Thank you for sharing the mess up! I made an incredible tomme and just tried again and the exact thing happened to me that did in this video. Same recipe did the same thing funky whey smell that seemed to go after it dried. I’ll know how it turned out in 4 weeks but your video has me hopeful that it wasn’t a total mess.
Oh, I just remembered that there is a cheese that is dried fully buried in a wooden bucket of salt. It stays in the salt for days .. I don't remember what kind.
Jennifer, Fantastic video! Thank you. I just found your yt channel and am learning so much. I don't know enough to say what caused the funky smell but could it have been the cheese sealed up against the inside of the bucket and without fresh air it breathed in its own off-gas not allowing it to cure/dry-out as well on the first setting.?...
What do you use for a cheese fridge? How do you control humidity? No problems with having different types of cheese not covered and aging in the same space? (Thanks for leaving in the problem-solving. Nothing like a little cheese drama!)
Cheese fridges: an old wine fridge and an old freezer that my husband converted into a cheese cave. (Check out the "Show and Tell" video to see the whole system.) I vac-pack most of my cheeses, which solves the problem of humidity control. (Recently, I've started playing with natural rinds --- those cheeses I age in ripening boxes.) I have had a little trouble with blue mold spread, even though I stored the cheeses in separate fridges and in containers, but it actually wasn't as big of a problem as I feared.
Air drying takes only 2-6 days. After that, it needs to be in a cooler spot. (Though you can certainly try to age it at room temp --- it might work out!)
@@jmilkslinger thank you, I have the bottom drawer to my frig that I am using for my 2 vaccum packed wheels.. I have a thermometor in there and it says it is between 47 and 50, depending when I look.. thank you for your help and suggestions.
Vac-packed cheeses will age beautifully, though the end result is different from a waxed cheese, bandaged cheese, or natural rind aged cheese. Which aging method you go with depends on your particular conditions and the end product you are going for.
I use a variety of cheesemaking books. Here are the links for two of my favorites: Home Cheese Making: amzn.to/3E0YoAd (Amazon) Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: amzn.to/3WRTRI5 (Amazon)
