Edam - After Pressing Texture & Brining

[Bowl]

I've recently made an edam. I pressed it just like it said in the recipe. Though when I took it out of the press it was still moderately soft, almost rubbery.

Have I done something wrong? Or do I just need to press it a little longer?

[Gina]

I've never made an edam, nor read a recipe, so I cant say for sure. Hard cheeses just out of the press usually need to be brined/salted, dried a bit, then aged so their textures do change towards dryness over time.

[Bowl]

Thanks very much 

[9mmruger]

When I took my Goats Milk Cheddar out of the press it was very soft as well.  After about a week of air drying it has firmed up nicely.

[Bowl]

Ahh, thanks, I feel much more asured now 

[Alex]

Edam isn't a hard cheese, it's ruther a semi-hard cheese, so it should be springy/rubbery. Also I can't feel your cheese, it sounds you are OK, put it in brine 3-4 hrs/lb.

[iratherfly]

Yes, also make sure your brine is saturated (18% salt, or 1 part salt to 4.5 parts water) and contains Calcium Chloride so that it does not deplete the cheese off its own Calcium Chloride - that would weaken it.

Another possibility is that you did not cut your curd small enough and it contains too much moisture. If you have waited too long to cut it than the curd may build up cells that would prevent moisture and whey from escaping, thus trapping more moisture  in - which could mean soft cheese.

[Bowl]

I dont think my brine is salty enough... also it has no CaCl2...

[Sailor Con Queso]

If your brine does not contain CaCl2, it will pull the calcium out of the cheese. It will feel soft and slimy when you remove it from the brine.

[woodsman]

Wouldn't brining in whey help?

[iratherfly]

Whey will greatly effect your acidity levels, cheese flavor and rind formation. I would avoid that. Also, whey doesn't necessarily have the same level of CalCl2 in it (or higher) as the cheese.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I use whey for brine all the time. Since it's from a cheese that I just made, the acidity level is pretty close and easy to adjust if necessary. I just add salt and a little CaCl2 back in to compensate for the calcium lost during the make.

[iratherfly]

It may work on some cheese. The thing is that whey's acidity level curve takes a sharp change over the few hours following cheesemaking in comparison to the curd's acidity change speed. Water is more neutral and follows the cheese. Whey dictates to the cheese its acidity levels and sometimes its acidic taste. I feel I have more control with water. What kind of cheese is it you are doing with the whey Sailor?

[Sailor Con Queso]

Because I am not going to be allowed to make soft, fresh cheeses without on-site pasteurization, I make strictly hard, aged cheeses. I have made dozens of different types. Sometime I make whey Ricotta first, but I always collect a gallon or so of whey for both brining and domestic cooking - bread, soup, etc. The whey that gets used for brining gets heated up to around 150F (no hotter or the albumin proteins might start precipitating) to facilitate a saturated salt solution. Salt and CaCl2 are added and the whey goes into my frig as soon as it has cooled down.

The next morning I test the pH of the brine and adjust close to 4.7 or so depending on the cheese. If it's a washed curd cheese, I adjust to 5.0. Let it warm up to room temp and it's ready to use. I have had no problems. We all know that a water based brine has to have CaCl2 added to prevent calcium from being pulled out of the cheese. But what about all of the other wonderful trace minerals, enzymes, etc.? Just like salt gets pulled into the cheese, with a water based brine those minerals are going to be pulled out as well, reducing the long term complexity of the cheese. Well, that's my rationale anyway.

I am within 2 weeks of opening my own legal cheese shop - Boone Creek Creamery. (pictures coming soon). Everything is finished and just waiting for inspection. In the meantime I have been doing a lot of test batches to get my techniques down for larger sizes. I do have to say that managing large quantities of whey is a bit of a challenge. I have NOT figured out how to take small scale whey brine and manage that for larger scale production. So... against my better judgement, I am using water based brine for the time being.

[Alex]

I use whey brine only for ageing and storing my Feta.