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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Other => Topic started by: Cheese Head on June 15, 2008, 06:42:56 PM
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This cheese making batch is a 2fer as in two for the work of one. How, make one curds using this Gouda Recipe/Directions (http://cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Gouda.htm) but using 2/3 Simple Mesophilic (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?topic=15.0), & 1/3 Simple Thermophilic (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?topic=16.0) starter culture and scaled up to 3 US gallons of store bought homogenized pasteurized whole cow's milk batch of cheese, divide curds in two, place into two identical 4" hoops, press simultaneously, bathed both in red wine as per this Cabre al Vino Recipe/Directions (http://cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Cabre_al_Vino.htm).
MAKING JUNE 15, 2008
- 1:00PM Emptied milk into 4 US gallon size size stockpot on stove, added calcium chloride and Starter Culture, covered with lid, and started warming.
- 1:30PM Finished warming, let sit 45 minutes to allow culture to ripen.
- 2:15PM Added diluted rennet (used 25% more of new CHR Hansen Brand than before) and stirred in for 2 minutes.
- 3:25PM Checked good curd set with clean break. Cut curd.
- 3:35PM Started raining temperature slowly.
- 4:30PM Temp at 100 F, started removing whey and adding warm water.
- 5:30PM Drained whey without cheesecloth lined colander using hand sieve to hold back curds. Found that as curds still moist, overflowed the hoops.
- 6:30PM After curds settle by own gravity, started light pressing with tin cans.
- 7:30PM Started medium pressing both cheese simultaneously using my cheese cart press and four 12 packs of soda pop and shelf for weights, ~40 lb/18 kg.
- 9:30PM Started heavy pressing both cheese simultaneously with five 12 packs of soda pop and shelf for weights, ~50 lb/23 kg, went heavy as pressing two cheeses.
BATHING JUNE 16, 2008
- 6:00AM Removed cheeses from press, some curd expressed around follower as I made them slightly too small.
- 6:30AM Started bathing in Texas made 8) red wine.
BATHING JUNE 17, 2008
- 6:00AM Removed both cheeses from bath and placed in household cold and very low humidity fridge to dry out. Surface has developed into a nice medium hard rind.
- 6:00PM Placed cheese #2 back in same remaining red wine for second bath, placed cheese #1 in humidity control box in very cold 40 F/4 C fridge.
BATHING JUNE 18, 2008
- 6:00AM Removed cheese #2 from second wine bath, placed on mat in household cold and very low humidity fridge to dry out.
- 5:30PM Placed cheese #2 into brine bath for 2 hours as realized that forgot too add salt as normally brine bath gouda's to build rind and add salt.
AFFINAGE (AGING)
- June 17, 2008 Both cheeses in household cold and plastic humidity control box to slowly dry.
- June 18, 2008 Turned cheeses.
- June 19, 2008 Turned cheeses.
- June 20, 2008 Cheeses dry to touch, sealed in vacuum bags and placed back in very cold fridge.
- June 26, 2008 On close inspection, found water around outside of cheeses inside vacuum bags. Removed from bags and placed on plates in fridge to dry.
- June 27-July 16, 2008 Still having excess humidity problems with freezer Cheese Cave, olive oiled and moved to vegtable drawer of household fridge, had little mold problem, rubbed off.
- July 17, 2008 Aged 1 month, washed-rubbed off oil layer and cut and ate some of one cheese. Visually, pate is white, red wine colour has not permeated, texture is medium hard but not crumbly, taste has slight flavour of wine and is nice, slightly acidic, great in sandwiches with heavy bread!
THOUGHTS
- Allowing 1 hour between adding culture and rennet gave better / faster curd and clean break, although I think I cut curds too early, don't rush.
- Curds were still quite moist when put in hoops, should have cooked for longer, don't rush.
- Was going to make 1/2 batch into a Cumin Gouda but forgot :(, next time try not to schedule separating of curds and whey at dinner time.
- Bought 2 ft x 3" PVC pipe today for USD4 to cut into follower extensions for pressing 4" hoops, forgot to cut up in time for pressing :-\, used kids two tall pink plastic glasses from Arabian Nights show in Orlando near Disney.
- Next time if bathing gouda in something other than normal brine, add salt to curds before pressing.
- While dry to touch, cheeses must not have been dry enough inside or mature enough when sealed in vacuum bags. Need to dry for 1 week next time.
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Pictures #2 . . .
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Pictures #3 . . .
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Pictures #3 will go here . . .
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Your press looks like it works great. Several cheeses at one pressing. Good idea.
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Thanks DD.
Question for DD & reg who have made similar, the Cabre al Vino (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?topic=113.0) recipe says to soak in wine for 24 hours, dry, then soak a second 24 hours. seems a bit excessive? How long did you go for and what would you advise?
Thanks.
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I followed the recipe: 24 hours in, 6 hours out (mine was more like ten hours as work intervened) and soaked again for 24 hours. It is still quite soft around the edges.
I'm still not sure how I am going to finish mine.
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Thanks DD, BTW, all that many beautiful cheeses, you have way more will power than me, when are you going to start eating one or two or . . . ?
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Hopefully they taste good...I'm a little worried on that front. Within the next month I will try my first cheese, the waxed, stirred curd cheddar and perhaps one of the smoked cheeses as they were fairly dry when waxed. The blue has about two months and the English cheddar over a year, as those molds form and dry out.
I'm a little worried about being disappointed in my results. :(
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Hey, half the fun is in making it, if it were easy all the world would be making their own. OK maybe not ;D. Frankly, so far I find cheese making harder than making bread, wine, or beer. Even if some mould I'm sure it will taste great, just think of me eating that 2 lb of very moldy but very tasty blue cheese I made!!! One year, OK I'm not making cheddar for a while . . .
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morning CH. what we did here was to bath for aprox one hr every few days. that continued up to just the other day when i vac packed it. according to my records that cheese was made on the 21st of May. will continue to age that one for another month or two, well hopefully
DD i think you are going to be surprised at how well your cheese will turn out. if you give them time to mature they just get better and better
reg
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Thanks both for replies, I bathed one cheese for 24 hours and the second is currently having a second 24 hours, like yours I'll find out which is best in a couple of months, if I can wait that long.
One small worry, as using Gouda recipe, no salt as normally soak in brine bath. I wine bathed instead so I should have added some salt to curds before pressing. Too late now . . .
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yes CH, salt added would have been the way to go no question about it but having said that could you not still brine then continue on with the wine washing. i think the salt would be a necessity in this case
reg
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I would agree with reg. Try salting it in a brine overnight, possibly allow it to sit for a day and then put it back in the wine.
You may end up with an excellent cheese. :)
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Thanks for advice, cheese that was 2 days in wine is now having a saturated brine bath but only for few hours and I'm going to leave the first one unsalted as an A-B comparison test. We'll see . . .
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Do you see any difference in your comparison so far? I am curious to see if they are aging differently.
My Cabre al Vino is still quite moist. It has firmed up nicely, but still has a fair amount of moisture on the bottom when I flip it.
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DD, nope not so far, both cheeses were almost swimming in water inside vacuum sealed bags, I did look at them when took out to dry and bot looked the same, amazing as one had brine an extra 24 hours in wine versus the other . . . haven't cut them yet . . .
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Well there you go, I have only had a couple of drop of moisture come from mine, and it anything I surface feels quite dry and hard.
Had it out of the fridge "warming up" last night in the esky, and just checked again, and still no moisture.
This is going to be interesting to see what each will result in.
What a shame we aren't closer so that we can also taste test the difference results.
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Tea
I sealed mine after 2 days when only surface was dry and it took about a week in the bags for the moisture - water to appear around the outside, possibly eithr you are pressing yours longer or sealing yours later after more thorough drying which is why no moisture. Also, swimming in my post above was probably a bit OTT.
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True, but then that's what the difference in recipes will be. How long they were pressed, dried, sealed etc.
Gives us all the chance to try a different method next time and see what results we get.
Don't ya think??
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Yep, good point, actually my previous Gouda's when finally cut-eaten have had a somewhat crumbly texture, nothing like a store bought Gouda that is smooth and soft. That may have been a function of my aging without wax or vacuum bags . . .
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But then are we really aiming for a store bought cheese. I make alot of things, and usually they are nothing like the store bought thing, and usually much better.
Homemade breads, soap, preserves, etc are all much better then store bought.
Ever tasted homemade butter?? Much tastier and creamier than store bought.
Ok off my soap box now.
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Homemade butter is great. All you need is a big glass jar and some raw milk. Rock the milk-filled jar on your lap while watching TV for 30 to 45 minutes and you have the best butter ever.
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Fair point Tea, and true I am not trying to re-create store bought cheese, my earlier crumbly gouda's did taste great! But all gone long ago ;D.