I have brined some Goudas and I have rubbed salt on some Gorgonzolas. I much prefer the simplicity of rubbing salt on the cheese, as compared to brining and keeping care of the brine. So my question is which cheeses can I make (other than Gorgonzola) by rubbing salt on?
I prefer dry salting also and do it on all my cheeses. I don't make a lot of hard pressed cheeses, but have made Manchego style, Monterey Jack style, Tome style, and Gorgonzola style by dry salting and all worked out just fine. I do quite a few bloomy rind cheeses and dry salt those as well and that is the preferred method since bloomies are high in moisture.
Susan
Wow! What an eye opener! Just because the recipe and tradition say a gouda must be brined, doesn't mean you have to! I'm going to try that - Thanks for the advice! 8)
Funny, I find the brine to be easier! I mixed up my brine 4 years ago, adding to the volume about 1 year ago, and just keep using it. I have brought it to a rolling simmer for a few minutes twice over the years, running it through a filter after. I put a generous handful of salt on top of the cheese and repeat on flipping the cheese in the brine. The brine jars are stored on my "cave".
How do you know how much salt to rub on the outside to get the desired salting?
QuoteHow do you know how much salt to rub on the outside to get the desired salting?
For my bloomy rind cheeses it is generally about 1/2 to 1 tsp per cheese depending on the size of the cheese. For the larger pressed cheeses it is a good coating of salt all over that seems to work well for me. I guess it just comes down to practice and what I prefer. When I first started taking cheese making classes that was how the instructor did all her cheeses, so kind of stuck with it. Space for brine is an issue for me also, so salting is easier to deal with and I like the results.
Susan
You're also going to need to dry longer. And the best way to figure out how much salt to use is probably just looking up percentage of salt by weight added to that sort of cheese and adding a little extra. I imagine it'll take longer for the salt levels to even out within the cheese, and thus other moisture and pH variables, so wait a bit longer before sealing than you would otherwise.