Rich, that looks fantastic!
With a wheel that thick I would expect you to see some good swelling.
How long do you plan to leave it in the sweating stage?
Mine has been going for a week and is beginning to show minor swelling. I think I’m going to try 4 - 6 weeks this time to see if I can form some good sized eyes.
Good luck with this one! You certainly have a great start towards a great cheese.
Dave, I’m not sure about how long I’ll let it sweat. It depends on how it swells. I’m going to be loose and evaluate it as I go.
Nabil, yes, there is a very nice feel to the wheel. Its firm but has a nice give to it. My last one dried out very badly; but it was only half as big. We’ll hope for the best on this one.
Here’s the Emmental after nearly 3 weeks on the kitchen counter. Except for developing a really nice waxy rind, there has been no change whatsoever - its still as flat as day one. It does, however, still have an incredible aroma. I am trying to be as patient as I can, and will continue to wait on some swelling. Seems like Neil said he left one out for the entire aging period, and I may have to do the same. Although it is a bit of a concern since its supposed to age at 45 degrees. My kitchen may be cool, but its not THAT cool. Any additional thoughts???
Although it is a bit of a concern since its supposed to age at 45 degrees. My kitchen may be cool, but its not THAT cool. Any additional thoughts???
If you examine the two photos side by side, the aged one has swelling ‘sideways’. There is a distinct bulge on the sides, and isn’t that where the true Swiss Emmental swells?
Have you seen the info pages here <http://www.danlac.com/news/making-swiss-cheese-recipe> there are other info pages on this one of your’s, plus lots of other cheeses.
I thingk your cheese looks picture perfect. If the surface feels hard and not soft in the sense that it is buckling under its weight then it might be doing its job. maybe start a practice of knocking it and see if the sound changes day by day (hollow sounds as to hard wood ) it does look shorter so hopefully it hasent redistributed the weight to the sides.
I have my cheese wheel looks the same as yours, actually i was thinking the same as u, this is not proper swelling, the sides bulge is not a swelling, it is formed by the wheel weight while exposing to aging temperature, the swelling should affect the top sides which is not done yet.
To proof my idea, compare the hight of the wheel before and now and u will see what i mean
Yes, this is what my concern is. Even if it were bulging to the side due to eye formation, there should also be at least SOME swelling to the top and bottom; but there is none. I’ll give it at least another week and see what happens. If after a month there is no activity, I’ll likely just go ahead and age it and eat it. It smells great, so the taste is probably going to be great anyway.
Man Rich, I don’t know.
In my opinin that might be the best looking swiss I’ve ever seen.
I have looked at some photos of commercially made swiss cheese and they do have a nice flat top but are bulged on the sides, just as yours is.
I agree that you would think there should be come top and bottom swelling but actually creating eyes in the cheese is something I’m yet to accomplish (other than LOTS of small eyes.)
I’m looking forward to both of us cracking our latest attempts.
Maybe once we can compare my (amazaing deflating swiss) and your (amazing side bulging swiss) we will have a better idea of what works and what doesn’t.
On another process we have discussed, I did find some interesting information. This concerns the process of “pressing under the whey” and it’s really not nearly as difficult as I had imagined.
The process seems to involve simply letting the curd sink to the bottom of the pot for 15 minutes (pitching) and then using a perforated follower on top of the curd.
The process is as follows:
Drain the whey down to 2” above the curd mass.
Place the perforated follower on top of the curd and add weight that is 1/2 the weight of the estimated curd mass.
Press for 15 minutes to form a very compact mass and then remove the curd and break up to load into a pressing mold.
Using our idea of making a follower out of an HDPE cutting board this should be a snap. I though the curd had to be gathered into a cheesecloth bag, but from what I’ve read on Peter Dixon’s site and others, this is not the case.
Once my life slows down a bit (fiscal year end and inventory at work next weekend and a racquetball tournament the next), I’m going to be giving this a try. I’ll be sure to post some pics, just in case it works in actually forming the eyes we so covet.
when u use the perforated follower which should match the pot diameter, so u will then remove a very compact mass to be transfered to press mold as it is, but in our case our molds does not match the diameter of the pot, and when u need to break the mass then u will introduce again some opening, i guess the best idea is to put the curds in cheese cloth, and then dip it in whey, loosen the curds, and then twist and press to get the air out, then transfer it to mold…
Dave and Rich;
The real swiss cheese wheels are not high as ours, they make it flat around 20” and 3.5” thick, so they do not drop on it’s weight, now at this moment i have my swiss cheese wheel in my kitchen and it’s look 100% Rich wheel. now let’s back to eye formation, if eyes are forming this means the volume is expanding, and i agree that our wheels looks great on the sides, but what i am concern if it is really swelling as we wish or not!!
the smell is wonderful, but i wish a real eyes is forming, i will let it sit maximum 5 weeks in room temp then i will wax it and age it for another 4 months, and then i will cut and post u the pictures
Well its been 5 weeks and my emmental is still as flat as day one. I have waxed it and put it in the cave. It may not have eyes, or perhaps some very small ones, but at least it should taste good.
if u did not press it under whey, u will end up with mechanical opening, the gas which forms eyes will fill the already mechanical opening (will find space) so u will get the flavor at the end without noticeable round eyes
I got a shock tonight. I was in the cave turning my cheeses; and when I turned my now 11 week old Emmental I noticed it had bulged at the top. Yep, the top which looked flat as a table now has a very noticeable bulge. It may be because its in a 55 deg. fridge instead of 45 deg. But in any case, I’m thrilled. I’ll be watching this one very closely over the next couple weeks to see what happens. Not sure at this point how much longer I’ll let it age; but its got me excited.
) it does look shorter so hopefully it hasent redistributed the weight to the sides.