Monday, March 21, 2011

Cccccheese


It feels like a while since I made any cheese so this weekend I spent 2 days making some new cheeses to put in my new “cave”. A few weeks ago, I decided to splurge and buy myself a little wine fridge in which I can control the temperature to that needed by most cheeses to mature. A normal fridge is too cold for maturation to occur, so instead of relying on the coolest room in the house(which was often too hot), I decided to invest in a small wine fridge which can be set anywhere from 5°C to 18°C. Now I just need to fill it up a bit. It just fits in nicely into the newly renovated storeroom.
the new cheese cave











First cheesemaking day, it was Cotswold on the menu. This cheese has dried onion and chives added to the curds before pressing so it should turn out to be quite savoury although surprisingly, there was no salt added anywhere in the process. The pressing process was a multi phase one with the last pressing lasting for 24 hours. It dried quite quickly and I was able to wax it the next day.
Cotswold before waxing

After waxing

Gouda with Cumin seeds was next on the list. The process is a bit different from other cheeses I have made so far as it entailed heating the curds by drawing off some of the whey and replacing it with very hot water. I am not sure how this makes the end product different than that from heating the curds from outside the pan….but I am sure there is one. Woops, I have just remembered that I have to wash it with some brine daily….back in a minute. After 2 pressings of 10 kg for 12 hours (actually I cheated and did the first one for 10 hours just so that I didn’t have to get up at 1am) it was ready for a three hour soak in a brine bath and then a  three week spell in the cave with daily brine washing.
Gouda with cumin seeds
Soaking in a brine bath
 I just hope I remember to do it tomorrow, and the next day and the next……It will be ready for waxing in about 3 weeks and then be ready to taste in a few months.  

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