Another new gouda is born...

[scasnerkay]

I have not posted a make for awhile. The cow at the farm where I volunteer has been stingy with her milk since the calf (almost 6 mos old) is taking so much. I can't wait for the calf to be weaned in a couple of weeks. However, I was able to milk 3 days in a row, and so I got 3 gallons to play with. Plus the goat has new kids, and needs to have some milk removed so the babies can more easily nurse. I got another 1/2 gallon from her. So I put it all together, and decided it was time for another gouda. The make was very textbook (Caldwell). I used Kazu and a little FD, which is a combo I have used previously and have liked. From 3.5 gallons, a 3# 4oz baby.

[Danbo]

It looks really nice. Do you milk by hand?


:-) Danbo

[Stinky]

Pretty pretty! You have a new cheese.

[scasnerkay]

The cow is milked with a small machine, and the goat is by hand. I have milked the cow by hand with another person though when the machine was broken! I like the machine better, and so does the cow since that is what she is used to.

[Danbo]

Must be fun to start the cheesemaking that way - right from the source... :-)

[scasnerkay]

It is incredibly satisfying!

[Spoons]

Nice cheese, Suzan! I don't think I ever tried Kazu with FD. I'll certainly give it a try!

A cheese for you

[Stinky]

Nice cheese, Suzan! I don't think I ever tried Kazu with FD. I'll certainly give it a try!

A cheese for you

Waaaaitasecond. Before you were Spoons but you weren't and now you're Spoons and you are. >.>

[Spoons]

Haha, very observant Yes, Spoons is back and I'll start participating again (i never stopped making cheese though, I've got 75 lbs of cheese in the cave right now )

[Stinky]

And I though 23 pounds was pretty good...

[scasnerkay]

Spoons - glad you are back rather than anonymous. I think you better start selling some cheese if you have that much!
My thought with the FD is to aim for that buttery flavor. I have made some goudas with MM100/FD that were very good. And the ones with straight up Kazu were also good. I have not yet opened one of the kazu/FD goudas yet. I have one made early December. Looks very nice and smells wonderful. Tempting... not sure when I want to open it...

[Stinky]

When do you normally cut goudas?

I have one aging that's around two months, and I'm going to have to strip and rewax it because a hole was torn in it and oh my maybe I'll accidentally try a bit.

[Spoons]

Thanks Suzan

Stinky, The fun thing with Gouda is you can open it anywhere from 2 months to 4 years. The cheese takes a drastic transformation between those two dates.

My personal observations on Gouda tasting:
*3 Months: typical store-bought gouda taste. So it's very good
*4.5 to 5.5 months: Significantly sharper than 3 months. This is my personal go-to.
*7-9 months: Very sharp, but to me (and this may be just me), it lacks character. It's just a sharp cheese. I usually like sharp cheeses.
*10-14 months : ? ? ?
*16-24 months: OMG! It's somehow sweet and slightly cognac flavoured with a really rich sharpness to it. Amazing! May not be for everyone though
*24 months + Beyond : ? ? ?

[Stinky]

I was planning to age this and my cheddar out to a whole year for funsies.