I got my 4-5lb Tomme mold a couple of weeks ago, and finally had a chance to fill it with something! I wanted to try a Swiss style cheese, so decided to make a Gruyere. My sous vide setup that I have been using is limited on volume, so I went back to my pot in a pot setup (it's really nice to have a few large pot options leftover from my homebrewing days!) The whole process went very smoothly (luck, or maybe I'm getting some muscle memory?), and I was rewarded this morning with what I think is a pretty good looking cheese coming out of the press. I dropped it in a brine where it will stay for 9-12 hours, then air dry and age. Here's the recipe and process (which I stole from a post Smurfmacaw made a while back):
4 gallons milk
1/2 tsp Thermo B (only Thermo I have on had)
3/4 tsp CaCL
1/2 tsp Rennet
Heat milk to 90 degrees, hydrate starter, stir, then let acidify for 40 minutes
Add CaCL, stir, add rennet, stir, then let set 40-50 minutes for a clean break
Cut curds to 1/2" pieces, let set for 5 minutes
Raise temp to 122 over an hour, stirring gently, then let set for 20 minutes
Transfer curds to a lined mold, press under whey @ 1 PSI for 15 minutes
Flip, redress, press @ 1.75 PSI for 30 minutes
Flip, redress, press @ 1.75 PSI for 60 minutes
Flip, redress, press @ 3 PSI for 4 hours
Flip, redress, press @ 3 PSI for 12 hours or overnight
A few pics I captured along the way......
A very full vat!!
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7917/32182214917_52a703140f_k.jpg)
I made curds!
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7910/47071950832_66cfd9d6c7_k.jpg)
Second pressing:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7910/32182214377_2514103a4d_k.jpg)
Fresh out of the press with nubbies:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7913/47071950472_e476955ecb_k.jpg)
Thanks for looking!
R
Awesome! I've been eyeing gruyere for a while now as a cheese I'd like to make. How do you plan on maintaining the rind and how long do you plan on aging it for?
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 05:09:41 PM
Awesome! I've been eyeing gruyere for a while now as a cheese I'd like to make. How do you plan on maintaining the rind and how long do you plan on aging it for?
I'm thinking of washing the rind with white wine, and am aiming to keep it clean. Maybe daily for a couple of weeks, then a few times a week for a couple of months. I'd like to keep my hands off of it for at least 6 months, and will probably cut it then and save a piece or two for some longer aging.
Rich
Looks great, Rich. The Gruyère family is my favorite style to make, and to eat. Such an amazing set of choices and flora given to us to work with. Looking forward to seeing how this grows (no pun intended)!
Looks good! AC4U.
Quote from: rgreenberg2000 on February 17, 2019, 08:08:15 PM
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 05:09:41 PM
Awesome! I've been eyeing gruyere for a while now as a cheese I'd like to make. How do you plan on maintaining the rind and how long do you plan on aging it for?
I'm thinking of washing the rind with white wine, and am aiming to keep it clean. Maybe daily for a couple of weeks, then a few times a week for a couple of months. I'd like to keep my hands off of it for at least 6 months, and will probably cut it then and save a piece or two for some longer aging.
Rich
Sounds good, are you making a wine brine or just doing straight white wine?
I have only recently begun trying out washed rinds, but they are really fun! From my limited knowledge I think a good washing schedule for a 6 month aging period would be washing daily for 10-14 days, then washing 2-3 times per week until you hit 2 months total or so, and then letting it dry out and only washing when needed to keep mold down. I may be off on that but that seems to be what a lot of people suggest (and basically what you were already planning on it sounds like)
Thanks, Paul and Andy. Nice to get to a point where the process is comfortable and repeatable......and, I'm only a couple of weeks away from finally getting to eat some of this cheese I've been making! :)
R
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 09:18:06 PM
Sounds good, are you making a wine brine or just doing straight white wine?
I have only recently begun trying out washed rinds, but they are really fun! From my limited knowledge I think a good washing schedule for a 6 month aging period would be washing daily for 10-14 days, then washing 2-3 times per week until you hit 2 months total or so, and then letting it dry out and only washing when needed to keep mold down. I may be off on that but that seems to be what a lot of people suggest (and basically what you were already planning on it sounds like)
Honestly, I'm not 100% sure on what I'm going to do just yet. I'm not really looking to encourage much of anything to grow on the rind, so maybe just a straight white wine wash. I'm still doing some reading to figure out what direction I want to go with it (....and fully aware that my plan and what it ends up doing have a strong probability of being very different!) :)
R
Quote from: rgreenberg2000 on February 17, 2019, 09:21:13 PM
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 09:18:06 PM
Sounds good, are you making a wine brine or just doing straight white wine?
I have only recently begun trying out washed rinds, but they are really fun! From my limited knowledge I think a good washing schedule for a 6 month aging period would be washing daily for 10-14 days, then washing 2-3 times per week until you hit 2 months total or so, and then letting it dry out and only washing when needed to keep mold down. I may be off on that but that seems to be what a lot of people suggest (and basically what you were already planning on it sounds like)
Honestly, I'm not 100% sure on what I'm going to do just yet. I'm not really looking to encourage much of anything to grow on the rind, so maybe just a straight white wine wash. I'm still doing some reading to figure out what direction I want to go with it (....and fully aware that my plan and what it ends up doing have a strong probability of being very different!) :)
R
Cool, for what it's worth I do half wine, half water, and 8% salt by weight and it seems to work out pretty well. You'll probably want some salt in there if you are trying to keep a clean rind...the salt/alcohol combo is a good mold deterrent.
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 09:46:49 PM
Cool, for what it's worth I do half wine, half water, and 8% salt by weight and it seems to work out pretty well. You'll probably want some salt in there if you are trying to keep a clean rind...the salt/alcohol combo is a good mold deterrent.
So 8% of the water/wine weight in salt? Sounds like a good plan. I'm thinking some salt will be necessary.
R
Quote from: rgreenberg2000 on February 17, 2019, 10:02:37 PM
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 09:46:49 PM
Cool, for what it's worth I do half wine, half water, and 8% salt by weight and it seems to work out pretty well. You'll probably want some salt in there if you are trying to keep a clean rind...the salt/alcohol combo is a good mold deterrent.
So 8% of the water/wine weight in salt? Sounds like a good plan. I'm thinking some salt will be necessary.
R
Correct, I've seen anything from 5-18% recommended, I just kinda arbitrarily went with 8% and it's worked out well.
If you haven't yet I'd give this thread a read, tons of great info:
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.msg80498.html#msg80498 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.msg80498.html#msg80498)
Quote from: cheesehead94 on February 17, 2019, 11:32:52 PM
If you haven't yet I'd give this thread a read, tons of great info:
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.msg80498.html#msg80498 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.msg80498.html#msg80498)
Oh, yeah, I've got that one bookmarked and have read through it a few times! Alps has some other gems out there, too on the subject of washing.
R
Well, after a while of washing it daily (50/50 water/wine and 8% salt), I decided I needed to wax a cheese for the first time. So, here is my Gruyere freshly waxed, and ready to nap for a few months.....Night, night! :)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7801/40340052023_3613cdeec6_k.jpg)
Cheers,
R
Great looking wax job, can't wait to see what happens when it opens!
Quote from: cheesehead94 on March 07, 2019, 03:50:49 AM
Great looking wax job, can't wait to see what happens when it opens!
Thanks, I was pretty pleased with it for my first time. I need to get a handle on my humidity in my cave, as I had to clean a bit of mildew off a couple of times along the way.
Thanks again for the wash proportions. Seemed to work out pretty well. Got a little linens growth, but wasn't really looking for that.
R
Yes, well done. A little linens on a Gruyere is traditional ... ? I think?
What did you use to melt your wax? I have a crock pot full of cheese wax that I no longer use - I've gone exclusively to the "dark side" (vacuum bagging). Not sure what it would cost to ship it, but if anyone wants to pay the shipping, I'd be happy to give the crock pot and wax for free.
Quote from: awakephd on March 07, 2019, 09:16:15 PM
What did you use to melt your wax?
I just used a cheap pot, and watched the temps very carefully on the stove. The wax will live in that pot from now on.
R
It looks amazing! Congratulations!