My first Dunlop

[JeffHamm]

Thanks.  It has a "weak" side (on the left in the photo), so when it sits on that side I have to stick a bundle of cloth under it to prevent it from forming a slope again.  Once the rind firms up it should be ok.  Anyway, it's now air drying and looking good.  Will probably wax it around 2 or 3 weeks, and then age it for 2 or 3 months at least.  It's supposed to be a quick aging cheddar so I'm not looking to keep it around for an extended period, but do want it to have a chance to develop some flavour.  Will see how well we keep to plan.

- Jeff

[MrsKK]

Looking good, Jeff, in spite of the slope.  I've had that happen, too, but it doesn't affect flavor.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

This cheese is comming along nicely.  Today, however, it sprouted some velvety white mold.  I had this come up on a butterkase I've recently made as well.  Both of these cheeses included Flora Danica as the starter culture (although the Butterkase has thermo in there as well).  Neither of them has anything else added as a culture.  Does FD cause a white surface mold to grow?  I've not washed either with a regular brine bath, until I saw this.  I should have taken a photo, but just brined it away.  Just curious if this is worth letting it grow, or is it best to keep it in check.

- Jeff

[WhiteSageFarms]

As a Scotswoman, I must say, your cheese looks lovely, even after the "accident" ! I'll be looking forward to it's progress and to your review of it after you try it.

Laurie Macrae

[kookookachoo]

I think it looks really good, maybe because of the slope.   It does add character & will make for a good coversation before you cut it.     That happened with my feta, I had it on a hoop, hanging on a spatula over a strainer (the strainer was on the lip of the pot), didn't realize it had gotten off the spatula in the middle of the night so it was in the strainer/colander, tilted...luckily, it was only feta, so it didn't really bother me too much!

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Although this still has to age quite awhile before I cut into it I thought I would show an update as it's developing quite a surface.  It's now got a white mold covering it, and some black spots have formed too.  there's also a few bright red spots, and a bright yellow patch.  I've seen similar things on other people's cheeses so I'm not overly worried.  It's now weighing 1290g.  Anyway, can anyone tell me what the white mold is?  I used Flora Danica as the starter.  Does it come from that?

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Just another update on how this one is developing.  It seems to have developed some brownish regions, that have a definate mushroomy or earthy smell to them.  I've not added any kind of wash to this, so I'm not sure where all this growth is comming from.  I've not had any problems with contamination before, and the aroma is not "off" but fits the descriptions that are often used with cheese rinds.  Anyway, I decided to give it a wipe down with white wine vinegar and then a wash with saturated brine.  I've got this in with my romano, and the romano rind is still as clean as the day it was made. 

- Jeff

[pliezar (Ian)]

Jeff,

I was reading that Dunlop can have this type of rind. I found a few pictures for you.  Both kind of have what you have described, so I think you may be on the right track with your cheese.

[JeffHamm]

Thanks Ian.  It all seems properly cheesey type rind developement, I'm more curious about where the molds are comming from.  Presumably natural environment since I'm not adding anything except the starter cultures.  But I suppose it could come from there?

Anyway, I'm glad to see that it's not going too far astray.  We're going away this weekend, so it may end up comming with us and getting eaten.  Not sure yet.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Well, this is now just about 6 weeks on.  It's probably going to get cut into this weekend as this is the target time.  It's now at 1214g, and has developed a bit of crusty outer rind.  I've washed it brine any time blue developed, or if this got a bit too hairy looking, but overall have sort of let it develope.  Not sure how this will turn out, but I'm curious to find out.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Ok, so we decided to try it today.  Here's what it looks like inside.  The aroma, while still cool out of the aging chamber, is very nice.  When slicing it, it was very soft (not like soft cheese soft, but soft hard cheese soft, if that makes any sense) so I'm expecting it to be nice and creamy/moist.  I was getting a bit concerned with fighting the mold, but it's all gone for the best I think.  The rind is not too thick, there are a lot of mechanical holes (my press set up is not adequate to close these as all my pressed cheeses come out this way, whether or not I press in the pot, etc), but I'm not concerned by that.  I'm sure this will melt well, and once it warms up (I've only just cut it now) we'll have a sample.  The small amount that sort of slide up the knife as I was cutting it tasted really good, so I know it's not off.  I was going to wait another day or so, but some friends are comming over tomorrow and I was thinking of giving them some but then realised I wanted to make sure it wasn't a distaster.  It's not, and now I must not let greed take over, my precious!

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Ok, it's at room temp and we just tried it.  Wow!  This is my best one yet I think.  A really nice smooth and creamy texture, with a very definate cheddar flavour.  The rind is not too tough or dry, but has a nice hint of mushrooms to it during the finish, but at just the right level given that this is a mild cheddar after all (they sort of show up just enough to let you know they are there, then fade slowly). 

Sadly, though, when I gave some to my 3 3/4 year old daughter, she took one bite and said "This is not my yummy cheese!  This is for big kids."  (She only likes store bought "tasty cheese", which is a slightly sharp cheddar).  Oh well, all the more for "the big kids" I guess. 

- Jeff

[darius]

It looks wonderful, Jeff... and sounds like it tastes wonderful too. Congrats!

[JeffHamm]

Thanks darius!  I just noted I was originally thinking of aging this 2 or 3 months, but obviously I had forgotten that as I've had it in my head that this one was to be opened at 6 weeks (the minimum indicated in the recipe).  That's ok, as I wanted to know how it was progressing as the rind was doing unexpected things (the black spots, red spots, yellow blotches, and lots of white mold forming).  I figure it's better to sample early on to learn what to look out for.  My confidence is boosted as a result, and I know not to worry if I see similar things develope (although I would like to prevent the black spots as they aren't attractive at all).

- Jeff

[OudeKaas]

Looks nice, and not even "dunlop-sided" as per your initial pics. I have done some in-press salvaging of similar malformations (occupational hazard of ad hoc weight stacking . . . ) and it looks like yours recovered very well. Glad to hear of the nice taste and texture, keep us posted as it ages!