I shall not speak of the first one other than that it got abandoned at some point for a few hours during the process, and cracked majorly when it was drying.
So I was thinking of doing a gouda to age out for a nice long time, maybe over a year?
- 2 gallons PH milk
- 1/4 tsp. Meso II
- 1/2 tsp CaCl2
- 1/2 tsp. rennet
- Salz
- 2 drops of annatto were added, now I think of it
- Heat to 86º (it went up to 92 for a bit) :-\
- Add starter, ripen for 45
- CaCl, rennet, 2 drops annatto (not ideal beacause annatto interferes, but it was added right after because that's when I remembered. Things turned out fine.)
- Cut to 1/2, sit for 5, stir for 5, sit for 5 again
- It took quite a long time, but the curds finally sank, so added 140º water to bring to 92º
- Stir for 10
- Add 110º to bring to 98º, stir for 20, and settle for 10.
- Once again, the curds did not sink well at all, but eventually I just took off a bunch of whey and poured the rest into the colander
- Pressed for 2 hours at 5-10 lb, but then went to bed. The press is great in the day time, but you have to crank it constantly to maintain pressure. Overnight the cheese sinks down, relieving pressure.
- Finished pressing at 10-15 lb. for another four hours the next morning.
- Brined for, not 6 to 8 hours, but 16. Let dry for four hours while I went back to bed, then placed in anti-brine (water with CaCl and vinegar) for about 5-6 hours. Brined again for 3 hours, hoping the rind isn't compromised or anything.
- Since the cheese sank in the brine, having absorbed so much water, it had some slime on the bottom. I've seen this in the past, and it forms a cool, smooth rind, so I left it. ???
- It has been drying for around 48 hours now, and hasn't dried off completely. Moreover, it's somehow gotten a spot or two of blue, a dusting of geo, and on the wet bottom and top, quite a decent amount of b. linens, as you can see in the last picture
- I was planning to wax it, but I am really not sure what to do now. Will waxing prevent the mold from growing more? Do I turn it into a washed-rind experiment?
The linens is even more prevalent today. What do you think? Would a washed rind gouda taste decent?
I don't wax anymore but I do know (if I'm remembering correctly) that the waxing temperatures will kill the surface mold but it seems that your cheese is (or was since your post is more than a week ago) too young to wax yet? Have you tried any brushing with salt / vinegar solution? Curious as to how you've fared.
Okay, sorry for not updating this. So I decided to go green light on project washed rind, and ended up washing it with a brine with wine, oregano, thyme, coriander and cardamom for about a week. But I left for two days around New Years, and since I though the humidity was a bit high, I cracked the lid a bit, which, when I got back, also cracked the cheese a little bit. So I cracked it, and it tastes quite good. Mild, sour, somewhat goaty? in a good way, and with a nice linens kick. I'm wondering what I should do next time to give it a bit less of a linensy kick, not sure if I want my Emmental to taste quite that strong.