Ooooh...Gouda!

[Boofer]

I feel good about my second Gouda wheel (wish it was a traditional ball shape). It's from 4 gallons of whole milk. I started it on October 3rd, pressed it for 20 hours with 50 pounds (yes, I know, Sailor...should be to psi), whey-brined it for 7 hours, air-dried it in a mini-cave at room temperature until October 9th, wiped it with vinegar, and then vacuum-sealed it and put it in the cave at 55 degrees.

Within two days, it was showing whey at the edges inside the vacuum-sealed bag. My question is: should I leave it alone in the bag or take it out, dry it off, wipe with vinegar again and seal it again?  :(

Edited to include a copy of Pav's Gouda treatise since his website was taken down.

-Boofer-

[Cheese Head]

My vote is as you said, take out, re-clean it and reseal it. I think Debi vac bags hers after a couple days drying at room temp and is OK. I find I always get moisture around the outside which in my experience leads to rot, so am trying natural rinds.

[Baby Chee]

Would you want that vinegar on the outside if you seal it?  The seal is the rind, and I am not sure what the vinegar would do for you.  Most people seal (aside from ease) to create a "no rind" cheese, thus more creamy meat to devour.  I wouldn't treat the surface of the cheese before sealing, just wipe off any moisture, shove in the bag, seal.

I'll keep an eye on this progression: I just did a cheddar with around 3.5 gallons (3 whole milk, .5 Ultra-pasteurized whipping cream) that pressed for 60 hours at 50 and then 70 lbs. for around 40 hours.  It sits in a cupboard so the last of the flies can't get to it.  I'll wax and refrigerate sometime around Friday.

[Boofer]

The vinegar wipe is a final non-invitation to any lurking nasties. I wipe with the vinegar and then dry the wheel.

-Boofer-

[Baby Chee]

I see!  Makes sense.  I was worried about the vinegar moisture being inside the sealed bag.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I wipe with a very light vinegar solution then pat dry before bagging.

[Boofer]

Following the guidelines presented here I pulled the wheel out of the bag and dried it off. I thought about just drying out the bag with paper towels and reusing it, tried it, but then just replaced the bag with a new one. After drying the wheel with paper towels, I lightly wiped the wheel with vinegar, blotted that, and slipped the wheel into the new bag (gallon size...just fits  :) ).

After a couple days it is still looking dry inside the bag. I will be monitoring.

-Boofer-

[Tea]

I had to scrap and wipe a jack yesterday with vinegar also, so I hope it works.

Hope your's is also on the mend.

[zenith1]

Hey Boofer-that is areal nice effort in your Gouda. I think you probably should air dry maybe 2-3 weeks depending on the weight of your wheel before moving to the bag or waxing.

[Boofer]

zenith1 - I think you're right. I just checked the bag and guess what?...it's wet inside. It's a 4+ pound wheel. I'll be taking it out of the bag again tonight and air-drying it in the cave. The temp hovers around 55 degrees F @ ~94%RH. I hope that will allow it to dry out a bit.

I really have high hopes for this Gouda. It looks good so far (fingers crossed  ;) ).

-Boofer-

[zenith1]

Boofer- the temp is good, I think the RH should be around 80-85% for a Gouda. You should be close enough.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I air dry at low room temp for a couple of days. Then I rub it down with olive oil and age it in the cave for about a month. Then I vacuum bag.

[DeejayDebi]

Except for maybe havarti and edam I don't vac pac until it sits 3 to 4 weeks in the cave. Depends on how it develops. Goudas maybe 3 weeks. It also depends on how many cheeses are in the cave but when it seems stable no mold growth, good rind development then vac pac.

[mosborn]

Should the gouda be brined at room temperature, or should it go with the brine into a refrigerator?  I just have to guess that it's supposed to be room temperature.

I just took my 1-gallon gouda with the liquid smoke in it out of the improvised press, and I've got it in brine, but Ricki Carroll's recipe didn't specify a temperature for brining.

I'm almost embarrassed to ask my cheese kindergarten question in front of such experts....   but I trust you guys.  You seem kind.   :)

[Boofer]

I read somewhere on this forum that brining should be done in the cave so that's what I've tried to do.

There are no kindergarten questions here. What may seem innocent and newbie to you may be a source of enlightenment to someone else more "expert". In our own individual fashions we are all in pursuit of some ideal in cheesedom.  8)

Here is an Alpine I did recently.

-Boofer-