Testing curds before moulding
Transcript
Miel Meyer - Meyer Gouda Cheese
The feeling of the curds is probably the biggest factor. If it’s too soon and you’re pressing the curds too soon, you end up with a really moist cheese, and you’ve got the potential that it goes off much quicker. Bacteria love moisture and heat, and you don’t want the moisture in the cheese – a little bit, yes, but not too much.
The curd size is another one of those quality control checks to make sure it’s small enough for the type of cheese we’re making. To test the curds, I put the curds in my hand, feel it. If it breaks up easily, then the curds will be ripe for moulding. Again, it depends on the type of cheese – if it’s a old or vintage cheese, then you need a really dry curd, so it should never stick to, to itself. A really mild creamy cheese, then you have a bigger curd and it sticks a lot more.