SWEET GOUDA RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Gallons of Milk (Not Ultra Pasteurized)

• 1/4-1/2 tsp Annatto Cheese Coloring
• 1/4 tsp MM100 Culture
• 1/16 tsp FLAV54 Culture
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Single Strength Liquid Rennet
• Salt
• Calcium Chloride (for pasteurized milk)

Equipment:

• Good Thermometer
• Knife to Cut Curds
• Spoon or Ladle to Stir Curds
• Butter Muslin
• M3 Small Hard Cheese Mold
• Draining Mats
• Cheese Press or 8, 15 & 20 llb Weights

A Recipe for Making a Gouda with a Sweeter Flavor

The recipe details are for a 2 gallon batch but I really enjoy making a 4 gallon batch
to be aged. You can make a larger cheese by increasing the ingredients in proportion
to the amount of milk you'll be using.

1 Acidify & Heat Milk

Begin by heating the milk to 88F. You do this by placing the milk in a pot or sink of
very warm water. If you do this in a pot on the stove, make sure you heat the milk
slowly and stir it well as it heats.

While the milk is heating, add the Annatto (1-2ml) for color.

Once the milk is at 88F the culture can be added. To prevent the powder from caking
and sinking in clumps sprinkle the powder over the surface of the milk and then allow
about 2 minutes for the powder to re-hydrate before stirring it in.

The milk now needs to be kept at this target temperature until it is time to increase
for cooking the curds. Hold the milk with culture quiet for the next 45 minutes to
allow the culture to begin doing its work. It will be very slow initially but will soon
kick into its more rapid rate of converting lactose to lactic acid.

While you are waiting for the culture to begin doing its work, begin heating another
large pot of water to about 150-160F. This will be used later to add back to the curds
and thus raise their temperature. Remember they used wooden vats so no fire to raise
the temperature.

2 Coagulate with Rennet

Now add 2.5 ml (about 1/2 tsp) of single strength liquid rennet, diluted in ¼ c. non-
chlorinated water, to the milk. This should be slowly stirred in for about 30 seconds.

The milk now needs to sit quiet for about 45 minutes while the culture works, and the
rennet coagulates the curd. You may notice the milk becoming thicker at about 10-15
minutes but allow it the full 45 minutes for a firm curd set.

The thermal mass of this milk should keep it warm during this period. It is OK if the
temp drops a few degrees during this time.

3 Cut Curd & Release Whey

Check the curd for a good firm set. You should see a nice clean split when you insert
the flat side of your curd cutting knife at an angle into the curd and lift. This split
should look very clean and whey should quickly pool in the split.

Now cut the curds vertically with a knife at about 3/8-1/2" spacings, and then at right
angles with the same increments. Then allow the curd to sit quiet for about 5 minutes
for the curd cuts to heal. You should note the whey begin to rise.

Using a flat ladle, cut horizontal at about 1/2" increments. The goal is to do the best
you can with between 3/8-1/2" curds throughout the pot.

Once the curd cut is as even as you can get it, allow it all to sit for 5 minutes.

You can now begin to stir the curd slowly to begin the whey release. If the
temperature has dropped from 88F, begin heating back to temperature as you stir.
This should take about 15 minutes and the curd should begin to develop a firmer
structure as it dries out

4 Cook the Curds

This step is unique to making Gouda since the curds are heated by adding hot water
back to the curds. In order to do this some of the whey is first removed.

This is a two-part process:

• First allow the curds to settle for a few minutes, then remove about 30% of the
whey. This not only makes room for the hot water and more efficient heating of
the curds, but it is also removing about 1/3 of the food that the bacteria were
consuming.
Since there is not as much food after this, the bacteria slow down which
functionally results in a sweeter cheese.

• Now the hot water that you had already prepared will now be added back slowly,
(about the same amount of water as the whey that you removed) to increase the
temperature over the next 15 minutes to end with a curd temperature of 102F.

This part will heat the curds and cause the curds to release whey and shrink more.

Once the curds are at 102F, begin the final stir to reduce the moisture. Longer stir
will yield a drier cheese for longer aging and more complex flavors. This should be a
slow and steady stirring taking between 20-30 minutes.

The final curds should be cooked well through and should be examined to make sure
that enough moisture has been removed. The final moisture is somewhat subjective
since it depends on the intended aging program. The simple test of taking a medium
handful of curds, compressing them in the hand and looking to see that they separate
with moderate thumb pressure is standard for evaluating this but may take a few
trials. A broken curd should be firm throughout and the curds should have a moderate
resistance when pressed between the fingers.

When the moisture is satisfactory the curds can be allowed to settle under the whey.

5 Form the Curds

The whey can now be removed down to about 1 inch above the curd mass, then the
curds can be gathered into a tight consolidated mass using a bit of hand pressure. By
doing this with plenty of whey and a good bit of hand pressure, this consolidates the
curd mass with fewer internal openings and results in a smoother cheese.

This single mass of curds can then be rolled into the draining cloth and transferred to
the sanitized mold.

6 Pressing

For pressing we begin very light and slowly increase the press weight to a moderate
level. The cheese should be removed from the press, unwrapped, turned, rewrapped,
and put back to the press at the below intervals to assure an even consolidation. At
each turn you will notice the cheese has formed a smoother surface and rests lower in
the mold.
• 15 minutes at 8lbs
• 30 minutes at 15lbs
• 60 minutes at 15lbs
• 60 minutes at 20lbs
• 2 hours at 20lbs

The rate of whey running off is simply a matter of drops and not a stream of whey
being released. This is a good rate of whey removal during pressing and will slow even
more as the residual free moisture is released. The form should show tears of whey
weeping from the form very slowly. When this stops you can increase the weight
slightly.

7 Salting

You will need a saturated brine prepared for salting this cheese.

A simple brine formula is:

• 1 gallon of water
• 2.25 lbs of salt
• 1 Tbsp calcium chloride
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Bring the brine and cheese to 50-55°F before using.

The cheese now needs to be set in the brine for about 3-4 hours per pound of finished
cheese.

The cheese will float above the brine surface so sprinkle another teaspoon or two of
salt on the top surface of the cheese.

Flip the cheese and re-salt the surface about half-way through the brine period.

At the end of the brine bath, wipe the surface and allow the cheese to surface dry for
a day or two before waxing. The surface will darken somewhat during this time.

8 Aging

The cheese can be waxed for aging, however I prefer a natural rind, which takes a bit
more attention to keep the ambient mold brushed from the surface. This may require
daily attention for the first few weeks and then becomes less as aging continues.

The cheese can then be placed into your aging space at 52-56F and 80-85%
moisture.Traditionally they were stored in cellars and barns with 56-62F
temperatures.
The cheese can now be aged for 3 months or longer when it will be ready for your
table.