I managed not to cut into it for two years. Raw milk, bagged for 1-1/2 years, cream coated for three months and recoated for the final three months. Very nice nutty flavor and good texture. Not overly dried out.
Great job! AC4U!
Nice job
2 years! I am impressed you could wait that long.
This is just the inspiration I need to persevere with parmesan. My current one is having issues. If it doesn't turn out, I will just have to try again.
Ah, 2 years isn't long. :) I'm currently on my last quarter of a Romano style that is > 4 years old. The parmesan that will follow is currently32 months along; it will probably be 3 years old at least by the time I open it. I've also got about 1/3 of a Cantal in the cave that is right at 2.5 years old, and I've got a long-aging Gouda in the cave that is just shy of 2 years old. With the Gouda I'm aiming for at least 3 years before I open it.
The key to long aging is to have a rotation of cheeses that you make, something like this:
- Short-aging cheese (3 wks - 3 months)
- Medium-aging cheese (3 months-1 year)
- Short aging cheese
- Medium-aging cheese
- Short aging cheese
- Long aging cheese (>1 year)
- Go back to #1 and repeat
The exact pattern that I follow depends on how often I'm able to make cheese, how much time I have when making it, and the whim of the moment.
The point is always to have some cheese "in the pipeline" that is coming of age and ready to eat; meanwhile the medium and long-aging cheeses can sit back in the cave, semi-forgotten, until they emerge in glory. :)
My go-to short-aging cheeses are Camembert, Caerphilly, or Lancashire; my go-to medium-aging cheeses are Asiago, Emmentaler, and Double Gloucester or other cheddar; and my go-to long-aging cheeses are the parms and long-aged Goudas. But there are various others mixed in - definitely an occasional blue (I am especially liking the smoked blue that I have experimented with, but this is best made when the weather is cold so that the cheese will stay cold while smoking); an occasional Cantal; an occasional experiment with something altogether new.
Unfortunately, my cheese making has been rather limited and sporadic lately, and as a result my rotation has been inconsistent. I've gotten a couple of medium-aging cheeses in the cave, but really need to get a couple more long-aging cheeses (especially a parm) into the pipeline so that they can start building up age. But the last few times I've been able to make cheese, I've needed to replenish my supply of short-aging cheese, so I've made camemberts instead. Very annoying when my job gets in the way of my hobbies! Fortunately, there is some down-time coming up, so hopefully I'll be able to do some restocking of the pipeline.
Andy,
That is really good cheese scheduling advice. It's sooooo hard to wait when you only have room for 3 cheeses in your cave, like I do at the moment (tomorrow is a trip into town to pursue larger options).
I'm in awe of all of you that make long-agers such as parm and romano, etc. I don't think I'll ever have the patience for that? Maybe some day.
One thing I have started, is a list on top of the cave lid that documents the cheeses inside and their age start date...that way I can contemplate which cheese is ready without having to open up the cave and look at them individually. I would think that would be even handier if you have a dozen or more cheeses going at one time?
Cheers, Susan
Oh, good point, Susan - the rotation definitely assumes that you have enough cave space to handle this. As far as tracking when the cheese is made ... I keep a spreadsheet log of my cheese makes, and that lets me check the age without opening the cave. I also label the cheeses themselves (once they are vacuum-bagged).
Yes, good advice by Andy. I practice rotation all the time when i remember. I currently have six cheddars, four Goudas and four parms all in different stages.
Wow, I'm envious - my collection is awfully thin these days. 1 parm, 1 long-aged Gouda, 1 Double Gloucester, 1 blue, 1 Asiago, 1 Emmentaler, 1/3 of a Cantal. Just finished off a batch of camembert, and haven't been able to get another batch into the pipeline just yet. Too much work, not enough time for hobbies ... :(