I am about to brine my two Gruyeres and I need to know how long per pound. Also the recipe calls for dry salting after the brining for three days.
I have only ever brined mine at 2 1/2 hours per pound.
This thread has some good discussions on brining for gruyere https://cheeseforum.org/form/index.php/topic,5089.msg38166.html#msg38166 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5089.msg38166.html#msg38166)
Thank you Gort and RBF for your help. It is greatly appreciated.
This is a very timely post for me as I'm about to make a Gruyere tomorrow. Thanks to those who have provided information so far.
I have seen the cheesemaking.com recipe and I am wondering if the dry salting might be more about mould control and rind formation rather than the salt content of the cheese. I say this because no quantity of salt is specified and because I suspect that the penetration of dry salt into a cheese this size would probably be limited unlike, say, a Camembert.
Andrew, I used the NEC recipe and Gort's brine recommendation of 2 1/2 Hrs per LB. I would suspect that there would be a small portion of the salt enter the cheese, but you are probably right in thinking that it's for the rind formation. That was my thought also.
Thanks Mike. I would have thought that 2 1/2 hrs per pound sounds about right, given that it is not a very salty cheese.
Keep us posted -- and be sure to post some pics!