Every cheese that I have opened, up until today, has had a specific flavor to it that I don’t like. I was wondering if this flavor was due to the milk I use, or the rennet. I have used the same milk and the same rennet for all of the cheese, so I figure that it could be that.
Today I opened the stirred curd cheddar that I waxed, and two pepper jacks that I vacuum sealed. One pepper jack should have been ready 3 weeks ago, but it wasn’t, so I keep resealing it and putting it back in the cave. The other pepper jack was supposed to be ready a week ago, and it is not ready today so it goes back in as well.
The stirred curd cheddar that I waxed was supposed to be ready yesterday, and while it can stand some aging, it is good. It doesn’t have that specific flavor that every other cheese I have opened had. It has a better texture, and it tastes pretty good. It is pretty mild, so I assume that it has to go back in and age some more.
All of the cheese that I vacuum seal, eventually get moisture inside of the bag in the cheese cave. I’m wondering if the flavor could be from that.
Do other people who vacuum seal the cheese, seal it as soon as it has finished air drying, or do you put it in the cave for a week or so without sealing it, so that it can breath?
All of my books say to air dry the cheese for 2 to 5 days and then wax it, for the varieties that I am discussing today anyway. I have been air drying it and then vacuum sealing it, because it’s easy.
Since the bags get liquid in them, I am wondering if I am sealing it too soon. I think it’s not aging as fast as it should because of the lack of breathing. If this is the problem, how do other people do this?