Baby Swiss #4 - Raw & Aged

[Duntov]

This is my fourth attempt and I must say it gets better every time.  Since having pledged not to make cheese unless I am using fresh raw milk, I have had no failures or disappointments.  And I have found that no matter what type of cheese, the longer I age it, the better it tastes.  I aged this in a natural rind and occasionally washed with an Annatto infused brine.   I have to admit that I almost forgot about this cheese sitting in the back of the cave in it's aging box.  A few times the mold on the rind was so thick you could blow a dust cloud off of it.

Here is the basic recipe I follow:  http://www.cheesemaking.com/SwissBaby.html

I let this one age for about four months.  The pictures below show it fresh from the box, washed and then cut.  It is very creamy in texture with a nice edible nutty rind.

[awakephd]

Beautiful! And more that worthy of a cheese-for-you!

[DoctorCheese]

That looks delightful, AC4U!

[AnnDee]

This looks wonderful! ac4u

[Boofer]

"The Rinds they are a changin"     Classic!

Sweet-looking cheese, John. Have a cheese.

I like the before and after wash pics.

-Boofer-

[Danbo]

Sooooo nice! AC4U...

[Al Lewis]

Beautiful cheese!  AC4U!

[Vnature]

I got hungry gazing at the pictures.  AC4U.
Maybe I'd better stop washing all the mold off my own Baby Swiss. 

[Mike Cross]

The thickness of the rind implies that it may have dried too much.  Do you have good humidity control in your cave?

[Duntov]

The thickness of the rind implies that it may have dried too much.  Do you have good humidity control in your cave?

I am running at 85% humidity in my aging boxes.  The rind is actually thinner that it appears and is fairly soft.  What you are seeing is the addition of Annatto to the brine wash that gives a lovely graduated tone. 

[Danbo]

I haven't seen that before. It's a nice twist. AC4U...