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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Semi-Hard "Sweet" Washed Curd => Topic started by: mjr522 on October 06, 2013, 03:16:09 AM
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I made a 12 lbs Gouda today. Again, I'm not real sure how long to keep it in the brine. It's 12 lbs, 4 inches tall. Based on the weight times heights, this should be in the brine for 48 hours. Based on 3 hours per pound, this should be 36 hours. Thoughts?
Also--I'm not sure what to do for the rind with this guy. I've bagged/waxed my smaller cheeses, put olive oil on my big parmesan, and washed my big Gruyère. Natural? Washed? Something else?
Here's a couple of pictures with a soda can for reference:
[img width= height= alt=big Gouda 1]https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1209244_405196192939160_1289311199_n.jpg[/img]
[img width= height= alt=big Gouda 2]https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1378221_405196169605829_123736665_n.jpg[/img]
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Wow, what a monster! what mould are you using? Id go with cheese cream and plastic wrap to control moisture lose.
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Thanks, Tomer. I've got a 4kg Gouda mold. I really enjoy making these monster cheeses...I just need to figure out how to take care of them better.
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Wow, that's a beast of a cheese.
I can't really help answering any of your questions, but I would think you have quite a bit of breathing room with something this large. Am I right in thinking that a thick rind or any surface mould would pose less of a problem than on a smaller cheese?
I can imagine how beautiful that would look if you did a really nice wax job on it though. Like one of those professional wheels of Gouda you see at the factories/farms. Since it's Gouda, it seems like waxing would be appropriate though.
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Thanks for the thoughts, Jim. It will be a while before I need to decide what I'm doing with this one. I'm kind of leaning towards Tiarella's coconut oil coating, though I agree that waxing it would be traditional and would look like the "real thing". I don't know if you saw it, but I put in another post that I recently learned all the cheeses I've made for the past year have had half of the fat in them that they are supposed to, this one included...
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I looked it up in the famous dutch book about artisan Gouda cheese: When you have a 4 kg cheese in the correct ration (and it's looking very nice indeed), and you use a 20% brine and aim for a aging period up to 8-9 months and 2-3% salt in the end product, you have to brine for about 60 hours at a temperature around 15C. When you want to age longer, also brine longer.
Typically a Gouda here is coated with cream coating...
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Thanks, Herman. I pulled mine out a a saturated brine just short of 48 hours, so I'm probably a little low on the salt content side. Maybe I'll throw it back in the brine for a while. I think cream coat is the best option. I've never used it before, though. I'll have to read up on it.
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Thanks, Herman. I pulled mine out a a saturated brine just short of 48 hours, so I'm probably a little low on the salt content side. Maybe I'll throw it back in the brine for a while. I think cream coat is the best option. I've never used it before, though. I'll have to read up on it.
If the rind is still moist you can do a bit of dry salting.
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Wowser - Cheese envy.
Nice one!
Trent