Stinky's Gouda #3

[Stinky]

This one isn't washed rind.  It worked out fine. Plus, I got to use my shiny new red cheese wax!

2 gallons whole P/H milk
1/4 tsp. Meso II
1/2 tsp CaCl2
1/2 tsp. calf rennet
3 drops annatto

7:51 Started heating, added annatto
8:06 Added 1/4 tsp. Meso II, temperature 86º F
8:54 Added CaCl and rennet
9:38 Cut curds to 1/2 inch, let sit for 5 minutes
9:43 Stirred for 5 minutes
9:48 Let sit for 5 minutes, wait to sink (that took a while)
10:19 Removed water to level of curds, added 140º F water to bring temperature to 92º F. Stire for 10, settle for 5
10:38 Scoop whey to expose curds, add water to 98º
10:44 Stir for 20 minutes
11:14 Pour curds
11:25 Press, moderate weight
12:00 Flipped
9:09 Brined

[Danbo]

Very nice! :-)

I would like to give you a cheese but the forum software wants me to wait an hour since last time...

[qdog1955]

Looks like you have been real busy lately----are you in competition with Danbo? 
Qdog

[Danbo]

I'm thinki ng the same... ;-)

[LoftyNotions]

Nice, Stinky. AC4U.

You 2 are running away from the rest of us. Time for me to buy another cave.

Larry

[Danbo]

Hi Larry,

Remember that quality comes before quantity... I hope that some of my cheeses turn out well though... ;-)

:-) Danbo

[Stinky]

Thanks, guys. Danbo- appreciate the cheese. But if you gave me too much I'd be stuffed! I think that's the reason for the time limit.

Well, all these cheeses I posted... it's just one per week since the middle of January. I need to keep up on my notes more.

Oh, and I'm planning to age this for a year or so.

[Danbo]

Once a week is a good pace... It's only because the milk is on sale that I'm going crazy at the moment - around 60% off... :-)

[Stinky]

Send some this way, please.

[Al Lewis]

Sweet!!  I love gouda.  May have to steal your recipe!

[Stinky]

I could transcribe the actual recipe I was working on. Might be more precise than the make notes.

[Al Lewis]

They look fine.  I don't do PH.

[Stinky]

Yeah, I guess they're fine if you round the numbers to the nearest five or ten. Sometimes the timer runs slow or whatnot.

I don't usually measure much pH either, as I only have some strips, which have a rather small range, dye the milk colors, and aren't overwhelmingly easy to decipher.

[Stinky]

Well...

I saw that there was some wax that got torn off and a bit of blue mold was growing out of the pinhole. Or into it. So I stripped off the wax, and cut the bit off, and then tried the rest. It was moist, which it shouldn't be. The inside tasted... fine, sour tangy, and strong, but the "rind" part is not appetizing whatsoever. It tastes bad. Maybe because of the wet?

So do you think I should just rewax as is after washing with vinegar and letting dry very thoroughly
Or Slice off all the rind bits and rewax the rest after washing with vinegar and letting dry thoroughly.

[Spoons]

Nice cheese, Stinky!

The unappealing taste of the rind is due to sealing a cheese. It's quite normal. Whenever you open a sealed cheese, place in the fridge in a covered container for 2-3 days, and that sour-like taste will go away.

I would suggest you wash with salt/vinegar mix. Let it air dry at cave temp and then seal again. There are a lot of crevices on the rind, so you may encounter more mold problems, but it'll be ok