Moulding the cheese

Transcript

Miel Meyer – Meyer Gouda Cheese

By removing the whey, you end up with a lot of curds left over. We bunch that up into the cheese vat, and then we cut that into squares, and then we end up putting those square blocks into the round cheese moulds. So you’ve still got a lot of whey in that curd, which is quite solid – you can hold it at that stage. And then we put lids on it and then put them into the presses.

Pressing is an important part of the process – it helps the moisture continue to be pressed out of the cheese. It helps form the shape of the cheese, and the pressing helps also develop a thin rind. So you can imagine if you’re pressing the curd that the outer edge is actually going to be pressed a lot more than the inner cheese. So you’re actually developing a rind, and that’s the first protective layer that the Gouda cheese gets.