we just cracked open one of the first cheese I made three months ago, it was supposed to be a goat gouda, It was very hard, I don’t like goat cheese so my husband gave the verdict. He said it tastes like a cross between pecorino romano and asiago, so I took a bite and it tastes like a milder version of pecorino romano. I am guessing I overpressed, let air dry too long and maybe oversalted? but it was very good on the spagetti we had

So it tasted good; that makes it a success.  I’m thinking that if it was hard, which is uncharacteristic of Gouda, you may have used too much culture, or you may have cooked the curd for too long.  How was the moisture content?

It was dry, not as dry as aged parmesean but similar, it took some effort to cut the round in half and it did not slice it kind of “flaked” not exactly like aged parmesean but closer to that than gouda (which is what it was supposed to be). It had the same kind of sharp flavor that pecorino has (i figured because it was goat) and it grated acceptably, it clumped a little but it grated easier than it sliced. Now my husband wants to know if i could do it again, but since I am not sure what I did wrong (it was one of my very first cheeses so I did not document other than the recipe i used) I am not sure if I can do it again. I remember that I did not realize that air dry meant actual room temp and it stayed in the wine fridge at 55 degrees instead of room temp before I put it in the food saver.

First thing - document every batch you make.  As you just discovered, it’s hard to remember what you did months before; so alterations or corrections become a shot in the dark instead of a reasoned adjustment.
The general theory among cheesemakers is that excessive dryness is due to excessive acid development.  The sharp flavor is also due to acid content. You mentioned that you were using a lot of culture, so backing off on that will help.  Reducing the time you allow the curd to cook is also a good way to reduce acid.  The higher temp causes the bacteria to reproduce at a higher rate, so shortening the time will help. One thing I do to increase the moisture of my cheese is to add additional cream to the milk.  I run a gallon of raw milk through my cream separator, which yields about a pint of cream, and add this to my four gallon batch.  It gives a nice “creamy” texture.

Another thought:  how long did you age this cheese?  Two months is sufficient for a Gouda, especially since Gouda is traditionally a mild flavored cheese.

all good advice, I aged it three months. I am tempted now to cut into the swiss I made on the same weekend. It is not hard like the gouda but since I overcultured two cheeses I am now wondering about that one. I just got my micro spoons in the mail that can measure as low as 1/64th of a teaspoon so I am going to cut back on the culture that I add. When I skim my raw milk I have been getting a pint of cream per gallon as well, plus my husband built me a nifty new cheese press so I can manage my pressing weights better. At least everything has tasted good so far. I have 4 gallons of raw milk coming tomorrow for this weekend, may make another swiss, so that I can cut into the swiss I have to see what it did, the Havarti wheel got ate in less than 4 days so I was going to try to make another one of those as well.
Christie

I’m guessing you’ll do a 4 gallon batch?  I use 1/4 tsp culture for that size batch, and it works well for me.  Let us know how it goes.

will probably do two different two gallon cheeses, might not use any culture in the havarti, or maybe the smallest amount (drop) since my last batch turned out so strong. If I cut into my swiss I will make another otherwise it was supposed to be for a colby.
Christie

Just wondering if you have figured out the resizing of your pictures so we can all get a glimpse?

I will see if my husband can get the picture to size from his laptop, I can’t download image manipulation software because 99% of the time I am using my work computer.
Christie