This is a Dutch-tradition Edam-Gouda washed curd cheese.  “Washed curd” because once the milk is coagulated, you remove part of the whey and replace it with water, so there’s less food for the bacteria to convert into acid, and the resulting cheese is less acidic and “sweeter. “

This was a three gallon make, and I got a bit creative with the molding:

A blurry shot of it hurled across the evening sky would surely end up on some internet sites . . . so it’s my Unidentified Flying Cheesy Object.

After a week or so it calmed down and became a lovely lump with what might be Geotrichum candidum in its yeasty form:

This type of cheese can be really complex and delicious, but only if you’re willing to wait 18 months, and I’m not, so this one got a rubbing instead :

It will get more rubbings, but I don’t think I’ll be able to wait the three months my cheese buddy recommended 🙂

-R