Author Topic: Grating Cheese from Jack  (Read 1255 times)

Offline Thom

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Grating Cheese from Jack
« on: April 11, 2023, 02:21:39 AM »
My Monterey Jack went south with a pink hue and bad smell. I cut the rind off and the paste seemed OK. It was very dry and I'm wondering if I can continue to age and dry it down to the point that it will be an acceptable grating cheese like a parm.

Offline B e n

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Re: Grating Cheese from Jack
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2023, 02:09:12 PM »
Pink with a "Bad smell" like Gym socks? Probably B.Linens, the best way to deal with it is knock it down as it begins to appear, or build a colony of something stronger to keep it from building up in the first place. It is edible, even desirable in some cases: it's the main flavor in cheeses like Limburger, and can be a major flavor agent in washed rind type cheeses.

As far as scraping the rind off, that isn't really advisable, the rind is what protects the cheese. I think your best bet at this point is eat the cheese young and start another batch:). You could try vac sealing it as well, but I bet it will taste fine right now and you can have another stab at a Jack.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2023, 02:17:56 PM by B e n »

Offline Thom

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Re: Grating Cheese from Jack
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2023, 05:01:03 PM »
Thanks, Ben... Yes, it was b. linens for sure! I couldn't seem to get rid of it completely. I hadn't considered vac sealing but that sounds like a good way to go. Considering how dry it is, but really tasty, I think I will just crumble it into salads. Next batch, I will use the recipe here.