The wax was intact, and no whey leakage as I removed it.
It was oily to touch, and quite hard. At this stage I thought it might have completely dried out.
I cut it apart gently with two knives. It had a few small holes in it, but nothing like the eyes of the swiss style cheeses that I have made previously.
The texture was oily and had a waxy feel to it. It did smell incredible. Not as strong as an aged Parmesan, but still quite pungent. The centre still had moisture to it, but I could only press my fingernail into the cheese. Slightly hard.
It was difficult to cut slices from, so to keep all of my fingers intact, I decided to shave some off using a vegetable peeler.
This method worked very well, and I created some quite amazing shavings. I vacuum packed a one half and shaved the other.
But what about the flavour?
I think I need to make some more Romano.
Hey Gavin,
Made my 1st cheese, (a white cheddar) coming on 2 years ago. I ate the 1st 3 quarters over the past 18 months. AMAZING!!! I’ll be eating the last 1/4 wheel on April 15 (2 years old to the day). Can’t wait to see how it taste. I’ll also be cutting into a wheel of Emmentaler at the same time. It will be 1 year old then. I’m also aging 2 wheels of raw goat milk Romano (1 waxed and the other wiped with olive oil on the 1st of each month). They are now 1 year old and I’m going to let them go another year. The oiled one smells amazing and it’s quite the challenge not cutting into it. I’m also aging another white cheddar that just turned 1 year which I’m going to age another year before cutting into. These cheeses are sooo much better than store bought!!!
I’ve also got a Cotswold aging now and am looking to give it 6 months to age. Have you ever aged a Cotswold long term (a year or more)? I ask because I’m wondering if the chives and onion bits will allow for long term aging. I also just made a peppercorn Cheddar and have the same question. How long can you age a cheese with herbs and spices incorporated?
I love your videos!!! You do a great job explaining everything simply. Bravo!!!
Thanks for all the help you’ve given me. These cheeses go along great with the sausages I make. Pretty soon, I’ll have a meat and cheese plate with all the trimmings and all made from scratch. Very cool… Just pull a cork from a nice bottle of vino and sheer bliss…
Cheers,
Al Bacon
USA