First Pressed Cheese - Gouda #1

[rgreenberg2000]

I was thinking of making a Gruyere, but didn't have any Proprionic Shermanii, so decided to make a Gouda instead.  This was my first go at both a washed curd and a pressed cheese.  I made this batch from 2 Gallons of Clover whole milk, and it all just barely fit in a single 5" mold.  All in all, the process went pretty smoothly, following the recipe from Mary Karlin's book.  The yield from this batch was 2lbs 4oz.

I did learn a few things:
- Build or buy a press (this balancing act thing is nutty!)
- Buy a large cheese mold to handle this size batch in a wheel that's not quite so tall.
- Get better at wrapping the cheese in the mold for a smooth finish, or do the final press naked.
- Did I mention build/buy a press?

I have noticed in my cheesemaking so far that I seem to get pretty small sized curds very quickly when stirring (even when I try to be exceedingly gentle with it.)  Is this a function of using pasteurized and homogenized milk?  Or does it have something to do with perhaps not using enough rennet (used 1/2 tsp for this 2 gal batch), and I'm not getting a firm enough set?  I feel like I'm getting a nice clean break within the amount of time specified by recipes, so I'm a bit curious.

Anyway, here is the cheese post pressing, and just before going into the brine:



I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do a natural rind, oiled rind, waxed, or vac-packed cheese.......I've got a couple of weeks of aging post brine to figure out the next step.

Thanks for lookin'!

Rich

[rgreenberg2000]

Whoops, forgot to post the recipe...

2g whole milk (clover)
1/4 tsp MM100
1/2 tsp Calcium Chloride
1/2 tsp rennet
heavy brine

Heat milk to 86, add culture, rehydrate/stir, then let ripen 45 minutes
Add CaCL, stir; add rennet, stir, let set up for 45-60 minutes
Cut curds (1/2"), let heal 5 minutes
Stir gently 5 minutes, let settle 5 minutes
Remove 2 cups whey, add 140 degree water to bring temp to 92F, while stirring 10 minutes, let sit 5 minutes
Remove whey to level of curd, add 140 degree water to bring temp to 98F, while stirring 20 minutes, let sit 5 minutes
Drain curd in colander for 5 minutes, break off 1" pieces to fill mold
Press with 10 lbs for 30 minutes, then press with 15 lbs for 8 hours (this is for an 8" mold)
Brine for 3-4 hours per pound
Age 10 days at 55F/85%, then wax

[Dorchestercheese]

Hi - My observation are this..pay attention to what the rennet package says for set time. Generally it's based on pasteurized and homogenized milk.
I have the best set with raw milk
As for pasteurized homogenized my set is best with Jersey milk and less so with holstein. If you can find Jersey it's nice when it sets. You still got great looking cheese. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[rgreenberg2000]

Thanks, DC!  At this point, all I know about the cows for this milk are that they (most likely) had four legs..... I'll do a bit of research and see if any of the dairy products I can get locally indicate what type of animals they are milking.  I'm sure I can come up with some data, just a bit of coffee fueled Googling!

I'm sure I made cheese, just won't know if it's Gouda for a while.

R

[cheesehead94]

Nice work and good luck! I've only tried a washed curd cheese once, also a Gouda, and I found the process to be a bit difficult, and the aging hasn't gone too well for that particular cheese either. Hope you have a better experience!

[rgreenberg2000]

Thanks, Cheesehead!

We will see how it goes.

R

[awakephd]

My experience is almost entirely with P&H milk, and almost always my curds "shatter" to some degree or another. Some brands of milk work better than others, and there can be variations from make to make even with a brand that has worked better. Nonetheless, I have gotten very good cheeses from the P&H milk (I'm up to about my 110th cheese), and I predict yours will be good as well.

The one and only time I tried raw milk, it was a revelation - it actually worked just the way they show it in the books! But it is extremely expensive and inconvenient to get raw milk here in NC- it is not legal to sell raw milk, so unless you know someone who has cows, you have to get milk shipped in from out of state. I decided that the results I get with the P&H were good enough not to bother with the hassle ... though I still keep looking to make friends with someone who has cows!

One thing about the Gouda, based on my own experience - I predict that when you try it, yours will be very tasty, but not have the mild taste or smooth, flexible texture of a Gouda. The reason is that you need to move the cheese from the press to the brine when the cheese hits a pH of around 5.3 - but in my experience, that happens a LOT faster than the times given in recipes and books - as in, within a couple of hours in the press at most. Once I got a pH meter and started testing the pH, my Goudas started coming out tasting like Gouda, rather than like a crumbly sort of generic not-quite-cheddar. Mind you, the latter was tasty! But just not quite right.

The same is true for any cheese that is pressed first and salted later (Asiago, Parmesan, Gruyere, Swiss, etc.) - my experience with every one of these was that the times I had used yielded much too low pH, with the result affecting both flavor and texture.

Of course, using different milk, different room temperature, different sizes of makes, etc., YMMV. Looking forward to hearing the report on how this turns out!

[rgreenberg2000]

Awake-

Thanks for checking in over here, too!

I do have a pH meter, and I have read about the criticality of timing the pH levels correctly for the desired texture.  I did not, however, use the meter in this make, as I'm so new to the whole process, I decided that I'd leave that out as a variable in my learning process.  I plan to add pH targets to my make worksheets that I'm using once I feel like I've got the process figured a bit better.

Thanks for the comments on your success with P/H milk, and that you have had shattered curds with it as well.  I can get raw milk from some "local" dairies, but at 4x the cost, I'll stick to what I can easily find in the grocery store until I know I'm not going to screw up $40 for 2g!   I just put the gouda in the cave today, and it certainly is starting to smell like cheese, so I know I made something cheese-like!

R

[pastpawn]

My experience is almost entirely with P&H milk, and almost always my curds "shatter" to some degree or another. Some brands of milk work better than others, and there can be variations from make to make even with a brand that has worked better. Nonetheless, I have gotten very good cheeses from the P&H milk (I'm up to about my 110th cheese), and I predict yours will be good as well.

The one and only time I tried raw milk, it was a revelation - it actually worked just the way they show it in the books! But it is extremely expensive and inconvenient to get raw milk here in NC- it is not legal to sell raw milk, so unless you know someone who has cows, you have to get milk shipped in from out of state. I decided that the results I get with the P&H were good enough not to bother with the hassle ... though I still keep looking to make friends with someone who has cows!

One thing about the Gouda, based on my own experience - I predict that when you try it, yours will be very tasty, but not have the mild taste or smooth, flexible texture of a Gouda. The reason is that you need to move the cheese from the press to the brine when the cheese hits a pH of around 5.3 - but in my experience, that happens a LOT faster than the times given in recipes and books - as in, within a couple of hours in the press at most. Once I got a pH meter and started testing the pH, my Goudas started coming out tasting like Gouda, rather than like a crumbly sort of generic not-quite-cheddar. Mind you, the latter was tasty! But just not quite right.

The same is true for any cheese that is pressed first and salted later (Asiago, Parmesan, Gruyere, Swiss, etc.) - my experience with every one of these was that the times I had used yielded much too low pH, with the result affecting both flavor and texture.

Of course, using different milk, different room temperature, different sizes of makes, etc., YMMV. Looking forward to hearing the report on how this turns out!

Posts like these are awesome.  Keep it up - I'm learnin' here.  ac4u

[awakephd]

Thanks! I learned SO much from folks on this forum when I was starting out - and of course, still LOTS to learn. (So many types of cheese still to try ... so little time ... sigh!) I've missed both the learning and the sharing on this forum; nice to be back!

[Curdlessness]

Lovely! You did a gouda job there!

AC4U...

If you're going to build a press, may I recommend one that has zero guesswork, minimal tools and parts required, and almost certainly made of things you already have?

Like this one:https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,17192.msg131247.html#msg131247] [url]https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,17192.msg131247.html#msg131247[/url]

All I have to do to put 10 lbs of pressure, is put one 10lb weight on top. Voila! 10 lbs. No guessing. Easy as cake.

[rgreenberg2000]

Curdless-

Thanks for the cheese!

I have the threaded rod and fasteners already waiting to build your easy press!   Just need to find the time to cut some proper sized platforms from a piece of 3/4" plywood that I have on hand.   Your post was certainly the one that got me moving in this direction, and I meant to drop a note in that thread to thank you.  So, THANK YOU!

As an added bonus, I have a handy, woodworking friend who is going to build me a lever press when he has some spare time.   Hmmm, what ever will I do with TWO presses?!?!

R

[Curdlessness]

Thank you for the encomium!

May I also suggest that you don't forget the 6" long section of 4" PVC? The reason for it is that unless you have something between the follower and the upper plate, it won't press on the cheese. The top of the form will be hitting the upper plate.

If you have two presses, you could always auction the one you use least on eBay! LOL

[awakephd]

R, for the lever press design, check out the "original" SturdyPress. Bob has stopped making and selling these, but now has posted free plans (http://sturdypress.com/sdm_downloads/diy-plans). It is far and away the most simple, elegant, and versatile press I've ever seen. (And that definitely includes the presses I have designed and made myself!) Key to its versatility is an easy selection of different MA (mechanical advantage) - if I remember correctly, you can choose 5x and 9x MA. This gives you the ability to press just about anything you might want to press, unless a) you are making 100lb. batches, or b) you want to make Cantal.

[rgreenberg2000]

R, for the lever press design, check out the "original" SturdyPress. Bob has stopped making and selling these, but now has posted free plans (http://sturdypress.com/sdm_downloads/diy-plans). It is far and away the most simple, elegant, and versatile press I've ever seen. (And that definitely includes the presses I have designed and made myself!) Key to its versatility is an easy selection of different MA (mechanical advantage) - if I remember correctly, you can choose 5x and 9x MA. This gives you the ability to press just about anything you might want to press, unless a) you are making 100lb. batches, or b) you want to make Cantal.

Thanks, Andy.  Those are the plans I sent to him.

R