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Quote from: anutcanfly on January 16, 2012, 06:01:58 PM
Hi Boofer,

You have access to all sort of interesting cheeses--I'm totally envying you!  Every now and again I try the ones at a store near me and except for an aged gouda they all have hit the trash.  I don't know if they were stored wrong or what?

In 2011 I decided I needed to invest a little into some commercial cheeses so that I would have a better idea what a cheese was intended to taste, smell, and feel like. I happened across iGourmet.com and tried them out once, twice, maybe three times. They were consistently high quality, relatively inexpensive, and quick to deliver. It gave me a better sense of what I was doing and, in some specific cases, where I totally wrong-headed. I have consequently tweaked a couple of my makes as a result of tasting a commercial product. Granted, some of the commercial types fell short of where I expected them to be. This could have been the result of an overly-mature or underripe cheese. If you have no idea at all what the named cheese style purports to be...IMHO, you're operating in a vacuum...in the dark...no clue.

I have also been helped to visualize different cheeses with The Cheese Bible I received last Christmas.

Quote from: anutcanfly on January 16, 2012, 06:01:58 PM
Tomer1 was asking about the color change too.  I can't think of what would do it?

I'm sure linuxboy or one of the other more informed members can offer an opinion on this, but I just opened a 12-month-old Beaufort. It was butterscotch-colored and prone to flake/chunk when cut. It wasn't acidic which might account for that characteristic. It was merely aged. The flavor was complex and pleasing. I bought a piece of 5-year-old Gouda that had similar character. Other of my cheeses, while young were lighter (yellow or white) paste, but darkened as they acquired some age. I wouldn't say it's a bad thing...just something that happens to cheese as it ages.

-Boofer-

Boof, I may be wrong, but Beaufort and gruyere variants shouldn't develop a kind of cheddar-like crumbliness, if calcium/elasticity targets are met in the original make.  They will develop some fine, horizontal cracks in the paste with extended aging, but overall, they will still retain a certain creaminess in mouthfeel, and elasticity of the paste.  If you got this "chunking", and you're not tasting what seems like an overly acid-tang, I'd wonder what your calcium retention was like.  E.g., renneting and drain pHs - do you have those?

Thank you Boofer.  That's a good idea, and thank you for the referral.  I'll check into IGourmet.com.  I have the Cheese Bible too, got for $4.00 included shipping from Amazon.  Is that crazy or what?    That helps with the visual, and there are lots of sites that describe cheeses, but it's hard to truly describe taste.  There just is no substitute for a taste test.  The Stilton I just made is very distinctive in taste, but I would be unable to really describe how it was different from other blues.

Quote from: ArnaudForestier on January 17, 2012, 01:09:52 AM
Boof, I may be wrong, but Beaufort and gruyere variants shouldn't develop a kind of cheddar-like crumbliness, if calcium/elasticity targets are met in the original make.  They will develop some fine, horizontal cracks in the paste with extended aging, but overall, they will still retain a certain creaminess in mouthfeel, and elasticity of the paste.  If you got this "chunking", and you're not tasting what seems like an overly acid-tang, I'd wonder what your calcium retention was like.  E.g., renneting and drain pHs - do you have those?

Rennet pH: 6.65, drain pH: 6.54

Yes, I was somewhat disappointed in the end result. I did not expect the dryness that the paste had, but it did seem overall hard and dry from early on. Something to polish. The flavor was good. The rind was good (and quite edible). The paste flexibility was not there.

My more recent Tomme #4 and Tilsit #1 were far better in all departments. I have Tomme #5 and Tilsit #2 that I made in the first week of this year that I'm tending to now. We'll see how they turn out. I just found another recipe for Tilsit so I might be pursuing that again soon. That recipe offers a great deal of promise. It uses Alp D and PLA.

-Boofer-

Sorry, Boof, can't be of much help - targets seem fine, as you know, I'm sure.  I don't know what shifted in my makes because I, too, was hitting targets and getting a nice tasting, but wrongly textured, cheese.  The last several have been, really, everything I was shooting for in taste and texture - and the story can't be told by "critical stage" pH's, which haven't varied, really, since first trying these alpines.  Hopefully Pav or one of the others will be able to share some insight.