Have recently coated an Asiago with an olive oil and smoked paprika rub----most of the info from the Forum----this is supposed to age out 2 to 4 months-----What's the best way to do that? Vac bag? Any suggestions?
Qdog
You should be fine ripening it as usual. The rub should help prevent mold, if not completely block it.
if you see mold developing on it I suggest massaging it into the oil/paprika coating. If you need to you can add a bit of oil. After a while a while mine didn't get any molds and the coating looked like leather. Post photos?
I should have been more specific in my post-----My cheese cave is very low humidity----because I'm color blind, and all molds look basically the same to me, I have stayed away from natural rinds, so most of my cheese is waxed or vac bagged---I have been experimenting with olive, coconut oil and lard. I believe this is a copy of one of your makes-----the problem----the oil never seems to dry out, and yet the rind seems to be getting very hard and maybe thick---I would prefer it doesn't get to thick. Don't know if it matters, but this was a raw Jersey and PH mix. Any suggestions?
Have posted a couple Pics. Sorry, hard to get good picks with the stainless tables.
Qdog
I guess if it's low humidity you can keep adding coconut oil anywhere the rind looks dry. I had a low humidity wine cooler I used and this technique worked. I noticed I had to add more coconut oil sometimes because it either got absorbed or something else. Let me know how it goes. I think you could keep layering on a paprika and oil mix as well. I think the coconut oil provides more barrier than the olive oil but that's just my guess from my usage.
holy moly those cheeses are beautiful!!
Do you think it would be weird to do this rub on an alpine cheese? I've been considering it but unsure . Thanks!
I suspect it'd work better with Italian than alpine cheeses, based on the flavor profile. But you could try it. :)
I decided to vac seal the cheese and keep an eye on it.
Mermaid-----the great thing about making your own cheese-----you can do what ever appeals to you------it's great fun experimenting------the main reason I used the smoked paprika, is I wanted a slight smoke flavor and have been to lazy to fire up the smoker---that's code-- for getting to old to stand outside in freezing cold weather ;)----I also liked the look---after seeing Tiarellas on this site---just had to try it.
Qdog
I'm trying this rub on a cheese now. How often should I re-oil and add paprika?
I used a thicker layer almost like icing a cake. I watched it and only rubbed some oil on it if I saw some mold. Post photos!!! :D
Quote from: Mermaid on February 13, 2015, 04:54:27 PM
I'm trying this rub on a cheese now. How often should I re-oil and add paprika?
We-ell, I started by oiling it it once, at 3 days or so. And after a week of aging I did a minor one of these, waited every few weeks, and did another one. I suggest oiling either weekly or bi-weekly. You can either add the paprika in installments or like Tiarella, using a huge amount of paprika at one time.
I think either way will work---but me being the cheap skate, and smoked paprika being kind of expensive----I went with one fairly heavy coat and then sprinkled a little more on every couple days-----by the way I'm going to try this come Wednesday, that will be two months, maybe a little early-----but just can't wait to much longer ;D
Qdog
Opened the olive oil and smoked paprika Asiago today--- a little young at just over 2 months. Excellent flavor---good texture----can't say I taste much smoke flavor-----but the color is neat----stains the heck out of cutting board, seems Clorox won't even remove it.
Here's a couple pics.
Qdog
I did one a while back and got everything to set up one of my smokers as a cold smoker. Didn't get any smoke flavor either as I recall but I think I really needed to smoke it for a long time to achieve that.
Beautiful cheese Qdog. Have a cheese! :-)