Hello from South Africa/Belgium

[BernLin]

Hello All,

I will follow the suggested list for introduction:

1) Introduction:
My name is Bernard and I am from South Africa and currently living in Brussels, Belgium.  Moved here 19 months ago.

2)  Interests:
I've always loved eating all sorts of cheeses I could get my hands on and recently decided to try and make my own cheese.
I have made some basic mozzarella and have 2 batches of Gouda drying and 1 in the brine.

3.1)  Question 1:  Raw milk
The milk you buy from the supermarket in Belgium is really bad, it doesn't even taste like milk to be honest.
So I found a little farm outside of Brussels that sells raw cow milk and it is really delicious, but I have some conflicting opinions about using raw milk to make cheese.  I would love to get the opinion of people who have actual experience?

3.2)  Question 2:  Time for Gouda in brine
I am reading the Ricki Carrol book and she says to leave a 2 pound Gouda in the brine for 12 hours.
If I make 2X1 pound blocks, for how long do you suggest I keep them in the brine? 
Also at what temperature should the brine be while keeping the cheese inside?

I am excited to get into cheese making.   
Bernard

[Boofer]

Welcome to the forum, Bernard. Good to have you here.

My order of preference:

• Raw milk
• Creamline milk (pasteurized but not homogenized)

If you want to make cheese with raw milk, you must trust that the raw milk dairy is clean and has a sanitary process. Search in the forum for more detailed discussion.

I am reading the Ricki Carrol book and she says to leave a 2 pound Gouda in the brine for 12 hours.

Yeah, I'm not sure what she was thinking there. If you followed that guidance, you'd end up with a cheese-nuanced salt block.

There are a number of errors in her book and they have been highlighted here in the forum. A general rule of thumb is 3-4 hours per pound. Here's an example of 1-pound raw milk cheeses being brined. Here's an example of some 1-pound raw milk Gouda cheeses that I made.

I brine at my cave temperature which is 51-54 degrees F/10.5-12C.

The salt level you find agreeable might dictate less or more brine time, depending on your palate. So, YMMV.

I would recommend that you search on the type of cheese you wish to make and seek consensus for what you intend. Good luck.

-Boofer-

[Kern]

Boofer has pretty much answered your questions so I'll second what he says and welcome you to the Forum, also.