URGENT! Brine time problems

[soniaR]

I made a Cabra al Vino today. It weighs 2lbs 13 oz and is almost 4" tall, so I calculate that to be about 11 hours of brining. I put it in the brine at 5:00pm. I will flip it at 10:30pm before going to bed, but is there a way I can avoid waking up at 4:00am to take it out of the brine? Is there a way to delay the second half of the brining?

For next time...If I want to delay brining until the next day, what would I do with the cheese after pressing is completed?

Thank you!

[cheesehead94]

If you delay brining you risk the cheese overacidifying, the salt is what halts acid production. I'd suggest just waking up at 4, taking the 30 seconds required to flip the cheese, and go back to bed :)

[soniaR]

Thank you. I did get up in the middle of the night to take it out of the brine!

[Stinky]

It's a small price always worth paying, and apart from coordinating when you make the cheese and what kind of cheese you make better (not always possible) there's no real way to get around it.

[scasnerkay]

Cooling the cheese also helps slow the acid development. If the rind is closing up nicely, and I know the weight of the cheese, I can calculate how long it will be in the brine. If the timing is not going to work because I don't want to get our of bed during the night, I will attempt to slow the acid development. It does slow the pH or acid development by putting the cheese in a cooler environment. Sometimes I even put the cheese in its form, with a weight on it, right into the cheese fridge.