Gouda questions

[adalton]

I don't have much experience making Gouda, tried my second Gouda today.  My first dried out and cracked so I threw it away.  My second try I had a couple of problems and it's currently pressing. First problem, is my temperature got closer to 95 degrees instead of 90 and having kids it rested on it's final wash more than the 30 minutes the recipe called for.  Also, as I am pressing it, my follower keeps wanting to tilt after a bit and I'm afraid my 50 lbs weights are gonna slide off and crash on the floor during the night and wake the whole household up.   Should a 4 gallon patch have a wheel that is 7.5" diameter by 4 inches tall?  How soft/firm should the product be after 12 hours of pressing? Is it OK to naked press it after the cheese forms shape after first couple of presses?  It's been pressing for about 4 hours and the whey drips about once a minute is that normal, or where should the density or firmness be after 4 hours?  Thanks for reading and hopefully helping me.

Andy

[ellenspn]

Oh yes, the leaning tower of Gouda...oh how I know thee well.  Drove me to buy a dutch press.  I had trouble stacking weights on top and it staying put all night and day and not shifting/falling/hitting the floor!

[Cloversmilker]

Hi Andy,

The higher temperature may result in a slightly drier harder cheese.  It may be quite good, but probably a bit different than a 'classic' gouda.  Is the curd knitting well in the press?  The size you describe sounds about right for a 4 gallon make.  I haven't removed the cheesecloth to press, but it certainly can be done.    All in all, it sounds like you are off to a good start.  Can you post a pic when it emerges from the press?

[adalton]

I think the Gouda is finally stable, it will be removed from the press in the morning then brined for 12 hours.  I will take a photo of it before it goes in the brine.  After It was undressed to flip for the final press the cheese looked pretty rough around the edges, some of the cloth got smashed between the curds that's when I decided to finish pressing it naked to try and clean it up a bit.  I will probably have pimples on my final product.  Can this cheese be cut or fabricated in anyway before it goes in the brine?  I'm not going to be to picky with my second attempt.  All I know is I will have plenty of time to perfect this cheese, since it's gonna be the only cheese I make until it turns out great.  I just want to get good at one type before I tackle another since a lot of cheeses have different techniques and procedures.

Andy

[ellenspn]

Before you brine your cheese, weigh it.  It needs to be brined at a rate of 3 hour for every pound of cheese.  Brining for 12 hours assumes you have 4 lbs of cheese!

[adalton]

Here are some pictures of it before I put it in the brine.  It's not as smooth as some pictures I have seen on here, but it's only my second attempt, like they say practice makes perfect.  It weighs 5 lbs and I used 4 gallons of milk.  Thanks for all your help and advice!  Oh, can it be dried in the refrigerator?

Andy

[MacGruff]

That is one nice looking block of cheese. Congrats!!!

I am very much of a neophyte at this, but 5 lbs of cheese from 4 gallons seems like a very high yield to me. What recipe are you using? Gouda is one of the cheeses I plan on making at some stage, soon. Are you planning on waxing it? Or vacuuming it?

thanks,

[adalton]

Thanks.  I was planning on waxing it.  I thought the yield was a little high too, should be maybe around 4.5 lbs?

Andy

[Cloversmilker]

The yield depends on the composition of the milk.  Variation in milk composition depends on many factors; breed of cow, goat, or sheep, stage of lactation, feed, season, let-down; you get the picture.  High yield is good; it means that you've trapped more of the milk solids in your cheese. 

FYI; I'm in Oregon and am getting tremendous yields just now from winter milk.  5.8 pounds from 4.5 gallons of raw Jersey milk is fairly typical.  I am needing to use CaCl and up the rennet a bit to get reasonable floc times though. 

[adalton]

That's good to hear.  To bad my Mozzarella and Queso Fresco don't yield out this well.

[Boofer]

Also, as I am pressing it, my follower keeps wanting to tilt after a bit and I'm afraid my 50 lbs weights are gonna slide off and crash on the floor during the night and wake the whole household up.   Should a 4 gallon patch have a wheel that is 7.5" diameter by 4 inches tall?

A few of us have had tilting problems and things going CRASH in the middle of the night. 

-Boofer-

[JeffHamm]

Yes, ski slopes on cheeses are not entirely unheard of!

- Jeff

https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6739.msg47872.html#msg47872