Horseradish Gouda

Yesterday I made a two pound batch of Gouda. I divided the curds in half and added two tablespoons of horseradish to one half and one teaspoon of Wasabi powder dissolved in one ounce water to the other half. Both smelled great. I think that when I take them out of the presses today I will cut both wheels in half to let air dry in my "cave" for the next five days before I wax them. This way I can sample at the three month stage and still have the other half age for a couple more months. I poured some of the leftover whey onto my Galena hops. Hope it helps. Just got them from my brother's place when I was in Yakima last month and they look kinda pitiful still. I think they just need some hot wheather.

Lesson learned. I took my Goudas out of the moulds after pressing and they looked great and smelled great. I was thinking if I cut them each in half like a half moon I could age for different lengths of time. Well DON"T DO IT. They had that nice "leathery" look on the outside but the inside didn't. It was still very moist and weepy with some cracks where the curds had not knitted together, which only invites air and creepy things in. So I put them back together and wrapped some plastic canvas around them and put them in my cave. I will let them age for the five days at 50 degrees but thought I better not add the humidity. I will probably end up eating them next week.

Good tip learnt.

Ta.

Yesterday I checked on my Gouda in the cave. It actually looked good. I decided not to wax it because of the small holes on the inside and instead we decided to give it a taste. Both of them are great. The wasabi has the wasabi taste but the horseradish is the best. For only being seven days aged they are excellent. I'm kinda happy I didn't have to wait three months for it to age. Last week I made two one-pound wheels of Farmhouse Cheddar (one horseradish, one plain) and smoked both of them. Today I will wax them and put them into the cheese cave and wait.