I made a Gouda yesterday.  Its the first I’ve tried for several months, largely because I was just not getting it right.  I have had problems with an overly sharp flavor and an overly dry texture.  I’ve been refining my techniques since then, so I thought I give it another try.  I didn’t use the MM culture that Dave recommended (its on order but not yet arrived), instead I used the MA culture that I had on hand. 

The curd was quite nice, albeit very bulky.  My four gallon batch resulted in curd that filled my 6” mold to within 1” of the top, which is 11”.  And the curd was very soft, more the consistency of a bread dough.  After the final press - 18 hours - it was still quite spongy.  Now, after 13 hours in brine it is somewhat more firm, but definately still quite pliable.  I expect its going to sag as it sets.  And the texture is quite open.

All in all, I’m thinking I still don’t have it right; but hopefully I won’t end up with the overly sharp taste again.  Not that it wasn’t good - I liked it a lot - but its not Gouda.  And no, I don’t yet have a pH meter; but I will be ordering one soon.  (You have convinced me Dave!)

Hope it works out, taste being the main goal

The Gouda is now a week into its post-brine curing period.  Its been in the cave where the temp is 54 to 56 F., and the humidity is (a bit high) at 92%.  The outer surface is very moist.  In fact its sticky to the touch.  I have not had this with previous attempts at Gouda; and I’m wondering just how “normal” this might be?  I took it out of the cave to set out and dry a bit overnight.  Any suggestions???

U might end up with Limburger LOL, is it going orange? I would deal with the humidity, let it dry then wax it.

No, its not orange.  No mold of any kind is visible anywhere on the surface.  And only a nice mild cheese aroma.  I could wax or seal it; but the question came to mind - what is the reason for aging open for 3 weeks?  If I wax it too soon, how is that going to effect the outcome?  It looks pretty good this morning after sitting out for about 9 hours; so for now its going back in the cave open while I ponder the next move.

When I make Gouda/Edam, I keep it in saturated salt brine (+a little Ca) 3-4 hours for every 500 gr of cheese. When I make this type of cheese, usually it weighs about 1200 gr, so I salt brine it for 8 hours flipping once. After that I air dry it at room temp covered with a light cloth for 24 hours flipping the cheese occasionally. If ambient temp is above 20 deg C, I do the same in the fridge, but I cover with a lightly wet (squeezed) cloth to prevent sudden dry out. Now the cheese is ready for waxing.

Ah… a cloth….

Horrific things happened when I blithely followed Ricki Carroll’s instruction to air dry for 3 weeks for my first gouda - Massive cracks everywhere, which got full of mould.
It didn’t even occur to me that it was a long time to dry and that the outside might dry quicker than the inside.

If you were air drying in normal room environment I can see why this happened.  The instruction is to put it in your aging refrigerator unwaxed for 3 weeks.  If you got cracks like that, then your humidity is way too low.  Mold is fairly normal, but not too difficult to handle unless there are cracks involved.

As for mine, the few hours out of the cave seems to have taken care of the very wet exterior.  I may not go the full 3 weeks, but will go at least 2.  That will only be 3 more days.  At this point I still have high hopes for this one.