Yesterday I cracked open a Gouda, about 600 grams I made and waxed in December last year, exactly six months. This is the like of it. The problem is the taste. It is bland, no after flavours, it seems like it might melt but I yet have to try that.
Again, bland, no character, not displeasing but not a Gouda...
So discouraging. It had been turned twice a week. Wax never had a leak, or a swelling or anything. It really felt like under the wax I would find something hard and aged....
So I left out the 1/4 for further testing in melts or see if it improves in a couple of days, and I vac packed the other 3/4 in one big piece, placed it in the back of the fridge and maybe will retry at 9 months. And yes I also noticed that it had some late blowing....
I just tossed a 4 pound wheel of Gouda for late blowing. The funny part is I used Ph milk to make this cheese. Didn't know you could get late blowing using that but after vacuum packing the cheese the vacuumed bag blew up like a balloon and the cheese split everywhere. Rather toss it then risk getting someone sick. Back to the drawing table. >:(
Yeah, I think I must have done something wrong somewhere along the process. Maybe disinfection or something. But it is so disappointing to wait for 6 months and toss it away!!!
Quote from: Al Lewis on December 12, 2017, 06:03:49 PM
I just tossed a 4 pound wheel of Gouda for late blowing. The funny part is I used Ph milk to make this cheese. Didn't know you could get late blowing using that but after vacuum packing the cheese the vacuumed bag blew up like a balloon and the cheese split everywhere.>:(
Your milk was contaminated AFTER pasteurization.
I had a Havarti go that way a few years back and resolved to be a bit more careful, although I could not pinpoint a source of contamination.
All was good until earlier this year and an Edam blew - very disappointing.
I will follow this post closely in case anyone can offer suggestions about the causes. The common factor seems to be that it is two out of the three washed curd cheeses that I have made. The second, an Edam, worked well.
(I ate the Havarti with no ill effects but because I was making the latest Edam for someone else, I ditched it.)
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on December 13, 2017, 10:52:53 PM
Your milk was contaminated AFTER pasteurization.
Yeah, that's what I figured Salior. I try really hard to sanitize everything but I guess something slipped through the crack. Well live and learn. Making three smaller ones tomorrow. We'll see how they go.
Sorry to hear that Al.....that is so disappointing after all the work and anticipation.
Having experienced some late blow in my wash curd cheese of recent..I was reading some of this information here and also reading the scientific literature..some of what is written here is not what the scientific literature says and i fear its mis-leading. I pulled some passages written by Alvenas 2015 for the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Page 8 Late gas defect is a typical condition of cheeses contaminated with propionic acid bacteria (PAB) or spore-forming Clostridia
Page 10 Clostridia spp. and Bacillus spp. are endospore-forming bacteria. (Willey et al. 2012)
Page 10 Endospore-forming bacteria and other spoilage organisms can be transferred from the cow to the milk if the udder is contaminated from dirt; either from soil, faeces or the bedding material (Heyndrickx et al. 2010)
Page 16 Pasteurization destroys the most heat-tolerant vegetative milk pathogens; Coxiella burnettii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mold
spores are also destroyed, but not endospores (De Jong 2008; Ledenbach & Marschall 2010).
Page 17 Brine-salting is applied to most cheese varieties e.g. Gouda and Edam (Guinee 2007). It often takes a few weeks before salt has diffused from the rind to the interior which can pose a problem since proper and rapid salting inhibit blowing defects (Di Cagno & Gobbetti 2007
Page 20 Late blowing by Clostridia and PAB most often occur when salting is insufficient and pH is high (Featherstone 2008)
So it seems the endospores survive pasterization and most likely source is the milk handling pre-purchase but of course it may be introduced in the kitchen but less likely.
This all stands to reason in my case.
I have been making all types of cheeses over the last two years only of raw milk with no blow about 2 pounds each.
Recently in efforts to make larger wheels of cheese 7-8 pounds I have been adding in some pasteurized milk to my vat..raw is pricey.
Of my curd wash cheeses I've lost a few to blow.
OK I've done two things different.
New milk source and larger cheese. Milk source may not be an issue but the penetration of salt from the brine into the larger wheels happens to slow to prevent the endospores to start growing and producing gas. I'm going to look into longer brining time or maybe an additive like lysozyme. Additionally I think I know which milk source is the problem now that I've used 4 different 'brands'.