Boofer's 1st Kefir Based "Gouda" Cheese

[Boofer]

So I said to myself this morning "Let's do it". Kefir cheese from that multicultural  kefir I found. What I will end with...who knows?

I had prepped this little kefir trip with an adventure through the hardware store, free-thinking a couple of small cheese molds. I found what I thought would do the job satisfactorily. I'm using a 4-inch and 3-inch PVC end cap for the bottom of the mold. The follower is another little piece that I believe is supposed to be a pipe reducer. Then I found the little test plugs that fit into the follower just right. Because the end caps are rounded on the bottom, I needed something to stand them on. I'm using a 4-inch black PVC connector for each of the 3 molds.

I set out 1 cup (covered) of the kefir the night before so that all of the cultures could come alive. That was added per a Gouda recipe to 1-1/2 gallons of 2% Darigold past & homo milk with CACL2. I let it ripen at 88 degrees for 20 minutes. I added the dissolved rennet and let it sit for 30 minutes, then checked for the break. I achieved the break after 90 minutes. That's a little longer than I'm normally used to, but I attributed it to the kefir multiculture. I cut the curds, let them sit for 10 minutes, and then proceeded to raise the temp to 100 degrees. I did this in the sink for the first time and it seemed to go okay. I prefer the double boiler approach, but it was in use with the Gouda that I was doing simultaneously (I won't be doing dual cheese batches again any time soon!  ).

Long story short...I sterilized the molds and put the curds into one 4-incher and one 3-incher. Even at that I ran short of curds from the 1-1/2 gallons of milk. The hardware molds are not pretty. I will probably just head over to Glengarry and buy some there. But hey, this was an adventure...I've got some kefir cheese to try in a month or two...and my curiosity for two things has been satiated.

The Gouda should be decent. I used 4 gallons of Darigold whole milk and I'll be brining in salted whey...another first for me. Woo woo! 

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

That's looking good Boofer! Good job!

BTW - I thought I would add to the Kefir info.

I was researching a Spanish and Portuguese cheese last night (again) and came across a few interesting facts.

When the microflora of certain Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Italian alpine area cheeses (that don't use commercial cultures) are analyzed and they to try to come up with cultures for making them commercially ... they translate into most of the same components as kefir grains. The difference may simply be using goat, sheep or cows milk as the basic ingredient.

I am not sure how one would measure the amount of kefir grains to add for a cheese but I thought you would find that interesting.

I posted an article on using freeze dried kefir for making Feta here:
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2250.0.html

[Boofer]

These two mini-wheels came out strangely satisfying. They honestly look good in their sealed bags and where they used to cave in because of the new homemade PVC moulds (and too much extra cheesecloth), they have pooched out to become more like a traditional Gouda shape. The vacuum sucking obviously enhanced their final appearance.

No whey seeping at this point. I'm really anxious to try one of these. Waiting will be very difficult, but I know I will enjoy the quality after a decent aging. 

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

They look great - can't wait to see what you think. Nice job!

[Boofer]

Okay, so while I was removing the two small Kefir cheeses from their vacuum bags to clean away some errant mold, I decided to sample the smaller one. I couldn't help myself...the anticipation and curiosity was killing me. 

The texture was right on the money, very similar to a monterey jack. The flavor, though a bit young, was not unsavory. It went very well with a crusty sourdough bread and a glass of ale. Not too salty and not too acidic. All things considered, I am well pleased. The second larger miniwheel will improve with a little more aging. I will admit that this Kefir cheese took a back seat while I was working somewhat simultaneously (eh, not so much!  ) on my second Gouda (a 4+ pounder). I wanted to make certain the Gouda had most of my attention. Still, the Kefir cheese fared very well.

Although I will most likely post an update when I sample the second one, I can probably say that I will stick to the customary cultures and not stray again anytime soon. It was good as a curiosity trip though. I've been enjoying my Manchego for the past couple weeks and it may be time to tune up another wheel of that. The texture of the Kefir cheese is what really surprised and encourages me.

-Boofer-

[cmharris6002]

Oooohhhh!!! That looks fantastic!!!

Christy

[DeejayDebi]

It certainly looks like it will be a good gouda. You've done a great job kiddo!

[mtncheesemaker]

Hey Boofer,
I just found this thread and wondered what form of kefir you used for a starter? I have live kefir grains that I keep active by making kefir about 1x per week. Wondered if I could use them as a starter.
I like the idea of using them for a feta starter (thanks for that idea, Debi!). I might try that for my next batch.
Pam

[Boofer]

Pam - I saw it on the shelf, looked at the broad list of cultures on the label, and decided I should try to make cheese from those cultures.

Here's the kefir I used:
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2172.0.html

Given that experience and my own use of kefir grains, I would think you could use them as a starter. While I proved to myself that it was possible, I decided for the time being to stick with traditional cultures and limit them to 1 to 3 rather than as many as 10, which is what my store-bought kefir had. Perhaps too many competing cultures trying to fashion a tasty final cheese product?     

Having said that, I did enjoy the very young Gouda I ended up with. Not bad at all. The second larger wheel disc is enjoying a little more aging.

-Boofer-

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Boofer,
Where did you get the vacuum seal bags? Looks like they are re-usable and a vacuum cleaner may be used to vacuum them, am I right?

Nice gouda's, I am also preparing for my first washed curd type cheese.

[Boofer]

Gurkan - The vacuum seal bags are a product from Reynolds Company that they just decided to kill. It was a good and fairly cheap solution to vacuum sealing, but it is gone now. I found out about its demise when I went looking for replacement bags in all the customary stores. No one had them. Then I emailed Reynolds Co. and received a quick response telling me that the product hadn't done well enough for them, so they pulled it.

Other companies have similar vacuum zipper bag products: Glad and FoodSaver. The FoodSaver product is marketed as a short-term storage solution. I bought a few of the FoodSaver zipper bags and they don't hold the vacuum as well as the Reynolds product. That's not acceptable for cheese storage. I have not tried the Glad product.

This morning I bought a FoodSaver vacuum sealer on Ebay. I won a very cost effective solution to my storage problem. Saved about $40US in the process.   

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

Congrats Boofer. I'vd had an electric sealer for over 34 years and a vacuum sealer for over 10. I don't know how I ever lived without those things. hey work great for cheese, meat, veggies from your garden - anything!

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Thanks Guys,

I am trying to convince my wife that vacuum packer is a good thing to have around the kitchen.

[DeejayDebi]

GurkanYeniceri -

If you have a garden or you hunt and fish or just buy large volumes of food on sale and freeze it you'll save a bundle on your grocery bill alone.

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Good point Debbie, this alone increased the WAF. I am getting a free fridge soon which the freezer part will be used just for the garden produce and we may need a vacupack thingy...