Two Year Old Parm

[Duntov]

I managed not to cut into it for two years.  Raw milk, bagged for 1-1/2 years, cream coated for three months and recoated for the final three months.  Very nice nutty flavor and good texture.  Not overly dried out.

[awakephd]

Great job! AC4U!

[jhend]

Nice job

[Jules]

2 years! I am impressed you could wait that long.

This is just the inspiration I need to persevere with parmesan. My current one is having issues. If it doesn't turn out, I will just have to try again.

[awakephd]

Ah, 2 years isn't long. I'm currently on my last quarter of a Romano style that is > 4 years old. The parmesan that will follow is currently32 months along; it will probably be 3 years old at least by the time I open it. I've also got about 1/3 of a Cantal in the cave that is right at 2.5 years old, and I've got a long-aging Gouda in the cave that is just shy of 2 years old. With the Gouda I'm aiming for at least 3 years before I open it.

The key to long aging is to have a rotation of cheeses that you make, something like this:

• Short-aging cheese (3 wks - 3 months)
• Medium-aging cheese (3 months-1 year)
• Short aging cheese
• Medium-aging cheese
• Short aging cheese
• Long aging cheese (>1 year)
• Go back to #1 and repeat

The exact pattern that I follow depends on how often I'm able to make cheese, how much time I have when making it, and the whim of the moment.
The point is always to have some cheese "in the pipeline" that is coming of age and ready to eat; meanwhile the medium and long-aging cheeses can sit back in the cave, semi-forgotten, until they emerge in glory.

My go-to short-aging cheeses are Camembert, Caerphilly, or Lancashire; my go-to medium-aging cheeses are Asiago, Emmentaler, and Double Gloucester or other cheddar; and my go-to long-aging cheeses are the parms and long-aged Goudas. But there are various others mixed in - definitely an occasional blue (I am especially liking the smoked blue that I have experimented with, but this is best made when the weather is cold so that the cheese will stay cold while smoking); an occasional Cantal; an occasional experiment with something altogether new.

Unfortunately, my cheese making has been rather limited and sporadic lately, and as a result my rotation has been inconsistent. I've gotten a couple of medium-aging cheeses in the cave, but really need to get a couple more long-aging cheeses (especially a parm) into the pipeline so that they can start building up age. But the last few times I've been able to make cheese, I've needed to replenish my supply of short-aging cheese, so I've made camemberts instead. Very annoying when my job gets in the way of my hobbies! Fortunately, there is some down-time coming up, so hopefully I'll be able to do some restocking of the pipeline.

[Susan38]

Andy,

That is really good cheese scheduling advice.  It's sooooo hard to wait when you only have room for 3 cheeses in your cave, like I do at the moment (tomorrow is a trip into town to pursue larger options).

I'm in awe of all of you that make long-agers such as parm and romano, etc.   I don't think I'll ever have the patience for that?  Maybe some day.

One thing I have started, is a list on top of the cave lid that documents the cheeses inside and their age start date...that way I can contemplate which cheese is ready without having to open up the cave and look at them individually.  I would think that would be even handier if you have a dozen or more cheeses going at one time?

Cheers,  Susan

[awakephd]

Oh, good point, Susan - the rotation definitely assumes that you have enough cave space to handle this. As far as tracking when the cheese is made ... I keep a spreadsheet log of my cheese makes, and that lets me check the age without opening the cave. I also label the cheeses themselves (once they are vacuum-bagged).

[Duntov]

Yes, good advice by Andy.  I practice rotation all the time when i remember.  I currently have six cheddars, four Goudas and four parms all in different stages.

[awakephd]

Wow, I'm envious - my collection is awfully thin these days. 1 parm, 1 long-aged Gouda, 1 Double Gloucester, 1 blue, 1 Asiago, 1 Emmentaler, 1/3 of a Cantal. Just finished off a batch of camembert, and haven't been able to get another batch into the pipeline just yet. Too much work, not enough time for hobbies ...