Making Gouda Cheese at Home (Homemade Baby Gouda Cheese)

Heat 10 liters of pasteurized fresh milk on the stove until it reaches 30 degrees Celsius.

Add cheese starter culture (a mix of lactic acid bacteria dissolved in milk overnight) to the heated milk and let it sit for 45 minutes at 30 degrees Celsius.

Sterilize cheesecloth in boiling water during the 45 minutes wait.

After 45 minutes, add 1.5 milliliters of calcium chloride solution to the milk.

Add 2.5 milliliters of rennet to the milk and stir gently.

After 10 minutes, check if the rennet has set the milk by cutting it with a knife; the milk should split, letting clear whey seep out.

Cut the curds in all directions: first from top to bottom with 1 centimeter spacing, then from left to right to form long cubes, and finally cut at a 45-degree angle from both left to right and bottom to top.

Let the curds sit for 10 minutes, then wash them with warm water (heated to 65 degrees Celsius) to raise the temperature to 33 degrees and reduce acidity.

Scoop off roughly 1/3 of the whey from the curds using a sieve before washing.

Transfer half of the total volume of curds to a sanitized bucket after washing.

Repeat the washing process to raise the curds' temperature to 36 degrees Celsius, stirring for 10 minutes or until desired.

Let the curds ripen at the final temperature for 30 minutes.

Scoop out the curds with a sieve and press them into a mold lined with sterilized cheesecloth, filling until there's a decent quantity sticking out of the top.

Place 2 kilograms of dumbbell weights on top of the molds and wait for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove the young cheeses from their molds and turn them upside down back into the mold.

For the second pressing, add 4 kilograms of weight per cheese and press evenly for about 8 hours overnight.

Dissolve 2 kilograms of table salt in water to a total volume of 10 liters for brining.

Brine the cheeses for 8 hours, flipping them every 2 hours.

After brining, place the cheeses in a cool, dark closet for about a day or until the outside is dry to the touch.

Coat the cheeses with cheese lacquer using a brush, allowing each layer to dry for a few hours before applying the next layer.

After the final layer is applied, return the cheeses to the cool closet to age for 3 weeks.

Equipment Needed

Allergens