3rd Wheel

This was the third cheese I made. I made this cheese mid March and finished it a few weeks ago. I made it after a recipe from David B. Frankhauser's website, a great site to start from: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese_5_gallons/CHEESE_5gal_00.htm
I used yoghurt as a starter and it turned out very well. I love the natural rind. It was a little dry, the curds were cooked to warm as shown in my notes. Nevertheless, it was definitely tasty and appreciated all around.

Another Gouda or two

I have made some more Goudas. Here are a few images of the process. I added some thermophilic starter to this batch. We'll what this will do to the taste.

Tommes and Goudas

What more is there to say...

Washing the Goudas

Over the last few weeks, I have been washing the Goudas with a light salt solution. I decided not to wax them but let the cheeses develop a natural rind. It occurred to me that traditionally these cheeses were never waxed or plasticified. I wonder when this started. My grandmother washed and turned them daily until the rind had developed into a natural protection.

Whey pap

In the old days, in Holland, and I assume many other countries, some whey was used to make baked goods and deserts, before it went to the pigs. The whey is still full of minerals and nutrition.
So, after the Ricotta, I decided to make some whey pap. My mother was visiting from Holland and she told me that her mother used to make it once in a while after making cheese.
Basically, pap is a sort of pudding made of grains boiled in milk or in this case whey. I used rye flakes, buckweat, flour and raisins. Top this with some cinnamon and maple syrup, and you have a delicious and nutritional desert. Or breakfast if you like.

Whey Ricotta

From the whey I had left over of making the Gouda, I decided to try to make some Ricotta. I had around 10 gallon of whey, so that should result in a nice amount of Ricotta.
I heated the whey to 200F, added some vinegar and the remaining albuminous proteins started to precipitate out. I lined a colander with cheesecloth and ladled the solids in there, let it strain and cool for while, tied the cloth and hung it to drain.
This turned out to be some fantastic Ricotta.

Tommes upstate continued

The Tommes upstate are maturing nicely. The environment in the cellar seems optimum. They have developed a nice natural rind, which I wash occasionally with a 3-4 % salt solution to get rid of to much much. Here are various stages over a period of approximately two weeks. The cloudy mold is Geotrichum candidum, added this to only one of the two cheeses.

While washing one of the cheeses, a little piece broke of, which gave me the opportunity to have a early taste. Well, it tastes very promising to say the least. I am very excited and can hardly wait, but I will give it another week.

Gouda

Here my first attempt of making some Gouda. I fetched 10 gallons of cows milk at the nearby farm and used it raw. I had just purchased bigger pot (40 qts) so I could manage this volume.
My mother was visiting from Holland and memories from here youth came floating up. Her mother used to make cheese for in the 1930's to be sold by her husband who sold milk and related products, delivering these with a pony cart.
I assume the cheese she made must have been a Gouda style. The milk she used must have been straight from the cows because, according to my mother, it was not warmed up. The milk was poured in a large wooden vat and besides being from wood, it would have been too large to be put on the kerosene heaters they used to cook on. My mother did not remember what kind of starter she used, but I imaging she made her own.


cutting the curd horizontally


cutting the curd vertically


initial cut curds


cooking the curd and stirring it


draining of one third of the whey


I have replenished the whey with warm water to wash the curd


the curd


some more cooking and stirring


drained curd and whey


and again, drained curd and whey


the curd in the cheesecloth in the form


and pressing. Notice the whey running from the draining spout.


The curd cutting tools. These are all home made, a long stainless steel blade for the horizontal cutting, a stainless steel 90 degree bend blade for the vertical cutting and a large stainless steel wisk.


pressing with some weight


and some more weight added


the cheese between turnings


the cheeses after pressing




the cheese in the brine


aging


with some Tommes