About 6 weeks ago I made a Havarti. I added some fresh chives and a bit of dill seed. I didn't want to over power with the dill seed so just used a wee bit. I was afraid I'd over brined it since I forgot and it brined an hour extra. Also when I made this cheese the curds were "drier" than any I had made prior. I wasn't sure if this was because they were actually right or were in fact too dry. I had been making cheese for about 5 weeks or so and didn't have a good sense of curd texture. I still dont 100% but I am starting to get a feel. Reading this forum helps a lot. Interestingly, my cheese developed a beautiful orange color and the sides had an extra layer of GC. I didn't add any BLinens to this but I had made a Port Salut a few weeks prior and it was still sitting out at RT when I made the Havarti. These two cheeses have been the only cheeses to have an orange color so I have to think the Havarti got somehow contaminated by the Port Salut.
Fast forward to today. I think it came out very well. It looks great with nice small holes like real Havarti. It melts wonderfully, again like real havarti. The only down side is the chives. I would not use them again in this cheese. The taste of the chives is not overwhelming but I think the buttery, sweetness of this cheese would be better without them. I cannot taste the dill seed at all. As for salt, it is not in the least too salty. In fact, a little more salt wouldn't hurt.
Picture one shows the orange color, picture 2 shows a closer look of the inside of the cheese.
That looks beautiful, AC4U.... 8)
I used 1 tsp. per gallon in my Dill Havarti, and it was about right, you could taste it without it being overpowering.... I'm doing a Cotswold next (Double Gloucester with Onions and Chives) and looking forward to it....
Bob
Thanks! I want to do a cotswold, too since I have a bunch of chives in the garden. I also want to try a Sage Derby since I have a ton of sage as well. Too many options, so little time! I look forward to your Costwold post. :-)
We have done a Derby, it's a very nice cheese, and we will probably repeat it.... I'm not sure green cheese is in the cards, though, even though we also have a ton of Sage.... ::)
Perhaps I will let you lead the way and see how much you rave about your Sage Derby.... ;)
Bob
Ha! Hopefully it's worth raving about
It looks better with an orange rind. Did you wash the rind? Original danish Havarti is washed rind, most likely has an orange rind and stinky.
Well, I did wipe it with a light brine to try and keep mold down but I think it had already started to turn orange by then. It is pretty though so I am not disappointed in its hue. :)
Yeah, I was impressed when I saw the pic. It looks pretty much exactly what I imagine a natural rind havarti should look like.
For washing rinds, just remember that as soon as the rind pH gets high enough b. linens *will* appear. So there is a limit to how late you can wash the rind if you are trying to avoid it. If it shows up and you don't want it, keep the humidity down and you will get a nice rind like you have ;-) Personally, I love the flavour of a dried off rind washed rind.
Alpine cheeses tend to do a schmear early on and then dry it off. This basically stops anything from growing on the rind after that point.