Gouda Cheese

This recipe makes 2 little wheels, approximately 500 g/1 lbs of Gouda style cheese. This is the cheese that I make in the video that can be watched by clicking this link.

Ingredients: (metric)

10 L of Pasteurized milk (not sterilized)
100 mL Cheese culture or buttermilk
1.5 mL Calcium chloride solution (30%)
2.5 mL Rennet
2 kg Table salt (no iodine) dissolved to a total of 10 L
Cheese coating or wax

Ingredients: (US/imperial)

10.5 qts Pasteurized milk (not sterilized)
3.5 fl oz Cheese culture or buttermilk
1/4 tsp Calcium chloride solution (30%)
1/2 tsp Rennet
4.5 lbs Table salt (no iodine) dissolved in water tot a total of 10.5 qts
Cheese coating or wax

Method:

Step 1: Preparation: make the brine solution by dissolving the table salt in water, sterilize cheese cloth and cheese molds. Be sure to work clean during all the steps.

Step 2: Heat the milk slowly to 30 °C/86 °F. Add the cheese culture/buttermilk. Stir well for a minute and let sit at temperature for 45 minutes.

Step 3: Add calcium chloride solution and rennet to the milk. Stir clockwise and counter clockwise, each for 1 minute. Cover the pot with a lit and let rest for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Check if the milk is clothed by cutting in it with a sharp knife and pulling the knife aside. If it opens up and whey seeps in the cavity, your good to continue with cutting the curds. If it doesn’t, wait for another 5 minutes before checking again.

Step 5: Cut the curds in all directions (top to bottom, left to right, top to bottom at 45 degress, left to right at 45 degrees) with a distance of 1 cm or 3/8 inch. After cutting into pea-sized curds, let it rest for 10 minutes before washing.

Step 6: Scoop of 1/3 of the whey with a sieve and a ladle. Then, use water at 65 °C/149 °F to wash the curds and heat them to 33 °C/91 °F gradually. Wash for ten minutes, then scoop off half of the whey and repeat the washing process another time (not required) to heat the curds to 36 °C/97 °F. Let the curds ripen at the final temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 7: Line the molds with cheese cloth. Scoop the curds out of the whey with a sieve. fill the molds generously. Fold the cheese cloth, close the molds and add 2 kg/4.5 lbs weights on top for an hour. After an hour take the cheeses out of of the mold, turn them upside down, close the molds and press with 4 kg/9 lbs overnight, in about 8 hours.

Step 8: Take the cheese from their molds and put them in the brining solution. Turn them upside down every two hours for optimal brining results.

Step 9: Take the cheese out of the brining solution. With a cloth dry them. Put them in a dark and cool room (12-15 °C/50-55 °F) until the outside is dry enough to be coated, roughly 24 hours.

Step 9: Coat the cheese according the instructions that come with the cheese coating or wax. Then let the cheese wheels age in the dark and cool room (12-15 °C/50-55 °F) for a minimum of 2 weeks. The longer the aging, the more taste the cheese will develop, but cheeses this small might dry out when aged too long.

Step 10: Enjoy your homemade Gouda style cheese!