Kruchten Recipes

Gouda

Ingredients

  • 8 liters whole milk (3.25% fat or more), not homogenized !
  • 1/4 tsp mesophilic culture
  • 1/2 tsp calcium chloride
  • 1/2 tsp rennet
    For brine:
  • 2 liters water
  • 360 g salt

Equipment

  • large metallic pot
  • thermometer
  • butter muslin (or cheesecloth)
  • Dutch press
  • 13 cm hoop + follower
  • wax

Preparation

  1. Put all the milk in a large pot (at t0)
  2. Heat milk slowly to 29°C-32°C, stirring once in a while (t+5’)
  3. Dilute the bacterial culture, the calcium chloride, and the rennet, separately in quarter cups of lukewarm water.
    image
  4. Add the bacterial culture, and stir (t+35’)
  5. Let rest for 30 minutes
  6. Add the calcium chloride, stir (t+1h05’)
  7. Add the rennet, and stir well with a skimmer.
  8. Cover and let rest for 40 to 45 minutes at 29°C+
  9. Check for clean break; wait maybe another 15 minutes if not ready (t+1h40)
  10. Curd curd in cubes about 1 cm with a big knife
  11. Let stand for 5 minutes
  12. Stir curds for 5 minutes, then let them settle down for 5 minutes (t+2h10)
  13. Heat 2 liters of water to 60°C
  14. Remove 3 cups of whey from the top
  15. Replace with 3 cups of water at 60°C to reach 33°C-35°C
  16. Stir for 10 minutes, then let settle
  17. Replace 1/3 of the volume of the whey, with same amount of water at 43°C to reach 37°C-39°C (that is 10 cups)
  18. Stir for 20 minutes, occasionaly, breaking big lumps of curd, then let settle for 10 min.
  19. Line the hoop with the wet butter muslin (or cheesecloth)
  20. Drain most of the whey (t+3h15)
  21. Transfer all the curds in the hoop; fold the muslin on top
  22. Put the follower on top of the hoop and in the press, and apply light pressure for 30 minutes (1 brick x4) (t+3h50)
    image
  23. Re-dress the cheese, and put back in press with higher pressure for 30 minutes (2 bricks x4) (t+4h25)
  24. Prepare a saturated brine at 18% (that is, 360 g of salt for 2 liters of water). I re-use the brine, filtering it with a cheesecloth.
  25. Re-dress the cheese, and put back in press with higher pressure for 8 to 12 hours (4 bricks x4) (t+4h45).
  26. Unwrap cheese and place in brine for 8 to 12 hours, turning over a few times.
  27. Let cheese dry on a mat for 2 or 3 days at room temperature, turning over daily
    image
  28. Ripen cheese at 10°C to 12°C for 1 week, flipping it over once or twice a day
  29. Coat with wax
    image
  30. Ripen at 12°C for 8 to 100 weeks, turning over weekly.
    image

Notes

  • Mesophilic culture: Lactococcus lactis subspecies lactis + Lactococcus lactis subspecies cremoris + Lactococcus lactis subspecies biovar diacetylactis, such as in Danisco’s DVS Choozit MM100 or MM101 or BT002. Alternatively, Biena’s Aroma B adds some Leuconostoc mesenteroides subspecies cremoris.
  • Pressure: hoop ∅ 4.5” => 16 sq in; 1 brick = 2.4 kg multiplied by 4 by lever => 1.32 psi; 2 bricks => 2.64 psi, 4 bricks => 5.28 psi etc
  • Yield: 8 liters of milk yield about 1 kg of cheese
  • Fat: as 8 liters of milk at 3.25% contain 260 g of fat, the cheese is 26% fat, or a bit less as some of the fat floats away in the discarded whey.