I couldn’t wait any longer. I tried a cheddar and gouda I made. They’ve been aging for 2 months and I’m happy to say, they weren’t half bad.
The cheddar was drier than it should be, but I expected this, and a bit crumbly. It tasted like cheddar but still very sharp.
The gouda was much moister and smooth but still crumbled a bit. It tasted really good and had a very creamy texture but was still a little sharp.
I put a piece of both in the oven. The gouda melted (it was quite oily) but the cheddar only got soft. I’ll definitely watch the pH more closely next time.
The aging is definitely making a difference though. I put them back at 50 deg. I’ll see how they are in few months.

Sal

Good job, happy u got some results
We def have to figure out this PH thing.

Congrats on the cheese.  I agree with Neil, PH is something we will have to get a handle on.

100% i agree, and when u control the acidity , u will end up with what u expected to eat

I plan on making another gouda today. I used the recipe Rick put on the cheese wiki and it worked fine. I compared that recipe to the one in Rikki Carrol’s book and its mostly the same except for the pressing. Cheese wiki uses 20 pounds for everything, while Rikki’s uses 20, 40, and 50 pounds. I know gouda is a softer cheese, what can you expect using more weight, just a denser/harder cheese?

Sal

SAL - 03 May 2008 03:26 PM

I plan on making another gouda today. I used the recipe Rick put on the cheese wiki and it worked fine. I compared that recipe to the one in Rikki Carrol’s book and its mostly the same except for the pressing. Cheese wiki uses 20 pounds for everything, while Rikki’s uses 20, 40, and 50 pounds. I know gouda is a softer cheese, what can you expect using more weight, just a denser/harder cheese?

Sal

close texture and enough moisture

I used Rikki’s recipe for my first batch of Gouda last weekend. I’m really anxious to try some in a few months. Does anyone have any PH readings for Gouda that they can share?

Gouda (pH 5.38)

Is that the PH at renneting, cutting, or pressing? I would guess pressing….