Gouda - First Attempt (at Cheese)

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Drunkenboar

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Thought I'd share this here. First attempt at making cheese! 2lbs of Gouda using a recipe from Artisan Cheese Making at Home. Finished making, molding, brining and drying so it's now in the beer fridge at 50'F in a covered box to ripen. After a week or so (per the instructions) I'll wax it and let it continue to age for 60-90 days.

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Once I was done with the cheese I ended up making Ricotta from the left over whey. Didn't yield much, maybe 2 cups. That was turned into a three-cheese Manicotti with fresh pasta and fresh sauce.

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Well played!
Do you have humidity control of some kind in your beer fridge? Asking out of curiosity, I know very little of cheese making...
What's the plan to pair the Gouda? Yum!
 
No humidity control at this time. I kept it in a tupperware container to keep the humidity up. I did, however, end up vacuum sealing it instead of waxing so I wouldn't have to add a humidity source to a fridge. Seemed a reasonable solution until I setup a dedicated "cheese cave".

Since then I've been busy. Last weekend I made another three wheels of Gouda (4 gallons of milk)...

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..and managed to get a nice 23gal batch of a Black Butte Porter clone done.

Finally, yesterday I made a 4 gallon batch of beer soaked cheddar using a Russian Imperial stout that I had made with a friend awhile back.

Had a bit of an epiphany on the best way to make cheese. The first batch I made I heated indirectly, with a water bath on the stove (pot inside a larger pot). That seemed a bit silly since I have a large "sous vide" setup in my garage for brewing. Was ultimately able to make larger batches by putting a 5 gallon pot inside of my mash tun (with a water bath heated from my HLT).

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Seems to work well. Very stable temperature control as one might expect.
 
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You probably have more humidity "control" than you think. Tupperware type containers will seal in the cheese and the moisture that wicks out will stay in the container giving you a significant amount of humidity. If you stand the cheese on the same kind of matting that you use when pressing the cheese that will keep the bottom off any moisture that collects.
 
Hi! I'm sorry, but I don't know English. (Google Translate) But please if you can help.
After four weeks of maturation, the cheese is dry and salty. (Gouda) What have I done wrong?
I made only a little milk (5 liters), so the cheese is only half a pound. Maybe less cheese takes less time or a weaker salt bath? The cheese does not look ripe. Maybe I kept it too cold? 12-14 ° C, at 80-85% relative humidity.
Thanks!
 
From 5 liters of milk I would expect about a pound of cheese (about 500 g). I wonder if you pressed the cheese to hard and so extracted too much of the whey?
 
Hi! I'm sorry, but I don't know English. (Google Translate) But please if you can help.
After four weeks of maturation, the cheese is dry and salty. (Gouda) What have I done wrong?
I made only a little milk (5 liters), so the cheese is only half a pound. Maybe less cheese takes less time or a weaker salt bath? The cheese does not look ripe. Maybe I kept it too cold? 12-14 ° C, at 80-85% relative humidity.
Thanks!
If you want softer cheese, wait much longer before you cut the curds. Then, cut LARGE curds.

After adding rennet, the curds will continue to get stronger and stronger. Strong curds will hold more water, can be cut in larger shapes, and will result in soft cheeses.
 
From 5 liters of milk I would expect about a pound of cheese (about 500 g). I wonder if you pressed the cheese to hard and so extracted too much of the whey? I didn’t press at all, I just adjusted it to the shape by hand.
Yes, about 500g cheese. I didn’t press at all, I just adjusted it to the shape by hand.
 
If you want softer cheese, wait much longer before you cut the curds. Then, cut LARGE curds.

After adding rennet, the curds will continue to get stronger and stronger. Strong curds will hold more water, can be cut in larger shapes, and will result in soft cheeses.
Thanks. Next time I'll cut it bigger. So should I try to keep more water (whey) in the cottage cheese? Because my current cheese is completely dry, fragile.
Can't too much salt water or soak more than you need be a problem?
 
Thanks. Next time I'll cut it bigger. So should I try to keep more water (whey) in the cottage cheese? Because my current cheese is completely dry, fragile.
Can't too much salt water or soak more than you need be a problem?
Yes.

The following method will help you determine the exact correct time to cut. This method works even if your rennet is weak, and also with different types of milk.
  1. Start a timer when you add the rennet.
  2. When the curds set (test with knife), that is your "clean break" time (CB).
  3. Get your Flocculation Factor (FF) from the table below. As you can see, hard cheeses have a small number, soft cheeses have a larger number.
  4. Total time between adding rennet and cutting curds = CB*FF.
So, for example, let's say you're making Feta. After 15 minutes you get a clean break. Then the total curd time is CB*FF -> 15*4 -> 60 minutes.

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Yes.

The following method will help you determine the exact correct time to cut. This method works even if your rennet is weak, and also with different types of milk.
  1. Start a timer when you add the rennet.
  2. When the curds set (test with knife), that is your "clean break" time (CB).
  3. Get your Flocculation Factor (FF) from the table below. As you can see, hard cheeses have a small number, soft cheeses have a larger number.
  4. Total time between adding rennet and cutting curds = CB*FF.
So, for example, let's say you're making Feta. After 15 minutes you get a clean break. Then the total curd time is CB*FF -> 15*4 -> 60 minutes.

View attachment 767908
Thank you very much! I Will try as described and then write what the end result was.
Thank you for the Flocculations Factor table.
 
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