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Well just couldn't wait the full 60 days to slice into my first cheese make.  It was 51 days since the make.  The paste looks really good with well distributed little mechanical? openings.  Aroma is very good, funky good.  Texture is not quite crumbly but a lot drier than any store bought Gouda I have had. There is no plasticity or give and when bent snaps into sharply defined pieces.  Mouth feel as well as taste is very much like a cross between an aged cheddar and a Caerphilly which is a pleasant surprise since aged cheddar tends to be my favorite cheese.  I just recently had Caerphilly for the first time and this is very similar.  Not quite bitter but definitely a lot going on here.  Taste is complicated: earthy and rich along the mid tongue and lingering piquant along the back. Extremely edible and doesn't tire or grow unpleasant.  I think thin slices on toast with some red grapes will do or for me.  So go figure, not one single attribute of a Gouda.  If I had followed this make by a cheddar, I would be tempted to think I had mislabeled them.  But alas, this make is really the Gouda make which I followed with a chihuahua make from 200 Recipes.

So how did I get here from a Gouda recipe.  Of course, not knowing what the heck I was doing at the time probably has a lot to do with it.  While I now have a collection of top notch cultures this was made with the Generic DS meso form NEC.  It will be interesting to compare this with my second Gouda make using MM 100 and currently ripening in the box.  I also now know that I probably over stirred and or stirred too aggressively leading to the dryness.  Another fact was the use of raw milk which I now know calls for a reduction in amount of culture.  I imagine the raw heavily creamed Jersey milk I have been using is loaded with natural lactic flora.  Perhaps, an abundance survived washing and brine to wreck pleasant havoc. 

Here are my anemic notes followed by some pictures.  I am taking better notes and finally got the wonky Extech 110 replaced so I hope to get to making cheese that is a fairly good simile of what its suppose to be sometime soon.  There are some more makes coming due for sampling soon: chihuahua from ACMAH - Mary Katlin, a cheddar, Edam boules also from ACMAH, a caraway seed Leyden, a small milled curd Cantal and of course the 2nd Gouda I already mentioned.




GOUDA MAKE March 17 2022
Recipe from ACMAH pg. 94.
Made March 17th in evening.  ripened & renneted at a bit higher than called for (88F - 90F)
Pressed overnight 12:00 am to 8:00 am. moderate pressure
Brined for 8 hours from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
weight after brine 2lb. 10oz.
weight after day one 2lb. 9oz.
weight after day two 2lb. 7oz.

Placed in cave cooler on March 20th in evening for one week.

March 21 - Day 1  flipped
March 22 - Day 2 flipped had temp issues: went to 60+ for a while.
March 23 - Day 3 set fridge and was 50F @8am and 49F at 5pm - flipped
March 24 - Day 4 flipped
March 25 - Day 5 flipped weighed in at 2 lb. 5 oz.
March 26 - Day 6 flipped.
March 27 - Day 7 flipped.
March 28 - wiped with salted vinegar cheese cloth.
March 29 - waxed.

April 17 -  30 days
May 17 - 60 days  - Could not wait, sliced on May 07 (51 days)
June 17 - 90 days
Sept. 17 - 6 months

That looks really good what ever it is!

It does look good. I see your anemic notes doesn't say anything about washing the curd. Maybe you skipped that step?

@Debi: Thanks Debi. It really is pretty good tasting to boot.  Sampling some slivers now and it has a lot of nice characteristics I don't have names for and a lingering pleasant aftertaste.   My challenge now is to figure out what parameters were key to this end result so I can duplicate it in the future.

@smilingcalico:  Actually I didn't take notes during the make except for those after the fact.  I was way to nervous and "all over the place" just trying to do everything right.  The recipe and steps were followed verbatim from pages 94 and 95 of Mary Katlin's ACMAH including the correction to step 5. 140F vs. 110F water to wash curds.

All in all, I am very excited to have produced a fairly decent chunk of cheese and it makes me all the more eager to sample the other wheels and balls in the cave as well as follow the same recipes with the knowledge and tools I now have.

With Gouda number two I followed the recipe on NEC's site: www.cheesemaking.com/Gouda.html
The most notable differences were pre-cutting  the curds, pressing under whey, and use of a Extech PH110 to monitor acidity.  Oh, also brining in PH and calcium equalized solution.

I am also ripening in box for a longer time before waxing; washing with brine/vinegar every 2-3 days.
I'll post detailed notes on the make later.  One last note.  I had severe cheesecloth sticking after the last pressing.

Here is Gouda 2 at two weeks.

You possibly over acidified it which may result in the crumbly outcome.

Quote from: Tomer1 on May 08, 2012, 12:52:03 PM
You possibly over acidified it which may result in the crumbly outcome.

Totally agree, on the over acidification.  I expect the other half will be pretty crumbly in a couple months time.

I would like to hear from some other old cheeses out there on what their theory would be on why a Gouda make winds up more like a cheddar.  Excess culture? Rennet related?  Over pressing? Wrong temperature?  All of the above?

Quote from: Dulcelife on May 08, 2012, 12:19:53 PM
Oh, also brining in PH and calcium equalized solution.

I had severe cheesecloth sticking after the last pressing.

Brining with some of the recovered whey (prior to washing) helps to nail the pH and calcium levels.

Plyban or plastic cheesecloth helps to avoid sticking. If that isn't an option, spray or moisten the cheesecloth with vinegar or acidified brine.

SEARCH on both of these for more detail.

-Boofer-

Quote from: Dulcelife on May 08, 2012, 12:19:53 PMOne last note.  I had severe cheesecloth sticking after the last pressing.

I recently had that problem in this thread Monterey Jack #1 (my second Jack), and you can see the picture of the ugly result in that thread. 

I found this thread that very helpfully explained the possible solutions:  Cheesecloth - Cheese Sticking Problem.   I've ordered some plyban.  Meanwhile, spraying vinegar on the stuck cloth should unstick it.

Thanks Caseus.  Read both.  Good info.

The cheese herein described and pictured as my first make is actually a cheddar variant (chihuahua), and my second make I mislabeled.

The real gouda make is here:  https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9689.msg70864.html#msg70864

Sorry for the confusion.  WOW.

Quote from: Dulcelife on May 08, 2012, 01:18:10 AM
If I had followed this make by a cheddar, I would be tempted to think I had mislabeled them.  But alas, this make is really the Gouda make which I followed with a chihuahua make from 200 Recipes.

I did mislabel and the chihuahua is in fact a cheddar type cheese.

DUH

That explains the cheddar-like taste then. 

I read about that cheese in the 200 Easy Cheeses book.  I'm planning on trying it too.

Mystery solved! Now wasn't that easy? 

Good to hear! Can't wait to hear how your gouda tastes!

Quote from: smilingcalico on May 15, 2012, 10:17:19 PM
Good to hear! Can't wait to hear how your gouda tastes!

Its pretty darn good smiler:

https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9689.msg70864.html#msg70864