How long to age an Asiago?

[amiriliano]

Opinions needed: I've seen as little as 30-40 days (Ricki Carrol's site) to as long as 8-12 months (Giancalis Caldwell). I have a 3.5 pound round in the cave right now. So far 6 weeks old.

Thanks!

[John@PC]

Mary Karlin's recipe for Asiago (with peppercorns) recommends making two rounds so you can cut one early (three weeks) for Asiago Pressato and age the other for as long as you want.  I've done 3 (or 4?) Asiago's with cows milk and it was great at whatever age, IMO.  At 6 weeks I would think it would be just right for Thanksgiving (Asiago and cranberries? ) or you could use half and bag the other half for longer aging.

Which leads me to a related comment:  For those of us that make cheese as a hobby aging is an "open book".  What I mean here is that you can follow the recipe by rote, or you can "bend the rules" so to speak and still have a wonderful cheese to enjoy now AND later.  Some of the best cheeses I've made were the ones that I cut a bit early, and feeling guilty bagged them and stuck them in the back of the fridge.  When I cut those they were even better! 

[amiriliano]

That makes sense especially since 3 different authors may give 3 different affinage times for the same style. By Thanksgiving it will be 2 months. I'll cut half and serve it and shrink wrap the other half for further aging

[John@PC]

Let us know how it goes (with pictures, please).

[Stinky]

My most recent Asiago, from last week, shall be tried at Christmas. I can let you know how that worked out if you'd like.

[amiriliano]

Sure. I'm going to crack mine open for Thanksgiving.

[amiriliano]

@John@PC: thanks for the great advice. A beauty in looks and flavor, in my humble opinion.

[John@PC]

Ahh, a pleasure to behold!  Rind seems more developed than you would think for a 7 week-old cheese.  Certainly worth a Thanksgiving cheese !

[amiriliano]

Creamy and delicious!

[Stinky]

Wow, that looks delicious. You said it has good flavor... how strong? And how's the salt profile?

[amiriliano]

If I were to say on a scale of 1-10 (mild to sharp) I would say this one was a 3. For me the salt content was perfect. It augmented the flavor without being a mouthfull of salt