Gruyere rind

dayflowr · May 20, 2011, 03:59:56 PM

So I'm trying my first gruyere. Have been washing the rind every other day as the instructions say. I'm not sure what it's supposed to look like. It is kind of slimy and definitely stinky. Did I do something wrong or will it harden up after I stop washing it?

ArnaudForestier · May 20, 2011, 04:09:20 PM

How long have you been doing this? I ask, because from what I know (and am practicing now), I daily wash, but only to begin the morge establishment. I then been washing 2x week, watching the rind all the while.

With my two older Beauforts, because linens was having a tough time getting started, I know I returned to a daily wash under 8% brine, until I saw evidence of good linens growth. But that is not a usual pattern - this was to address an issue (of my own making), with relatively high geo and relatively poor linens development.

Without knowing more, it sounds like you might have good linens establishment already. After the daily washing period, most traditional makes I've seen follow this 2x weekly wash regimen to market maturation, when the wheel is moved to the fromageur's shop and simply maintained- usually, with a 1x/week wash.

dayflowr · May 20, 2011, 06:39:42 PM

I am washing every two days. Started one week ago. My instructions say to do this for a month. Should it be mushy on the outside and smelly?

ArnaudForestier · May 20, 2011, 06:43:19 PM

Mushy, no. Did you do any kind of drying off period, after salting/brining?

dayflowr · May 20, 2011, 09:02:13 PM

I let it sit for 2 days at room temp to dry. It was dry when I put it in my cave. Am I supposed to be drying it off after I wash the rind?

ArnaudForestier · May 20, 2011, 09:19:28 PM

No, that's right. The only thing I can think of is that the press was maybe not very complete - so that the rind may have felt dry to the touch, but the paste was still quite moist? Mind you - please take what I say with a grain of salt, as I'm still very new myself. Pav, Francois, Sailor - these are my gurus, so perhaps they'll chime in. Does it literally feel "mushy," like the rind could form rind rot, or just sticky, to the touch?

dayflowr · May 22, 2011, 06:27:07 AM

The cheese itself is not mushy. Still quite solid. The outside is just slimy. And stinks VERY badly. I'm pretty sure my humidity is too high. I'm using a mini-fridge with a temp controller to keep it at 52 degrees but I don't know how to reduce the humidity. When I wash the rind am I just supposed to be brushing brine onto it or am I literally washing (scrubbing) it?

ArnaudForestier · May 22, 2011, 09:37:24 AM

dayflowr, without seeing pics or knowing more, it sounds to me like you've just got good linens going - slimy is close to my association, a kind of stickiness. You can pull back on the washing regimen, say, 2x weekly now, and see. Pav calls it "layering" on of a good, hard rind, with even linens development, and that makes sense to me, for a gruyere styled cheese. What are you using as a wash?

By the way, a gruyere sits in quite a high RH - 98% isn't too high. So, I'd warrant you're not too high in humidity.

dayflowr · May 23, 2011, 06:38:33 PM

I'll take a picture of it tonight and attach it. I would definitely say its a cross between sticky and slimy. It smells super bad. Is it supposed to?

ArnaudForestier · May 23, 2011, 06:40:49 PM

Sorry, dayflwr, difficult for me to assess what you mean by "bad," since everyone's measure of that is different. Linens smells strong. To me, it's heaven sent. To others, as nasty as it gets. A pic might help to clear it up.

dayflowr · May 24, 2011, 04:05:21 PM

Here is a picture.

Boofer · May 25, 2011, 01:31:34 PM

Looks like bread batter. Any way you could make the pic a little smaller

?

What recipe did you use? Did you brine it? If so, how long and what strength was your brine?

-Boofer-

ArnaudForestier · May 25, 2011, 01:57:35 PM

Sorry, dayflowr, I was in the middle of a make myself yesterday. Sorry, very hard for me to tell. Doesn't look like late-gas blowing, though it looks "puffed up" to my eyes - the sides are not bowing out. I agree with Boof, that there does seem to have a kind of doughy-ness to the look. Has it looked like this from the start? And the stench - would you characterize it more like rotten eggs, or sweaty gym socks, left a bit too long in the locker?

mtncheesemaker · June 23, 2011, 01:52:44 PM

Here is my almost 2 month old gruyere-style cheese. I didn't add any B. linens or Geo, just washed it some. It is faintly sticky to the touch, smells fine.
The question is, where to from here? I don't really know what I'm looking for. I'm aging it in a box in the 48-52F fridge.
Thanks for any comments.

Boofer · June 23, 2011, 02:10:35 PM

Quote from: mtncheesemaker(Pam) on June 23, 2011, 01:52:44 PM
Here is my almost 2 month old gruyere-style cheese. I didn't add any B. linens or Geo, just washed it some. It is faintly sticky to the touch, smells fine.
The question is, where to from here? I don't really know what I'm looking for. I'm aging it in a box in the 48-52F fridge.
Thanks for any comments.

Looks like volunteer geo on the surface there. I haven't done Gruyere but I believe Beaufort is a close cousin. I've done a few of those and posted some pics of their progress to show what I encountered. You should be getting some b. linens in addition to the geo, yet your cheese looks fairly clear of any rind development. Have you seen anything like that?

-Boofer-