My first Leerdammer (Maasdam)

[qdog1955]

Leerdammer (Maasdam)       9-22-14    200 Easy Cheese Recipe
3 gal. P+H milk
2 packs of Thermo from Cheesemaker .com (just what I had)
¼ tsp. propionic
4 tsp. calc. chlor.
¾ tsp. single st.rennet
Everything went to the exact schedule as per recipe. Times---temps---floc was
16 min. 2.5 multiplier---cut at 40 min.
Into 6" S.S. mold
Pressed at 8.9 psi for 15 min.
Flip and press at 10 psi for 4.5 hours
Weight out of press---3 lb. 15 oz.
Brined for 20 hours in 18% brine
Air dry Two days---Wax at 240 degrees
Into fridge at 40 degrees for 2 wks.
Room temp 65 degrees for 4 wks.
Then I got worried-- at three wks.---the swelling seemed huge to me, split the wax three times---repaired wax three times---at the fourth crack, I started thinking late blow and opened it up to see what was happening.
    I shouldn't have worried, the eyes were more like a lacy Swiss ( which I don't mind) the smell was wonderful---the taste is like a Jarlsberg---a little milder---the texture is not quite as firm as Jarlsberg. The only complaint I have, is maybe needs a little more salt.
  I think the flavor will get better with some more time, so vac packed the remainder----just not sure if I should finish out the warm cycle or place it in the cave.
   Overall I am thrilled-----this is the first cheese I have made that actually met my expectations----next one will be 4 or 5 gallon in my 7 ¼ in. mold.
Qdog

[H-K-J]

Nice cheese AC4U

[Curdtastrophe]

Very nice! 

[JeffHamm]

Very nice!  A cheese for you!

[awakephd]

Looks superb. But one question -- 4 tsp. CaCl? That seems like an awful lot! I usually use 3/4 tsp for 3 gallons!

[qdog1955]

Awake,
  Glad to see someone is awake ----you are absolutely right went back and checked notes and it was 3/4 tsp.----also caught two other errors in my post---this was 3 gallons p/h whole milk and 1 gallon 2% p/h milk---I was wondering how I got 4lbs. of cheese, and I used a tsp. of rennet rather then 3/4 tsp.-- and that means I missed a 1/4 tsp. of calc. chlor.
  Guess I was to excited about a success. 
Qdog

[awakephd]

Thanks for the update. When I see that someone else is using greatly different quantities, it makes me nervous that I'm doing something wrong!

As for being awake ... that's actually just the first initial of my first name and the first four letters of my last name. Only rarely is it an accurate description of my level of alertness.

Andy

[amiriliano]

Pretty! AC4U

[Flound]

AC4U.

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Wow just wow  nice looking holes. Another cheese from me.

[Danbo]

Yummy! :-)