After year now I cut my last "baby Romano".
I use 25% raw goat and 75% raw cow milk with lipase.
That one was first 3 month naked and then 3 month in vacum until I notice some mold under vacum.
I clean mold and I don't never revac it, I build up better humidity at new cave.
I use evoo maybe once at every month, I try to get shiny polish rind but never get it. I wipe rind with coarse paper with evoo like using sandpaper to wood, not help.
Only that side what is last touch to follower in press, get that kind rind.
It lost weight about 25% and now 550g.
I was afraid that it turn out too dry, but not ^-^, taste and texture recall almost proper young grana.
Maybe good with wine and pasta..yes it is ;)
Hande
(//)
congratulations Hande! It sure looks nice. I'm sure that you will find it very nice.
OMG are thos the holy grail calcium deposites found in aged cheeses?
I thought they only apear after 24-36 months of aging.
Thank you Keith :)
I don't know how to get shiny protective rind to grana/romano type ?
Now I use synthetic cheesecloth, which give more smooth rind, but not shiny.
Tomer, I only dream those kind aging times :)
Hande
Hi Hande,
Wow, what a great looking cheese! I've got a romano aging, and am planning on taking it to at least 1 year as well. I can only hope it turns out as well as yours. I've just kept it in the cave, and put some evoo on it every month or two, and was wondering if it would dry out too much. Yours tells me there is hope. Thanks.
- Jeff
Thank you Jeff,
Next weekend I try to make Caciocavallo.
I need to buy some thick cord..
Hande
Linseed oil (flax seed oil) is what was/is used on Gouda. I don't know about parmesan, but I recall reading they use olive oil (makes sense being from Italy), so maybe it's more to do with ageing time, or after first developing a nice dry rind. I'd love to hear what suggestions Parmesan/Romano makers have to achieve that finish.
Oh, Hande, that makes me want to do a Romano. It looks so good! Great job.
-Boofer-
Awesome looking cheese there Hande. Congrats.
That is a beautiful cheese, Hande! And good for you for being able to wait a whole year!
Wow! Makes my mouth water - great job!
My apologies for not leaving a compliment in my previous post. That is a great looking cheese.
Thank you all :)
Year sounds a long time, but it was not so long time in the end.
And fortunately there is so many different cheese to try do ;D
Hande
Quotebut I recall reading they use olive oil (makes sense being from Italy),
Not true, there's no need. Those wheels seep so much fat during aging that it coats the cheese.
Quoteso maybe it's more to do with ageing time, or after first developing a nice dry rind.
It's the brine schedule that sets the stage. You have to create a lovely dehydrated layer by using saturated brine and a long brine period.
QuoteI'd love to hear what suggestions Parmesan/Romano makers have to achieve that finish.
Really, it's as simple as that. Make a huge wheel, ensure tight outer rind with cloth, let it form up and acidify, brine in saturated brine to form the crust, and then age. Brush back every so often and the rest forms on its own.
Pav, I use normally 18% brine and 4hours/lb.
Should I make fully saturated brine for grana type to get harder rind and is it brining time still same ?
Hande
Hande, how much fat in the milk and what size wheel? Those determine timing. I think for grana, yes, need to use saturated.
Pav, I don't know fat content exactly, because I pic up milk at local farm.
For parma style I scoop pit of fat on top out, but not example for Asiago or Romano.
For 8" mold I use 5 gallon and it came out about 3inch high and 6" mold I use 4 gallon and came out 4inch high.
Hande
edit.
I found some paper where fat content was 4.4 %.
Quote from: linuxboy on September 16, 2011, 06:02:46 PM
Quoteso maybe it's more to do with ageing time, or after first developing a nice dry rind.
It's the brine schedule that sets the stage. You have to create a lovely dehydrated layer by using saturated brine and a long brine period.
QuoteI'd love to hear what suggestions Parmesan/Romano makers have to achieve that finish.
Make a huge wheel,
So I guess you have to make a large wheel so you dont oversalt the cheese yet condition the rind to a crust.
What would be an alternative for smaller formats? 1-2 kg ?
Dry salting after brining?
Got it, then for saturated, salt at about what you were doing, 3.5-4 hrs/lb for a wheel that size.
Quote
So I guess you have to make a large wheel so you dont oversalt the cheese yet condition the rind to a crust.
Exactly. Somewhat hard to do with a smaller one because if you have ever tried to nibble on a piece of real parmiggiano crust, it is solid, almost like a rock.
QuoteDry salting after brining?
No, still brining. But keep humidity higher to prevent excess moisture loss, and try to increase the cheese moisture by a few percentages. Crust formation is about dehydrating the rind. Best way for that is to fuse the outer surface of the rind by using cloth or other method, and then brining in saturated brine.
LB, I know the parmaggiano is a huge wheel, but do you think a 25 pound wheel would be large enough to accomplish it? I've been trying to talk the owner into letting me do a grana, but he doesn't want to have to hold onto the cheese that long. I did finally get him to agree to hold onto 1 wheel (gouda) a month for the purpose of ageing for 18 months.
Quotebut do you think a 25 pound wheel would be large enough to accomplish it?
For what term maturation? I think the best practice assuming you can control affinage is about a 6x6 cylinder for a 12-14 month maturation, if you want a decent rind, and cheese with good paste. Assume 25-28% water loss at 85-88% RH over 12-14 months, if you're watching the MFFB. So 25 lbs is definitely enough with a good cylinder. If you're doing an alpine/gruyere shape, then you can still do it, but up the MFFB by a tad, but also keep the room more humid.
QuoteI've been trying to talk the owner into letting me do a grana, but he doesn't want to have to hold onto the cheese that long.
IMHO, hard sell. You're competing with real parmiggiano at $10/lb when on sale. Unless you did grass fed/organic grana clone using whey starters for the marketing angle, then you could do $25 ish/lb retail at 16 months. Hard market for parm.
Quote1 wheel (gouda) a month for the purpose of ageing for 18 months.
Nice. Hard there, too, because there's so much competition from specialties like Old Amsterdam and great domestics like Marieke. Are you using classic undefined strain DL culture to get that complex amino acid profile? Makes for some amazing cheese right at 14-24 months. If you're doing gouda, I would do the classic Dutch rindless system to reduce waste. Not sure what a rind would accomplish? Maybe if you did an adjuncted gouda with 35% MFFB and washed it with a morge, that would make for a fun rind. I've done ones like that (pediolacti, helveticus, acidophilus adjunct) for some really tasty and fairly unique flavor profiles.
We actually don't have an issue selling our cheese. We are having a difficult time keeping up with the demand from our distributor. I'll brag more about that in a separate thread. Actually, I feel like I'm thread jacking, sorry Hande, so I'll pm you.
Nice, love to hear news like that. Hande, your cheeses look fabulous. Use saturated brine and keep the humidity fairly high, brushing back mold growth, and you should continue to make some tasty treats :)
Thank you LB, I go next time saturated brine.
Not worry smilingcalico :)
Hande