My first Gouda

[roachvaliek]

My first Gouda after the first pressing

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[roachvaliek]

After its second/final pressing.

 

[roachvaliek]

After second/final pressing

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[roachvaliek]

After brining and resting overnight, its rounding.
Its nice and firm, but not hard, and has a mild but pleasant "creamy" aroma.
Not bad for my first attempt at cheese making (so far, lol)

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[GilaMinumBeer]

Looks gouda to me.

 

[roachvaliek]

Lol, thx

 

[roachvaliek]

Before and after waxing

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[rhoadsrage]

Looks great. Is it raw or pasteurized milk? I can't tell from the picture but is that a 2 lb. wheel? This is on my "to make" list once I get a press built, and tricky parts in the process?

 

[roachvaliek]

Pasteurized and homogenized, which is OK since I added some calcium chloride.
Yes, its a two pound wheel.
And, as to any tricky parts, not really. I just followed a video on how to make the Gouda by Gavin Webber on YouTube. I followed his instructions exactly, except I listened to one of the comments and allowed the milk to ripen for twenty minutes after adding the mesophillic culture.
I hope that helps.

 

[rhoadsrage]

Thanks, that is perfect.

 

[bernardsmith]

A cheese press can be quite easy to make. What I did was bought two wooden cutting boards and drilled four holes about an inch from each corner large enough to allow me to connect the boards with four threaded rods (about 12 inches long) at the end of each I slipped on a washer and nut. The boards are large enough to accommodate a gallon of water (8 lbs) or paving stones (about 24 lbs). The cheese form sits on the bottom board and the top board will press on the follower topped with a can of beans or a thick piece of dowel. I place the whole shebang on an aluminum foil tray that is slightly raked and drains into my kitchen sink.
I think the total time this took to build was ten minutes - including locating the drill bit - and the cost was about $10.00 - $15.00. This press allows me to apply any weight from about 1 lb (a pint of water) to about 50 (two pavers). The whole thing comes apart in 2 minutes and I can clean, sanitize and air-dry the unit with no problem.

 

[rhoadsrage]

Nice. That sounds very doable. I was looking at the cheese presses that have the arm to slide the weights down. I actually have two cutting boards that I glued back together, that I don't use.

 

[jgourd]

Nice! Subscribed!

 

[passedpawn]

That gouda looks great. Did you paint the wax on or dip it (if dipped, that is a LOT of wax!). I waxed one cheese and gave it up and went with vacuum bagging.

I have gone through 3 presses. The one I use now is the "original", from the following site. The plans are there for you if you want to build it yourself. I've also used the "foldaway", which is nice, but the original is a tank and I like that.

http://sturdypress.com/

 

[roachvaliek]

That gouda looks great. Did you paint the wax on or dip it (if dipped, that is a LOT of wax!). I waxed one cheese and gave it up and went with vacuum bagging.

I have gone through 3 presses. The one I use now is the "original", from the following site. The plans are there for you if you want to build it yourself. I've also used the "foldaway", which is nice, but the original is a tank and I like that.

http://sturdypress.com/

I dipped it. Two thin coats was plenty.

 

[roachvaliek]

I dipped it. Two thin coats.

 

[WheyToGo]

I love Gavin Webber's videos. I watch every new cheese video he uploads. I made a gouda using his recipe a few months ago and it was wonderful. The whole round was gone in a week or two!
There is an Amish community not far from me so whenever I want to make cheese I can buy raw milk from them and I always get a great curd set without having to add CaCl2. If you can get your hands on some raw milk I would highly recommend it.

 

[ericbw]

Looks great!

 

[Paps]

I think i got fatter by just looking at that cheese.
Do you plan on smoking any of it?
It looks great.
I feel hungry all of a sudden.

 

[roachvaliek]

I love Gavin Webber's videos. I watch every new cheese video he uploads. I made a gouda using his recipe a few months ago and it was wonderful. The whole round was gone in a week or two!
There is an Amish community not far from me so whenever I want to make cheese I can buy raw milk from them and I always get a great curd set without having to add CaCl2. If you can get your hands on some raw milk I would highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, I live in North Carolina and its illegal to sell unpasteurized milk here. I know, crazy.

 

[roachvaliek]

I think i got fatter by just looking at that cheese.
Do you plan on smoking any of it?
It looks great.
I feel hungry all of a sudden.

No plans as of yet. But I have toyed with the idea of building a cold smoker, so anything is possible.

 

[roachvaliek]

My cheese "cave". Gouda cheese and MRE's lol.

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[passedpawn]

MRE. I always loved the Chicken ala King. nom nom.

 

[roachvaliek]

MRE. I always loved the Chicken ala King. nom nom.

I can't say that I love any MRE, but some of them are edible, lol.

 

[passedpawn]

I can't say that I love any MRE, but some of them are edible, lol.

MRE's as a gourmet meal?

http://henryhargreaves.com/#from-mre-to-michelin

 

[wishingiwasfishing]

Looks great!


I've only dabbled in quick cheeses like mozzarella, cream cheese,etc. Still haven't been able to make the jump you have.

Nice job!

 

[artmustel]

Beautiful Cheese! May I ask what are your mold dimensions?