Preparation for Vacuum Sealing

[CaffeineFlo]

Dearest Cheeseforum,

I know that this topic has been discussed to length and so I apologize bringing it up once more since there's lots at stake: Cheese!

As a beginner, I'm still heavily trying to figure out things and so my biggest problem right now is to decide when to vacuum seal and after which preparation steps.

I recently made 2 baby swiss, 1 edam, 1 gouda and 1 alpine tomme (all Jim Wallace recipes) and since my wine fridge is still not fully operational (humidity too low, shelves need to be redone) I was hoping to vacuum seal all these cheeses.

What I did for my Romano and some other cheeses so far was to let them air dry on my Kitchen counter on a cooling rack at about 70-80F for 4-10 days depending on the outer rind (if they are dry enough yet) and then just use my vacuum sealer and then store them at the right temperature in my wine fridge.

I'm reading lots of different things now with regards to the preparation steps before sealing:
Should I air dry or dry my cheeses in the fridge for longer until sealing?
If mold appears, just brine + vinegar wipe it down?

Have I destroyed my already sealed cheeses?

Your answers are much appreciated in saving my two baby swiss

Edit: The Gouda that has been out for 8 days now, after it leaked whey in the first bag, started to get a cheesy ripe smell... is that expected?

[Bantams]

I air dry for a day and then vacuum seal.

[CaffeineFlo]

I air dry for a day and then vacuum seal.

Mine still leak whey into the bag if I vacuum seal after just a day. Is that ok?

[Bantams]

Hmm... I've never experienced that, even with a moister cheese like Colby.
Does the vacuum sealing process pull the whey out, or does it occur later?  You shouldn't have noticeable whey leakage after the cheese has been brined and air dried briefly (like if you put the cheese on a board to age).

Have you tasted any of your cheeses yet after aging? Just wondering if the issue is too much whey retention during the cheese making process (and it's not a vac seal issue), or if it is linked to the vacuum sealing.

[CaffeineFlo]

Hmm... I've never experienced that, even with a moister cheese like Colby.
Does the vacuum sealing process pull the whey out, or does it occur later?  You shouldn't have noticeable whey leakage after the cheese has been brined and air dried briefly (like if you put the cheese on a board to age).

Have you tasted any of your cheeses yet after aging? Just wondering if the issue is too much whey retention during the cheese making process (and it's not a vac seal issue), or if it is linked to the vacuum sealing.

It happened recently with the Gouda that just started smelling (see my edit). I vac sealed it after ~4 days on the kitchen counter, put it aside for a few hours and when I checked there was whey in the bag.

I'm still in the waiting phase of this new hobby, the only cheese I tried so far was a farmhouse cheddar where a lot of things went wrong. I bandaged it and then had it in my cheese cave at wayyyy too low humidity and that one tasted horribly bad (very bitter).

Now that I've made a ton of cheese in the meantime, I am very cautious that my other cheeses don't end up tasting as bad - hence my questions.

[Bantams]

It sounds like you might not be achieving the correct moisture levels during the make process.
The cheese should be quite dense/firm and stable after it has brined - you shouldn't see whey leaking. To me it sounds like the curds are possibly not getting cut small enough (too large of curds don't cook/shrink evenly, and retain too much moisture), or the cheese is not being pressed properly, making for wet pockets in the cheese.

I highly recommend Gianaclis Caldwell's Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking. Definitely the best resource out there for home cheesemakers.

Your young cheeses should not have a "cheesy ripe smell" if they are vac sealed after a day and then aged at an appropriate temperature. Ripening at room temp will definitely produce undesirable results.

How are you salting your cheeses? Brine? At what rate?

Bitter usually means not enough salt. Could also just be that it was tasted at the wrong time (2-3 months is a tricky age where some cheeses have bitter notes), but strongly bitter is likely from undersalting, possibly also from excess acid development.

[CaffeineFlo]

Again, thanks for the answer! This is great!

I started reading and already did a recipe out of that book, so that's definitely something I'll keep reading from.

The first cheese (farmhouse cheddar) had many reasons to be wrong, too many things went wrong during that and I think I undersalted a lot. So that makes totally sense that it tastes odd.

I salt my cheeses in a brine. I followed the Jim Wallace brine recipe: 1Tsp Vinegar, 1Tsp Calcium Chloride, 2.25 lb Salt (non iodized) and 1 gal water.
I usually replenish the salt by putting enough in that it's fully saturated and then also some Calcium Chloride each time.

I currently have two baby swiss cheese's on the kitchen counter waiting to be vac sealed - given that the cheese should build holes and therefore breath (right?), is that something I shouldn't vac seal?

Thanks!

[Bantams]

I don't think the Swiss needs to breathe anymore than the others do, but it may swell enough to stretch out the plastic. If that happens you could always repack the wheel.
Small size Swiss wheels don't typically have quite the spring that the large wheels do, so you may not even need to redo the bag.