Olive Oil - Using As Rind Protection

[Boofer]

Dec 5: I started my second Manchego and tried to incorporate all the tricks and tips I had absorbed since my first endeavor about a year ago.

Heating the milk was done entirely in the sink and I did have some difficulty reaching and maintaining the heat I needed. I pressed under brined whey. I tried going naked after the first pressing, but thought that the end result with the bigger nubs was undesirable. After pressing, brined for 8 hours. Dried in mini-cave for 11 days @ ~67F/75%RH...68F/94%RH, then moved to cave. Rind seemed to be forming nicely.

Jan 4th: cleaned off bits of black mold with toothpick and vinegar/salt solution, wiped entire wheel, dried, and coated with EVOO. Put back into mini-cave and back to the cave @ 55F/88%RH. The temp and humidity remained pretty consistent...amazing.

Jan 18th: cleaned off black mold spots with toothpick and vinegar/salt solution. I'm not so sure that coating with olive oil is a good thing. Seems like it fosters mold growth. Anyway, after cleaning up the wheel I rubbed it with salt and vacuum-sealed it. Boy, do I love my new FoodSaver. Excellent piece of equipment. Sure beats the old Reynolds handheld sealer process. This is sweet!

Some additional datapoints:

• Still not using a pH meter, but that should change shortly.
• Still not pressing with as much force as I believe I should...psi...psi...psi...Yo, Sailor!
• Although some parts of the process are more comfortable and becoming more "intuitive", I still have those areas that need additional work, such as keeping the curds in a warm state where they will knit properly.

I like the idea of the Dutch press combined with a small pulley advantage. That's where I'm heading. These links flesh out a lot of the details I have been pondering: https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2245.msg17456.html#msg17456

https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,1877.msg23272.html#msg23272

-Boofer-

[FarmerJd]

Looks great! Press on.

[swh]

Folks,

I have had my first Parma style in the cave for a couple weeks, washing with brine when appropriate to keep it clean. I would like to keep the rind olive oiled but would like to see what other think.  I don't have vacuum system so all my cheeses are waxed or go the cared for rind route. I love playing with the little mini-gardens on my open cheeses.

Does anyone have experience with long term (10 months) rinds that have only been oiled.

[FRANCOIS]

Yes.  Once you get the first few coats on, it starts to form a skin and oilings are infrequent after that.  I have aged romano for years with just oil rubbings.

I should add that they are vulnerable to yeast infestations if conditions are too moist for too long, but you can scrape them back and reapply the oil.

[Boofer]

Maybe I just get too panicky when I see the black bloom coming through the oil. I guess I expect that the oil should smother this growth and restrict its viability. I really wanted to cure this cheese with an oil-rubbed rind.

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

I do many of my hard cheese especially Italian and Spainsh cheeses by rubbing with olive oil. I will place it in the cave for a week or so to dry then I just soak a cloth and buff it with the oil - I don't soak it.

I have a few large chunks left (1 to 2 pounds) of 3 to 5 year old romano, parmensan and asiago just rubbed in oil for the first year. Now they are in Vac pacs so they don't dry anymore.

[Boofer]

Ok, Debi, so I got a little carried away with my oiling, huh? 

-Boofer-

[zenith1]

Boofer-your good for a another 6000 miles. 

[DeejayDebi]

It's just pricey stuff boofer I try to conserve where I can. I use a lot of it cooking.

[FRANCOIS]

You can use other oils besides olive (grape seed, avocado etc.).  I have tried a few others and found them to work just as well, but they impart different flavors.

[DeejayDebi]

I have tried grape seed oil but found it tends to leave an odd aftertaste after a several months. I thinks it's okay for short lived cheeses but I don't recommend it for long term aging.

Sesame seed oil is similar to grape seed and you have the darkening effect as well, which can be intersting. I think flavor wise I like the sesame oil better than the grape seed oil.

[Majoofi]

I did one with an olive oil treatment that aged for four months and turned out quite nice. I was thinking of doing again. I brushed it with olive oil twice per day for four days. It developed a firm/slightly chewy rind.

[DeejayDebi]

Olive oil is a wonderful thing!

[Boofer]

Okay, so I need to adjust my oiling technique and...be patient. It has only been a couple days since I bagged my Manchego. Perhaps I'll unseal it and proceed.

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

I just dip a wad of cheese cloth on some oil and dab it on then rub it around. Doesn't take a lot and you will do it more than once.