General ageing tips for cheesemaking
Mar 24, 2014 7:51:41 GMT -5
Shawn, barefootfarmer, and 8 more like this
Post by lew92 on Mar 24, 2014 7:51:41 GMT -5
Cheesemaking is an adventure that takes time to learn. I've been privileged to have a cow that gives me lots of good milk to experiment with and believe me, the chickens and pigs have had the opportunity to eat way more than their fair share. That said, what follows are some things I have learned over the years that have increased the quality and consistency of the cheeses I make.
It is a good idea to keep a notebook to write down the process that you follow with each cheese you make. That way, if a farming emergency comes up and your timing is off, for instance, you will have some indication of why your cheese may have ended up differently than expected. The difference might mean the chickens eat well or it may be fantastic. In that case, you will probably want to reproduce the "mistake" and you have discovered a new variety of cheese!
When ageing at low temps, such as a refrigerator, the cheese is only ageing at about half the "normal" rate. I used to age in my spare fridge, but learned that the cheese would have to age about 6 months for cheddar varieties in order to have any flavor and texture at all.
I got impatient to try my early cheeses, too, and very few of them made it past two months old. To get some to age longer, I cut it in wedges and waxed them separately after they'd had a chance to dry on all sides. That way, I could taste some of the cheese a bit earlier rather than waste the entire wheel.
I had one cheese that was extremely dry and crumbly and didn't have much flavor. I put it in a plastic bag and squeezed as much air out of it as possible and threw it in the back of the veggie drawer (where I was storing cheese at the time). About a year later, I was looking for some sharp cheese to add to a cheese ball and re-discovered the wedge. It was sharp and very creamy, once I scraped off all the mold that had formed on it.
I also learned to make a variety of cheeses so that I wouldn't be so impatient for the longer ageing varieties to be ready. Gouda is good when young (6 weeks or so) as a mild flavored melting cheese. Try to make a wheel to forget about though - the flavor will knock your socks off if you can stand to let it go 6-9 months. Lancashire is a cheddar variety that is intended to be eaten "young" - at 2-3 months. It is creamy in texture and has wonderful flavor. If kept beyond three months, though, it will turn bitter because of its high moisture content.
Proper ageing time allows the bacteria - the culture - to do its work properly. The amount of time, the humidity levels, and the temperature all have their place in setting the correct environment for the bacteria/culture to do what it needs to do.
To adjust for humidity, you can create a ripening box. I buy lidded plastic containers that are just big enough to fit a wheel of cheese in (need to go small because I have a mini fridge as my cheese cave). I bought plastic "egg crate" - made to cover fluorescent light fixtures - and cut it to fit in the bottom of the plastic container. I cut a piece of plastic cross stitch matting to fit on top of the egg crate - before I used that, I had cheese "melt" into the egg crate - not nice at all!
Air dry the cheese for 2-3 days until the bottom side is like a wrung-out sponge when you turn it. Then place it in the ripening box with the lid closed. Turn the cheese daily for a couple of weeks, then a couple of times a week from there on out. If the box forms condensation on the inside, the environment is getting too humid and you can leave the box open just a bit to allow for air circulation. If the cheese starts drying out too quickly, close the box up again. If you are turning the cheese a couple of times a week, it is easy to monitor the humidity this way.
I've found that using a ripening box creates a suede-like natural rind on the cheese and the rind is very thin, so little cheese is lost. If it starts drying out too much, I rub it with olive oil, butter, or lard (whichever is closest to hand). If it starts getting moldy, I use a toothbrush, coarse salt, and raw apple cider vinegar to clean the mold off, finishing off with a paper towel dipped in the ACV. Wash and air dry the container and mats, too. Once the cheese has air dried, it goes back in the container.
Depending on the cheese, I will leave it in the ripening box for 2 months or so. Then remove it to the general area of the fridge for further ageing. If it starts drying too quickly in the general area (starts showing small cracks) I coat the outside with butter or lard. It gets kind of messy, but the racks in the fridge are removable and wash up easily.
To use the cheese, I simply scrape the lard/butter off and cut into the cheese. If the lard is on for over a month or six weeks, it is usually barely there - it tends to incorporate into the rind of the cheese.
Another tip: cut your cheese and allow it to de-gas for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before taking a slice to taste. Gasses are produced by the culture bacteria as they die off and the gas can distort the scent and flavor of the cheese, so if you taste it immediately after cutting into it, you will most likely be disappointed, but will be pleasantly surprised after giving it some time to breath.
It is a good idea to keep a notebook to write down the process that you follow with each cheese you make. That way, if a farming emergency comes up and your timing is off, for instance, you will have some indication of why your cheese may have ended up differently than expected. The difference might mean the chickens eat well or it may be fantastic. In that case, you will probably want to reproduce the "mistake" and you have discovered a new variety of cheese!
When ageing at low temps, such as a refrigerator, the cheese is only ageing at about half the "normal" rate. I used to age in my spare fridge, but learned that the cheese would have to age about 6 months for cheddar varieties in order to have any flavor and texture at all.
I got impatient to try my early cheeses, too, and very few of them made it past two months old. To get some to age longer, I cut it in wedges and waxed them separately after they'd had a chance to dry on all sides. That way, I could taste some of the cheese a bit earlier rather than waste the entire wheel.
I had one cheese that was extremely dry and crumbly and didn't have much flavor. I put it in a plastic bag and squeezed as much air out of it as possible and threw it in the back of the veggie drawer (where I was storing cheese at the time). About a year later, I was looking for some sharp cheese to add to a cheese ball and re-discovered the wedge. It was sharp and very creamy, once I scraped off all the mold that had formed on it.
I also learned to make a variety of cheeses so that I wouldn't be so impatient for the longer ageing varieties to be ready. Gouda is good when young (6 weeks or so) as a mild flavored melting cheese. Try to make a wheel to forget about though - the flavor will knock your socks off if you can stand to let it go 6-9 months. Lancashire is a cheddar variety that is intended to be eaten "young" - at 2-3 months. It is creamy in texture and has wonderful flavor. If kept beyond three months, though, it will turn bitter because of its high moisture content.
Proper ageing time allows the bacteria - the culture - to do its work properly. The amount of time, the humidity levels, and the temperature all have their place in setting the correct environment for the bacteria/culture to do what it needs to do.
To adjust for humidity, you can create a ripening box. I buy lidded plastic containers that are just big enough to fit a wheel of cheese in (need to go small because I have a mini fridge as my cheese cave). I bought plastic "egg crate" - made to cover fluorescent light fixtures - and cut it to fit in the bottom of the plastic container. I cut a piece of plastic cross stitch matting to fit on top of the egg crate - before I used that, I had cheese "melt" into the egg crate - not nice at all!
Air dry the cheese for 2-3 days until the bottom side is like a wrung-out sponge when you turn it. Then place it in the ripening box with the lid closed. Turn the cheese daily for a couple of weeks, then a couple of times a week from there on out. If the box forms condensation on the inside, the environment is getting too humid and you can leave the box open just a bit to allow for air circulation. If the cheese starts drying out too quickly, close the box up again. If you are turning the cheese a couple of times a week, it is easy to monitor the humidity this way.
I've found that using a ripening box creates a suede-like natural rind on the cheese and the rind is very thin, so little cheese is lost. If it starts drying out too much, I rub it with olive oil, butter, or lard (whichever is closest to hand). If it starts getting moldy, I use a toothbrush, coarse salt, and raw apple cider vinegar to clean the mold off, finishing off with a paper towel dipped in the ACV. Wash and air dry the container and mats, too. Once the cheese has air dried, it goes back in the container.
Depending on the cheese, I will leave it in the ripening box for 2 months or so. Then remove it to the general area of the fridge for further ageing. If it starts drying too quickly in the general area (starts showing small cracks) I coat the outside with butter or lard. It gets kind of messy, but the racks in the fridge are removable and wash up easily.
To use the cheese, I simply scrape the lard/butter off and cut into the cheese. If the lard is on for over a month or six weeks, it is usually barely there - it tends to incorporate into the rind of the cheese.
Another tip: cut your cheese and allow it to de-gas for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before taking a slice to taste. Gasses are produced by the culture bacteria as they die off and the gas can distort the scent and flavor of the cheese, so if you taste it immediately after cutting into it, you will most likely be disappointed, but will be pleasantly surprised after giving it some time to breath.