Gruyere

[curiouser_alice]

Here's my first Gruyere.  Would be better a little moister, but it's really delicious, with a flavor almost like sauteed mushrooms.  This is from Mary Karlin's Artisan Cheese Making at Home, exactly as written.  I will make this one again, probably double size.

[timsumrall]

Looks real good! AC4U

How old is it? I have a 3 lb wheel sneaking up on 6 months. Was trying to wait a few more months but my son is getting married so any excuse I have more lined up behind it so no big deal.

[curiouser_alice]

It's actually exactly 6 months old.  I cut it on its "ready" date (today).  It MIGHT improve with more age, but it's so tasty already I wonder.

[GortKlaatu]

AC4U!


I had a Gruyere was that great at 6 months, but it was fabulous at 9 months and at 1 year it was the most amazing cheese I've ever made.  We finished it yesterday at an age of 15 month....couldn't tell any difference between the 12 and 15 month ages. 
Needless to say I made more and I'm doing all I can to wait until it's a year old.


All of that to say, if you loved it at 6 months, I really recommend making one much larger and saving at least half of it till it's a year old.
Best of luck!

[curiouser_alice]

Thank you for the cheese!

[stephmtl222]

GortKlaatu
What size were your cheeses ? How did you aged them ? Washed rind? Vacuum?
I made one gruyere from 8L and when I opened it after 10 months, it was too dry and too strong. I'll make another one soon. I was planing to age it for 3-4 month in vacuum bag, then 2-3 months out of the bag. What do you think ?

[GortKlaatu]

I usually make 6 gallon (23 liters) cheeses.  So they are easier to age for longer.  They are almost always natural rind--depending on the cheese I either just let the rind grow pretty much as it will with the "inhabitants" of my caves, or I brush it, or sometime they get oiled. I vac the the natural rind ones after I cut them open the first time, so usually after a few months.  It's much harder to do that with only 8 liters because the surface area to internal paste ratio is so much greater.
But what I would recommend is that you try to age it as a natural rind for at least a couple of months keeping the humidity above 85% and THEN vac for whatever time you want. Not the other way around. You want to develop the rind in the early, formative stages of the cheese not at the end.
Best of luck.  Keep us posted.  Pictures!

[Dorchestercheese]

Any idea what the dry white marks are in your cheese and mine here? I thought it was pH was off in the make.

[feather]

Any idea what the dry white marks are in your cheese and mine here? I thought it was pH was off in the make.

A long aging gruyere may have crystals of tyrosine. Are they crunchy between your molars? Other cheeses that also long age get lactic acid crystals. This is a good thing.

[Thewitt]

I vac pack my 10 liter gruyere after 3 months so that the rind does not continue to take over as the cheese ages. This results in a slightly softer cheese at 6 months.