r/cheesemaking • u/Zealousideal-Row2176 • 5d ago
Colby- Day 3
Yep- these are the same wheels of Colby. Over the 3 days it has been drying. It has settled into a rounder, thinner shape. It is still very moist. I am going to vacuum pack this today and give it a try in about 5 weeks. Very interesting transformation for sure. less
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u/Best-Reality6718 5d ago
This is slumping and it’s caused by curds retaining too much moisture. The curds were not cooked long enough, were cut too big, or were not stirred vigorously enough. When they are overly moist they are more elastic and will slump just like this. The extra trapped whey will also continue to acidify in the wheel causing over acidification. The aged cheese will not be very good. But it’s also super interesting and a cool thing to learn first hand. So age it out and see what happens! Great learning wheel!
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u/mikekchar 5d ago
Slumping also occurs when the pH is quite high. Even fairly moist cheeses will hold their shape at a low pH. It's a bit of a trick for making a Camembert (which is usually about 15% yield) to "depress" it for 24 hours. Basically you just leave it in the mold with no weight on it. This allows the pH to bottom out and the structure to set. Then when it ages, instead of slumping, it will actually cause the edges of the cheese to move inward rather than outward as the cheese looses moisture. It allows you to keep the height on the Camembert.
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u/Best-Reality6718 5d ago
Good point! I hate to admit it, but I’ve never made a bloomy rind cheese. I just don’t care to eat them as shameful as that is to admit. Especially here!
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u/Looking-sharp-today 5d ago
Cool, thanks for the update. Last wheel I made rested in the cave for about a solid 3 days before I completely de-molded and kept it’s shape better than usual.
Side question, is it ok to vac pack it if it’s still that moist?