Gouda-style washed-curd cheese

A pressed cheese with a washed curd

Gouda-style washed-curd cheese is a pressed, brined cheese in which part of the whey is replaced with hot water before the curd is consolidated and pressed. The documented method is Jim Wallace's Gouda recipe for New England Cheesemaking Supply, written for six gallons of milk with the MM100 mesophilic culture. The source refers to practice in Holland and to Boerenkaas rinds, which the page presents as an association rather than a claim of origin.

The method follows a sequence of set, cut, stir, wash, consolidate, press, brine, dry and age. The sources give the times and temperatures for each stage, and this page keeps them as printed.

Why the curd is washed

The Gouda page explains that the wash removes lactose, which lactic bacteria would otherwise convert to acid. With less lactose left, the cheese ends less acidic before the months of ageing that follow. After stirring the curd for 15 minutes, one third of the whey is removed and water at 130 °F (54 °C) is added over 15 minutes, to a final curd temperature the source prints as 98 to 102 with no unit. The higher end of that range is for a drier, longer-aged cheese.

The source says to keep stirring for 30 minutes, or until the curd reaches its final moisture, and it leaves the wash water volume unstated.

Pressing, brining and ageing

The curd is consolidated in the mould under the whey with a follower and a 6 lb weight for 15 minutes. It is then pressed in steps: 9 lb for 30 minutes, flipped, 16 lb for 30 minutes, 25 lb for 30 minutes, then 25 lb for 6 to 8 hours. For a drier, long-aged cheese the source uses up to 50 lb overnight. The cheese rests overnight in the mould at 50 °F (10 °C).

It is brined in saturated brine for 18 to 24 hours, which the source gives as 3 to 4 hours per pound of final cheese. The brine is one gallon of water, 2.25 lb of salt, 1 tablespoon of 30% calcium chloride solution and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. The cheese is dried for 3 to 7 days, then waxed or left to form a natural rind. It ages at 56 to 64 °F (13 to 18 °C) and 80 to 85% relative humidity, and the source gives ripeness from 60 days to 6 months, and 12 months to more than 4 years for drier cheeses.

Raw milk and late fermentation

The Gouda page says that low acid will not protect a raw-milk cheese from late fermentation by unwanted bacteria during ageing. Penn State Extension states that ultra-pasteurised and UHT milk interfere with curd formation and does not recommend raw milk for home cheesemaking, so the control this page carries is pasteurised milk.

The brewer as a hot-water tank (untested adaptation)

Untested adaptation: the brewer filled with water as a hot-water service tank beside a separate cheese pot, with the 130 °F wash water measured and added by hand. The Gouda page says nothing about brewing equipment. The dossier's notes add that the wash water becomes part of the cheese, so it must come from a food-safe vessel, and that a brewer recently run with cleaner must be rinsed first. The water temperature should be checked in the jug, not on the brewer display, and the final curd temperature with a probe.

What the sources leave open

Wash water volume: The page gives only the temperature and the target curd temperature..

Unit of the final curd temperature: Printed as '98-102' with no unit..

Calcium chloride for 6 gallons: Only the 2-gallon version gives an amount..

Wash water quality: The Gouda page does not say whether the water should be non-chlorinated..