Gouda Times at Last

On Saturday, we were invited to dinner at some friends’ old farmhouse way out in the boonies in (appropriately enough) Boon County. Their property backs right up to the Wisconsin state line. Since we were going to be practically behind the Cheddar Curtain, and my lopsided Gouda was supposed to be ready, I figured it to be a good time to cut into it to see how it turned out. I brought part of it to the dinner. The results were way better than last time. The cheese retained much more of its moisture, so the texture was much more of what I think of as a Gouda. I knew as soon as the knife started slicing through it that I’d be happier with the texture. The flavor was fine, but I had more or less achieved that last time anyway. I consider this my first really successful attempt with a hard cheese. Now I just need to get the press to work without slipping. Next time, I’ll probably go ahead and try to make two, so that I can age one longer. Aged Gouda is supposedly impressive.

My next cheese experiment: Farmhouse Cheddar.