Unpressed Gruyere?

[sydzappa]

I have been an apprentice cheesemaker for the last 4 months. I have reached a level of proficiency with following written processes that my boss is allowing me to create my own recipe and execute the entire process without any supervision. I have been curious about the possibility of making a gruyere style cheese that has not been pressed. I guess you could say a semi-soft version. For the most part, we only make fresh cheeses so I do not have any experience with cook paste production. Is it possible to go through the entire process without pressing or will the curd not form into a solid mass without? Or should I just follow a process comparable to one used with a talegio or something similar. Any help or information with how to go about doing this or possibly a comparable style of cheese along this line for me to use as a guide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[mikekchar]

I'm mostly a noob, but I'll give you my opinion based on my limited experience.  I'm hoping to piggy back on your question to have people correct things I say wrong here, so take what I say with a grain of salt 

Basically, without pressing, you will have an "open structure".  This means that the curd isn't going to form a nice impenetrable barrier in the form of a rind around the outside.  There will be cracks and holes.  Because of that, you will have to have a plan for keeping it free of cheese spoiling bacteria and mould.  Some traditional solutions are to encourage brevibacterium linens (red smear), and/or penicillium candidum (white mold).  I suspect that you could also do a blue cheese with penicillium roqueforti and be fine with an open structure.

In terms of the cheese make, the more you cook the curd, the more whey is expelled and the harder it gets.  If you don't cook it very much, then you will have pudding-like curds (like a Camembert, etc) and the curds will still knit pretty well without pressing.  If you cook them a lot, then the curds won't knit so well (it won't be smooth on the outside and may look a little bit like cottage cheese that's just stuck together).  Keep in mind that the weight of the cheese on itself will also kind of press it, so if you make a big cheese, and flip it regularly, it will knit together fairly well.  Having excess whey in your curds is bad for ageing, though (in ways I don't feel comfortable enumerating due to my noobieness -- but I've experienced some).

Some people make Bel Paesse without pressing it at all (just flipping it in the mould) and age it at low temperatures.  I've actually been experimenting for the last 3-4 months making lactic acid cheeses without rennet, no pressing and ageing at 6 degrees C.  It's tricky, but I've had very good results, so I'm sure you can work something out.  I don't have access to a cheese cave in the summer, so I haven't tried doing any of this at normal cheese cave temps.  However, I think Tilsit is often made without pressing and uses a b. linens smear to help keep the baddies out.

Hope that doesn't steer you wrong and I hope people will come and correct my mistakes because I've been wondering whether or not I've got it right.

[5ittingduck]

Without a closed rind, aging of a hard cheese will be problematic.
The first thoughts that sprang to my mind were blues and aged feta.
The blues rely on openings and oxygen ingress to support the PR growth.
Feta can drain to a nice firm consistency overnight without pressing, and becomes sharper and more interesting with age (in brine, or as I prefer under oil).
I just finished a jar of feta from 2016, it was splendid!

[Gregore]

With out a press you will need to make a cheese that is molded before the curd gets to 6 ph or so .... above that it will knit together on its own ...... I do not know the exact cut off ph but it is in that ball park . The more below that number the more weight it will take .

Also keep in mind that you will need at least the same weight as the cheese it's self  or the curd may carry too much moisture to age very long .

I suggest a tomme , and there is a great recipe on this forum by Linuxboy.

[mikekchar]

Gregore, do you mean 4.6 pH there?

[sydzappa]

I greatly appreciate all of the input. I will be sitting down and figuring it all out over the next couple days and will be trying it within the next 2 weeks. I will post all initial numbers and specs when I do. Thanks you very much.

[AnnDee]

Gregore, do you mean 4.6 pH there?

He meant 6. I put my Tomme into moulds when it reach minimum 6.2, because I like smooth outer rind.

[mikekchar]

Thanks!  That seems super high to me, but I'm still learning.

[GortKlaatu]

Thanks!  That seems super high to me, but I'm still learning.

Mike, some of my cheeses get hooped at 6.4 pH. Then the pH drops to whatever I'm looking for it to be before brining. (usually somewhere around 5.3)

[mikekchar]

Ah!  That makes total sense.  And that's why it closes under it's own weight.  Thanks for the explanation!