My first attempt, started with 2 gallons of store bought milk. Hopefully it works out, I did a mix of two recipes on here and tried my hand the flocculation method (very easy) and checking the pH with those cheap strips.
Notes:
I wasn't sure if the flora danica (bought from http://www.cheesemaking.com/ (http://www.cheesemaking.com/)) was in addition to the mesophilic culture or if it was to be used by itself? So, I added the mesophilic and flora danica.
Seemed that the final cheese pressing whey was very acidic (4.5-5 pH)
Final press weight was ~2psi. The cheese feels 'soft and squishy' I've only made cheddars before so I don't know if this is normal.
OK, pics!
The first is the first press in the brine
The Second is what it looked like coming out of the first press
The third is the brine (I used the whey from the first wash)
and the last is my cheese!
Looks good gouda is kind of bouncy I think you've got it.
"bouncy" is the perfect word, thanks! It's now ready to be waxed and I'm thinking of making another this weekend. Trying to get more cheese in the cave so I can get a rotation going.
Bouncy may not be a cheese technical word but it works for me.
So opened this up today. It tastes like a gouda! Yay. It has a creamy texture though it tends to stick to your teeth a bit and the texture seems like there are some very small curds in it. ??? It's hard to explain, but in the end I'm very happy with it.
Ready to make a new one next week