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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Semi-Hard "Sweet" Washed Curd => Topic started by: Brentsbox on March 25, 2010, 11:01:00 AM
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I have had a block of gouda in the cooler air drying for about a week now, turning daily. One side has started to develop a rind like hardness. My question is, do I have to let it air dry the full 3 weeks or can I go ahead and wax it?
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Welcome to the forum!
You said that one side is drying out... is the other side still moist?
Assuming that the cheese is equally dry all around, you should take the size into consideration.
A small cheese, or a cheese with a large ratio of surface area (ie a large thin wheel), will dry out much more quickly than a large one, and I think should be waxed sooner rather than later to avoid overly drying out the cheese.
If the cheese is particularly large, I would imagine that there would be enough moisture inside to prevent this from happening. In fact, you'd probably want to air dry a semi-hard cheese like gouda longer to ensure that it is fully drained/adequately dried to reduce the chances of excess whey weeping out or causing spoilage problems during aging.
I am not an expert on gouda though. Can anyone else back me up on this?
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Whey issues are usually causes by the curd not cooking enough or from bad milk. Air drying for 2-3 days should be enough for a Gouda. It's just enough to dry the rind out a tad. The outer rind should be tougher immediately after you take it out of the brine and drying helps with that process.
Can you please post a pic of the rind? Hard to know what you mean by drying out; descriptions differ from person to person :)