Did a 7 Pound Emmental

[Al Lewis]

Well Alp you hit the nail right on the head.  I took the cheese out and back to room temperature this morning for fear of it splitting open.  What you see is the result of 36 hours at 80°.  It certainly got the little fellows moving.  Hopefully they will continue their work at the lower temperature but a little slower.  Any bets on whether I have holes in my Emmental? LOL  Alp I can't thank you enough for your help on this one buddy.  I think that, between us, we may have cracked the secret to small batch Emmentals.  After two weeks in the cave allow to sit at 75-80° for two-four weeks. That period may change based on further observation. BTW Your idea of mixing the cultures with the milk while cold seems to have worked out a treat as well.   Stinky, there is NO neon yellow mold growth.  If you look at the sides you'll see slightly darker patches.  The camera picks those up as neon yellow when the flash bounces off of them.  Crappy camera, no mold.  LOL

[Al Lewis]

Thinking of sitting this on an open mold so only the edge supports it and the bulging center can hang down to see if the top will swell as much.  Any thoughts Alp?

[Stinky]

Have you flipped it at all?

[Al Lewis]

Yes, about every 12 hours.  I've suspended it over a plastic funnel, of all things, and will give it a try at 75° for the next 8 hours.

[Danbo]

Whaaaaaaaaat?? 


Either you are good at Photoshopping or you are on your way to have made a really really impressive Emmentaler. I have never seen anything like it in that size!


I can only envy you - and I really want to learn to make such a monster.


If I could give you a giant cheese I would!


WOW!


:-) Danbo

[Stinky]

You could suspend it in midair... 

[Al Lewis]

Suspension thing didn't work.  Bad idea. LOL  Back to the normal way.

[Al Lewis]

Whaaaaaaaaat?? 
Either you are good at Photoshopping or you are on your way to have made a really really impressive Emmentaler. I have never seen anything like it in that size!
I can only envy you - and I really want to learn to make such a monster.
:-) Danbo

The recipe is at the beginning of the thread Danbo.  Just make sure that you put it into a room, or container, at 75-80° F after the two weeks in the cave.  I wouldn't keep it there for more than 2 days and then back to 70-72°.  Otherwise it will split on you.

[Stinky]

Suspension thing didn't work.  Bad idea. LOL  Back to the normal way.

Have you tried it before? 

[Al Lewis]

Yeah, this morning,  Not a good idea.  The center tends to sink.

[LoftyNotions]

Well it's no wonder tying it didn't work! You used a Star of David instead of a Swiss Cross suspension. 

Larry

[Alpkäserei]

I hadn't considered the idea of basketball cheese (hey it's march in Indiana, so it's all about basketball right now)

But I suppose that's a good problem to have!

[Schnecken Slayer]

What about hanging it in a nylon mesh bag like the ones onions come in? You could make a little hammock for it.

[Al Lewis]

It would sag through the cord like mozzarella does when being aged for Provolone.  However with the weight of this cheese, 6.14 pounds, it would just cut itself into pieces.

[Al Lewis]

This thing is actually getting bigger.  Have to take a picture when I get home.   BTW  It smells awesome!!!