I recently made my first Swiss cheese. I used Rikki Carrol’s recipe and it says to put it in the cave for a week and then take it out and sit it out until you see evidence of eye formation which may take 2 to 3 weeks.

My cheese grew a tough skin on the outside and it swelled up like it was supposed to. I let it sit out for 2-1/2 weeks. I didn’t ever see any outer evidence of eye formation so I didn’t put it back in the cheese cave.

A crack had formed on one side of the cheese and it grew some blue mold in it, so I tried to wash it out, but did not succeed. So I took a knife and cut it out. That resulted in me tasting the cheese and it was delicious. So I cut the rind off of it, cut it into bite size pieces, and shared it with friends. We ate all 4lbs.

Still, what is the outside supposed to look like when it has eye formation on the inside? I did have little eyes, which is what I expected from a small batch of cheese, but I don’t know how I would have known from the outside.

As I previously stated, the cheese was delicious, even though it was supposed to go back in the cave for a month. There was not a crumb left. It’s the best cheese that I have produced so far.

The cheese cave is still full of aging cheese though, so it may have some competition coming up.

LOL, I had a similar experience, I never got eyes, but the best cheese I tasted. I plan on making Swiss when the temp goes higher on a regular basis. We have 5c right now and found a nice summer temp to be great for swiss cheese.
To prevent cracking I wash it with olive oil, just like u would if u were out in the sun all day. The problem with us making “Home Grown” cheese is that we make small wheels and they dry out quick compared to the 100lb wheels. Vinegar is the best way to kill mold without applying something that may be toxic. A health coating of salt help prevent mold growth other wise.

As to your question about how the outside is supposed to look; it should look like yours did.  It is the swelling that indicates internal eye formation.

Thanks. I had eyes, I just couldn’t tell from the outside. I know now what the swelling is for.

The recipe said to put the cheese in a warm humid place like the kitchen. My kitchen isn’t warm and humid, we have the air conditioner running so it’s not humid in here at all. You make swiss cheese in the summer. We run the air conditioner a lot because it’s hot here. We turn it on in March and turn it off around October. I bet I can find a closet where the air conditioner doesn’t affect the room much and it’s a warmer place. I’ll have to think about that.

I was washing my cheese with the salt brine water, but after it cracked and I turned it over so the crack was on the bottom, the crack molded. I kept turning it and washing it with salt water, but it just would not go away down in that crack. I didn’t know about vinegar.

I will rub it with olive oil next time. My recipe says to wash it with salt water every day, but if you rub it with olive oil you don’t have to do that. I didn’t wash it every day anyway, I kept forgetting.

wash it with salt for a while then with olive oil so it does not dry out.