful looking wheel! A cheese to you for it already. I'm sure it will swell to glorious proportions. Looking forward to seeing it develop.
- Jeff
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That's a beautiful looking wheel!
Ditto. Really nice rind.
-Boofer-
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Based on your routine, I will alter my washing routine and see how that goes...thanks Jeff!
HKJ...wow, such a great looking wheel. Please keep us updated throughout its development ;D.
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Just updating this as to its aging. Has developed a bit of white mould, which requires very little maintenance. Occasionally a touch of wild blue starts to show up, and I just brush it off. Seems to be coming along very nicely.
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Sweet looking wheel of cheese. I've been wanting to try one of these but what with only being able to make cheese one day per week I can barely keep up with the local demand (my daughter is leaving for Japan next week so that will ease off the demand somewhat.) Grad school starts next month so then I'll be even more limited in my time.... :'(
How much longer do you plan on waiting until you cut it?
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Thanks. I've been pleased at how little maintenance this has been. You can see a touch of blue in the photo, but that comes off with a simple brushing. Anyway, it's 25 weeks today. I've got the gouda balloon to deal with. It seems ok to eat, will see how the flavour is though. It's not bad, but as it warms up it may just taste off (the more I think of it the more I figure it's a yeast infection of some sort). I've also got a Tomme that could be cut anytime. I might take this out to around 8 months or so.
- Jeff
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Thanks. I've been pleased at how little maintenance this has been. You can see a touch of blue in the photo, but that comes off with a simple brushing. Anyway, it's 25 weeks today. I've got the gouda balloon to deal with. It seems ok to eat, will see how the flavour is though. It's not bad, but as it warms up it may just taste off (the more I think of it the more I figure it's a yeast infection of some sort). I've also got a Tomme that could be cut anytime. I might take this out to around 8 months or so.
- Jeff
It is relatively trouble-free and then the flavor &texture are wonderful. It's hard for me to not make a Beaufort.
I've liked the flavor at 4-6 months and it's been tough to stretch it out past that time, but I have that one I did the first week of January. Being patient... ;)
Yours looks great!
-Boofer-
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Thanks Boofer. Hmmm, maybe this won't make it to 8 months if 4-6 is good! :) I've got a few other cheeses to tide me over though, so we'll see.
- Jeff
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Well, it's six months old now, and as I finished off the Tomme yesterday, it was time to open another cheese. So, as it's my sister-in-law's birthday tomorrow I figured it would be good to make sure this turned out ok. And, it has turned out very nice. It doesn't have eyes, but it does appear to have developed some horizontal cracks which must have been some sort of gass build up. There are a couple very tiny eyes, but nothing much. The taste is very good. A hint of bitterness, but I think that will fade once it has been opened for awhile. The paste is a bit dry and crumbly, but not overly so (it's not been waxed or bagged for six months, so I think that's pretty good moisture retention). I'm quite pleased with it and will definately make this again.
-Jeff
P.S. Yes, now that it's been airing out a couple hours, the bitterness is pretty much gone and the flavour is very nice. I'm not a huge swiss cheese fan, but this is much better than what is in the store.
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Yea!! Go Beaufort!
That dryness was what I was warning you about and why I try to cream-coat after a reasonable rind-drying period. I saw that in my Hispanico (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,11343.msg90986.html#msg90986) and other hard cheese makes. The target ripening point that I have been seeing is 4-6 months for optimum eating pleasure. That being said, I have my Beaufort #6 (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10762.0.html) that I'm experimenting with to see what 12 months' affinage brings to the style. It was cream-coated but I had to remove the coating and vacuum-seal instead.
I like a nice dry rind most of the time with hard cheeses, but if they go too long without some protection against moisture loss, the rind starts to become the dominant "feature" of the cheese. :o
It's difficult for me to really classify this style as a "Swiss" cheese. Yes, it has some of the characteristic flavor of that style, but it is a cheese with its own distinctive character and qualities, plus which, it has French lineage. Definitely at the top of my repeat list (#6, #7, and #8 this year). 8)
A cheese for your success, Jeff. The next one will be even better.
-Boofer-
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Thanks Boofer! I decided to see how this would fare without bagging or waxing. I've had a number of cheeses just continue to release whey under the seal, and this produces a wet rind that I don't care for. Knowing how it turns out at six months unsealed lets me know that if I hold off bagging for 3 or 4 months, I should be ok I think (past the still too moist point, but not dried out like an old prune). This is definitely a repeat list cheese.
- Jeff