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I opened this 3 month old gouda tonight because I was a bit worried about the bloating. It started bloating 6 or 7 weeks ago. Of all the many cheeses I've made, this is a first for me.

Is it some sort of contamination? is it the choice of culture? I used MM100 and Aroma B. It smells pretty good, no funky aroma. Is it safe to eat?

I'm replying my own tread... lol

I searched the wiki guide and found this:
https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-cheese-body-defects-cracks/

But the problem is that I aged it at a constant 10-11C. I don't have any notes on the air drying though. I used to air dry at room temp but switched at around that time to air drying at 10-13C. Could air drying be a factor?

I also brined at 16C. I read that some gouda bloat during brining. Not this one, it started bloating a little more than 4-5 weeks old.

BTW, I tasted it and it's very good! Also smells very good. So taste, aroma and texture aren't affected. Just some huge unwanted cracks.

I think I found the answer to this problem.

From Debra Amrein-Boyes book: There are legumes or silage in the feed. Safe to eat.
From Gianaclis Caldwell's book: The feeding of poor quality silage. Cheeses salted prior to pressing (such as jack or cheddar) have less chance of being affected. No mention if it's safe to eat.

This cheese got me paranoid on my sanitation protocol, but it looks like this is a winter feed issue?

If it smells good, I'd figure it'll taste pretty good too.  I wouldn't think twice about sampling it. 

Those cracks give it character.

Yes, it happens sometimes with raw milk. If it is what we call here "late bloating" then it is a contamination with buteric acid bacteria. Silage can be the reason, but it is an external contamination caused by bad hygine during milking. Silage makes the manure thinner and containes a higher amount of bacteria, so the risc is higher. Here it is allowed to add a certain ammount of saltpeter to the milk to prevent this late bloating. Danisco Holdbac is also ment to prevent this.

Thanks  hoeklijn! You're a life cheese saver  I think I'll give Holdbac LC a try as it also protects against spoilage.

Glade to see you got you answer Spoons . I felt sorry for you    but did not have a clue what had caused it. Welcome to the learning curve and thanks  hoeklijn for sharing you information.

Thanks Shotski 

Quote from: hoeklijn on March 22, 2014, 09:23:19 AM
Here it is allowed to add a certain ammount of saltpeter to the milk to prevent this late bloating. Danisco Holdbac is also ment to prevent this.

Herman, is saltpeter (potassium nitrate) the same as what's branded as "Stump remover"? or is there a "food grade" saltpeter I should be looking for?
EDIT: I just found that Glengarry cheese sells Sodium Nitrate. This would be the correct saltpeter to prevent late blowing?

I'd try Holdbac, but the shelf life is only 8 months at -18C (probably 5-6 months from production time to seller to buyer). They also only sell 100 or 500 DCU paks. Sounds like an expensive option.

Are  there negative impacts of using saltpeter?

The sodium nitrate from Glengarry or other webshops for cheese-stuff will be the right one, I don't know the other you mentioned.
When you use "too much" it is possible to get an orange line just under the rind.
In the Netherlands it is legally allowed for Gouda type cheeses as following:
45ml/100 liter milk if used before the rennet is added.
30ml/100 liter fluid in the vat (whey + curd) if used before the second addition of hot water.
The first is much easier to calculate....