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Looks like cheese.....

MolBasser

Just salted the exterior and tossed it into the cave.

And now the hardest part.  The wait.

MolBasser

OK, now that I have done everything wrong, how should I continue the disaster? 

I took the cheese out of the mold and salted the exterior and put it into my cheese cave at 55F.

Any hints on how to treat the beast?

MolBasser

Was that a dry salting or a brine? It looks very nice the only thing you have to do now is let it age some and it should be good.

Now that you have done the process once and seen what takes place it will be easier to understand for the next batch. Your a brewer you know some of the science already. Now you just have to master your technique! It's all about mastering temperature, humidity and patience!

Yeah.  When I started cheese making just a couple of months ago, I told myself:  Self, you're gonna have to learn patience....

Sadly, that is not a character trait.  I will have to learn.

It was a dry salting, with kosher salt crystals.

The cheese is now at 55F in the cave.  Daily flipping, carressing, and whispering is in the future.

MolBasser

This whole thing came out of a mid west supplier sending us cheese curds for a holiday gift.

I had never eaten a cheese curd and it was strangley squeeky and tastey.

I googled it, and then got to a page that taught you how to make cheese curds.  I figured, Hey!  I can do that.  And I did it.

Then, the geeky science guy in me said "hey, this is some cool fermentation XXXX right here" and I just got focused on it.  I still have barely scratched the wrapping on the outside of the surface.

Looks like (and is) a really cool hobby.  I pretty much stopped homebrewing after I got my job at the brewery...No sense in making beer on the weekend if you make beer all week.

MolBasser

I haven't brewed anything in a few years. Beer is not a big thing in my family circle and I can only drink so much. Dropped from 6 gallon batches to 5 gallon to 3 gallon to none. Even my local birds were getting tired of the spent grains! I enjoy cheese and sausage more than brewing anyway. May try my hand at wine next year it gets better with age I hear unlike beer that can go funky! Beside my grandmother raised 7 kids  on brewing beer and wine it's in the blood!


The waiting will be easier once you get a pile-O-cheese wheels in there. The first few are the hardest. I have been doing this for so long I forget I have them once they are in the lower cave. I have a small cube on my microwave for the first few months, then a slghtly bigger wine fridge for the next few months, then the tome for ever more. Some are 6 to 7 years old now. Cheedars, parms, romanos and the like are incredable after 5 years. Make a few quick cheese in between and it will save you cheeses that require aging.

Yeah, I plan on making a wheel every weekend for the forseeable future.

I do have a hankering to make some Sake, but beer is just to close to the daily grind right now.

I love beer, don't get me wrong now!  , but I make it every day at work.

MolBasser

Yes I can understand that. I love a good beer but I only want one or two. I don't have much capacity for beer for some reason. I love a nice malty Scottish Ale and a nice Black and Tan. When it is really hot I do enjoy a light Cervasa with lime.

Check my Pruno thread in the lounge in the coming week.  I will be fermenting some prison hootch.

But, back to the cheese.  It is in a wine fridge at 55F.  With peltier coolers they don't have the dehumidifing effect of a normal fridge.

What do I need to do about humidity control in a wine fridge and what should be the treatment of this cheese?

Thanks.

MolBasser

I have a wine fridge like that. A small dual compartment thing I got on eBay. It is always craping out. Has one cricuit board that is always frying capcaitors.  I may just turn it into a curing chamber for sausage and skip the  cheese. Anyway - just watch it. Do you have a meter  for checking humidity? That is probably not to much of a problem in that fridge or any of the electronic ones. Watch for mold and brush it off as it developes with a light brush. If it gets to crazy use a brine solution with a bit of white vinegar. If you can block the fan so it doesn't blow straight on your cheese that will help keep it from drying out. I am big on vacuum sealng the wheels. I an allergic to mold so it help me from dealing with rashes to seal them after a month or too as I don't have any mold to deal with!

Two in the cave!



First one is from my disaster last weekend.  Don't ask.  At least I got a wheel out of it.

Yesterday's is on the right.

MolBasser

Interesting picture! I think they will be fine. The only thing questionable is what kind of cheese will they resemble?

Food goes in my belly style of cheese!

MolBasser

Anything that is eddible is a success story in my book!