CheeseForum.org » Forum

As the title suggests, I have a mystery cheese on my hands. Well, some of it is in my stomach, but I digress ...

I made a Gouda, or what I thought was a Gouda, just over six months ago, with the intention of allowing at least six months of aging. According to my notes, I was quite pleased with the make, feeling that I had hit the target temps with just the right amount of whey removed and hot water added.

So last week I removed the wax, finding two small areas of moisture, but no damage to the rind that I could see. I cut it open, and revealed a very crumbly cheese (see picture) -- very, very crumbly. That alone makes it seem like not-a-Gouda-after-all.

Taste -- well, it it tastes quite good. But not like a Gouda, I don't think. Quite a complex flavor, good salt level, with just a bit of a lipase-ish tang to it, even though I used P&H milk and added no lipase. And very crumbly -- did I mention that? Not smooth and nutty, as I was expecting an aged Gouda to be.

I offer this failed-Gouda-but-fortuitously-tasty tale in hopes that someone will have magical insights into what may have gone wrong. I have to admit up front that this "not-Gouda" was made 1) before I acquired a PH meter, and 2) before I realized that one could not casually leave a Gouda in the press overnight and assume that it would not acidify too much before it went into the brine in the morning. So one likely guess is that the PH got way too low, leading to the crumbliness and perhaps also some or all of the flavor profile. But is there any other culprit I should suspect?

While you ponder this, I will return to snacking on my not-Gouda-but-good-enough cheese ...

My guess is as yours - too low of pH. But if it is tasty, all is well. Glad you have the pH meter now!

Sounds like a woodstock gouda (a gouda on acid)  Lack of nuttyness may be the choice of cultures? Any LD in the cultures?

At what point does a new type of cheese become recognized? Could it be that we have just seen the description of the very first "Cape Fear River Cheese"?

Quote from: Anonymous on December 28, 2014, 12:36:54 AM
Sounds like a woodstock gouda (a gouda on acid)  Lack of nuttyness may be the choice of cultures? Any LD in the cultures?

Hah! I love it -- in fact, I will adopt that title forthwith. I am planning to take some, along with other varieties, to my parents' house tomorrow for a late Christmas celebration with the extended family, and wasn't sure what to call it when offering it to them. Woodstock Gouda it is!

Yes, for a 3-gallon make I used 3/16 tsp MA011 (LL, LC) and 1/8 tsp MD089 (LD). I am totally not sure about whether that is an appropriate amount of culture, or whether the proportions are in the ballpark ...

Quote from: Frodage on December 28, 2014, 05:00:50 AM
At what point does a new type of cheese become recognized? Could it be that we have just seen the description of the very first "Cape Fear River Cheese"?

Jim, I am extremely impressed that you picked up the Cape Fear River from my location! Are you familiar with this area, or just good with Google Maps?

Actually, looking at my profile, it just says North Carolina -- which has lots of rivers -- but in fact I live a couple of miles from the Cape Fear. Lucky guess??

Awake----had a similar experience with my last Jarlsberg--  texture and flavor were nothing like a Jarlsberg----but the flavor was so good the family keeps asking for more---the question is, can it be reproduced from my notes?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong----I was under the impression that over acidified cheese got bitter along with crumbly----but just crumbly had more to do with make temperature.
  It sure would be nice to have a cheese "Doctor" to help diagnose these problems.

@Awakephd: It was a lucky guess.   I chose the first river that Google Maps showed me!

I decided to try another Gouda today, following Caldwell's recipe. Everything went smoothly, very much in line with what the recipe called for ... except that instead of 4-8 hours of pressing to reach the target pH (5.2 to 5.3), it took only 1.5 hours! Admittedly, I did not have the MA4000 called for, so instead I used a combination of MA011 + TA061 -- which I thought should more-or-less duplicate the MA4000 -- but maybe that made enough of a difference ...

The good news is that, now that I have a pH meter, I was able to track the pH during the pressing and get it into the brine in a timely manner. I hope this means the texture will be more what it should be ...

I'm eager to learn of the results!