CheeseForum.org » Forum

My last milk supply was six gallons , I used four for cheese curds , and had two left over , so I made a small Gouda , it's only about 1 1/2" thick as I made it in one of my four pound molds.

It was with a simple recipe from Carrolls book , she says to air dry it at 50 degrees for 15 days , does that sound right , it seems a little long to me , especially for a 1 1/2 pound cheese.

I am going to coat it with PVA , but I don't want it to get too dry and crack or anything tho.

What do any of you think , it's been three days and already seems quite dry and leathery.

Thanks !

I would go with my gut feeling. If it looks dry enough then coat it. Recipes are only guidelines and they can have errors in them.



Susan

I'm with Susan on this one.

Yep , that's what I think too , I will coat it very soon.

Thanks.

I have Ricki Carroll's 3rd Edition and it says to dry at 50 degrees for three weeks 
The recipe I used, from New England Cheesemaking, says "Wax or prepare natural rinds when cheese is dry to touch (3-7 days)."

https://www.cheesemaking.com/Gouda.html

Completely dry. If the surface is damp, even a little, you will trap moisture under the wax or in a vac bag. The key is to not dry to quickly or the rind will crack. I dry at cave temp, not room temp.

It was very dry , I think much more drying and it would have cracked on me , so i think I got it just right.

Also , the PVA coating I have , is about a year old , and the one that has been opened for a year , was much thicker in consistency than when new , it goes on a little thicker , and much easier to get a good coating , just thought I'd pass that along.

Here is my 1 lb. 9 oz. Gouda , coated.

Looks good, have a cheese from me.

Quote from: Schnecken Slayer on April 02, 2016, 06:50:18 PM
Looks good, have a cheese from me.

Thank you , now I just have to wait a few months for this cheese !

How has this cheese turned out?