Making A Natural Rind Gruyère: A Cheese So Good I Nearly Wept

Even though I only aged this Gruyère for six months, the depth of flavor is fantastic, in large part due to the combination of raw milk, clabber culture, and natural rind. (I may finally be getting a handle on natural rinds, woot-woot!)
Get the printable recipe PDF here: milkslinger.com/shop/gruyere-...
RECIPE and INGREDIENTS
Recipe Inspiration from the Home Cheese Making Book: amzn.to/3E0YoAd (Amazon)
Recipe Inspiration from Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: amzn.to/3WRTRI5 (Amazon)
Rennet: bit.ly/3AZldBT (New England Cheesemaking)
How To Make Clabber: bit.ly/3nX5u3v (blog)
How to Make Clabber: bit.ly/3VPX1Me (KZbin)
How To Make A Saturated Salt Brine: rb.gy/u16is (KZbin)
Other optional thermophilic culture:
Homemade Yogurt: bit.ly/3WxkYYv
Reading Recommendation: Come As You Are, by Emily Nagoski: amzn.to/469UZup (Amazon)
TOOLS and EQUIPMENT
Stainless Steel Slotted Spoon: amzn.to/42JWJc0 (Amazon)
Curd Knife: amzn.to/3OncD7H (Amazon)
8-gallon soup pot: bit.ly/3zONbAq (Webstaurant)
Large Cheese Mold: bit.ly/41dRdgl (New England Cheesemaking)
Cheese Press: bit.ly/3BjMSP1 (New England Cheesemaking)
Cheesecloth: bit.ly/3evpHIM (New England Cheesemaking)
Mesh Plastic: amzn.to/3JV19Xn (Amazon)
Bamboo Mats: amzn.to/3qkEQ24 (Amazon)
Netted Cheese Cover: amzn.to/3cNYKjb (Amazon)
Vacuum Sealer: amzn.to/3KG4N5R (Amazon)
Wevac Vacuum Sealer Bags: amzn.to/3TRjd7a (Amazon)
Read my blog: jennifermurch.com/
Recipes: jennifermurch.com/recipe-index
Email me: [e-mail]
CHAPTERS
00:00 Gruyère
00:30 The Milk
01:10 Clabber Culture
03:14 Rennet
04:17 Cutting and Cooking the Curd
06:20 Pouring off the Whey
07:41 Pressing
10:21 Brining
11:06 Air Drying
11:20 Washing and Aging
12:47 My Labeling System
13:53 Day 7
14:16 Day 11
14:47 Day 13
15:03 Day 17
15:26 Day 19
15:45 Day 27
16:37 Day 31
16:47 Day 34
17:08 Day 38
17:55 Day 43
18:54 What B.Linen Cheeses Smell Like
19:12 Day 52 -- Vinegar Wash and Air Dry
22:06 Day 56
22:26 Day 90
22:49 Day 180
24:25 Day 195 -- Cutting
24:40 My Note-Taking System
27:09 Tasting
Disclaimer: This video may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission.

[@jmilkslinger]

For the inside scoop on recipe development, cheese news, and all my cheese-related angst, sign up for Splashed!, the weekly Milkslinger newsletter: milkslinger.com/ See you there!

[@AshMorganOfficial]

I have recently got in to making cheeses… so I have watched so many videos. Watching this was pure joy. I wanted to tear up with you when you cut in to it! Sheer unbridled joy! Bravo.. so very inspiring! Clapping hard from Wales, UK!

[@Adnancorner]

I salute you. Its not easy to record and keep a proper update for every cheese. I salute you. Its not easy to keep the recorded vids of every cheese you make and also short vids of you putting them in fridges with every 3 weeks or 6 weeks.

[@alteredLori]

I'm not crying, you are crying! Excellent video! You are such a rebel with a cause and you won't let anything defeat you! What an inspiration you are to others. I am 72 and starting my cheese making journey. So many to do! I just have to find my cheese cave yet. I don't have access to raw milk in Nevada. CA or AZ closest places. I watched a gal that made a culture with store milk and reg. buttermilk, she had a process. Would that we the same as you using raw milk to make your culture??? She is from Buck Ridge Homestead. So many recipes I want to make. Thanks for your inspiration. A huge fan our your channel! Lori

[@jmilkslinger]

It's not the same, but it's another variation on the theme...

[@northernmakers6890]

Very nice MashaAllah.the skin is beutifuly developed.i am also Artician cheese maker in Pakistan.wish May Allah give you more success.

[@zak_87]

This is probably the best cheese I've seen in this channel, OMG, true alpine washed rind, and the color is just perfect, similar to Beaufort or Comté. And you can see the ripening in the area near the rind, perfection really 👌

[@amandaw30]

You are my favorite cheese maker on youtube! I love learning with you and how much you share through out the process. You are also a hoot, so much fun to watch! Watching your videos has given me so much confidence to just keep doing cheese even if I don't know if I'm doing it right haha. I mean I might as well considering there is 25 gallons of milking rolling into the house every week whether I use it up or not.

[@jmilkslinger]

Oh, thank you!!

[@WaynesWorld69]

This is fascinating! No idea why your channel popped up in my feed but I'm glad it did. I think I should learn how to make cheese!

[@Woodlawn22]

I grew up in St. Louis where there was a department store called Famous Barr. They had a small lunch place that served French onion soup that was dripping with baked and bubbly Gruyere cheese. Loved how you guarded your prize from your hungry child. I see how it is there. The family gets the scratch and dent cheeses, right??

[@zofiametcalf]

awesome video! thank you. can’t wait to make this one.

[@bradleyfield3944]

Well done! That's an amazing result!!

[@kayrams1792]

Your dedication and tenacity is amazing Jennifer

[@Africantanman]

That's outstanding!

[@aaronmccray2534]

Looks perfect! Way to go!

[@merindymorgenson3184]

This look delicious! Well done, you!

[@Ichorof]

You deserve so much more viewers I didn’t even realize I had watched the whole video. The cheese looks amazing you are great!

[@signesiemsen5121]

This is the exact kind of cheesemaking video I’ve been trying to find for months on youtube. So informative and easygoing! I am now ready to try out making my first hard cheese, thank you 🙏🏽!!

[@valerieengel7854]

Congratulations Jennifer. That is gorgeous. I may have to try. And thanks for walking us through the rind washing, considerable fear factor for me.

[@abhishek0kb]

💯 for so much patience

[@k_zibi]

Emotion from cheese making ... joy and tears and pasion. I am with you

[@scramblendan]

Your passion and commitment is very impressive. 👍 good for you 🙂

[@howandtrago2far49]

That was amazing and an amazing process! You did a great job, truly. I wish KZbin would have give you better numbers bc you sincerely deserved it...the cheese came out BEAUTIFULLY!

[@dawnhoover2726]

Beautiful!

[@jpitt4634]

It looks amazing and thank you for a look at your notes! ❤️

[@jmilkslinger]

Thanks for the prompt!

[@kathleenreynolds6492]

I’ve just started making a few cheeses. Don’t know how far I’ll delve into it but you are so inspiring- and fun bc you’re real !!! Thx

[@jmilkslinger]

Yay! Take it a step at a time and just have fun with it. Brace yourself for disappointment, as well as TOTAL MAGIC. You can do it!

[@stiv-46.cheese]

Hello jennifer from greece🇬🇷 i learn many many things from you 😊.. i hope god bless you thank you for everything😊🧀

[@jmilkslinger]

You are so welcome!

[@totalbodyharmony9064]

That is awesome!

[@raphaellaoun2784]

It looks amazing. I just want to say that we are a little like you we never follow a recipe to the letter we always wing it. We appreciate the way you try to fix things... Deja Vu 😅😅

[@tannagordon9461]

I literally felt your joy when you tasted it!! 😊😊😊 i recently acquired 2 jerseys and I’m milking and selling clean raw milk. I want to start making cheese! I will be following you!

[@jmilkslinger]

Congratulations on the new Jerseys!!! Cows are so much fun!

[@tannagordon9461]

@@jmilkslinger thank you!

[@gregsti]

Congratulations !

[@thenightingalefarm]

Wow ! I love the energy in your videos❤ i just made my first hard cheese and i wanna learn learn learn ❤

[@jmilkslinger]

It's addictive!

[@brookebain7250]

This is awesome. I just got into cheese making. I’m starting with the soft cheeses of course. But I feel that I won’t be able to make hard cheeses, at least not until I have a house. I have 2 golden retrievers in a 1 bedroom apartment and there’s just hair everywhere no matter how much I clean and I don’t have a place to age the cheese. I can’t wait to have a house where I could do it though. A lot of people like the convenience, but people like us love a challenge and the process. I graduated college a year ago, so I’m figuring out life on my own.. but I’m enjoying having a kitchen. Tomorrow I’m starting my homemade vanilla extract that will be ready in December for Christmas gifts and I’m also buying cacao beans to start making chocolate. I’m trying to find what cheese to make next, I’ve made mozzarella and ricotta so far and made lasagna with it

[@jmilkslinger]

Making things is sooo gratifying. And getting your first apartment and making it your own nest is wonderfully satisfying. xo

[@alhachlibou3lam94]

جبنة لذيذة انتي تستحقي التشجيع

[@ParkerMiddleton]

Love your videos, Jennifer!!!! Soooo so awesome to watch

[@ParkerMiddleton]

Also I felt like I could cry with you on this one! So inspiring

[@jmilkslinger]

I'm so glad you like them!

[@40nights40daystv]

Never made cheese before but this looks really cool and I’m glad this popped up in my algorithm. I love making mead and bread; making cheese looks right up my ally!

[@jmilkslinger]

Mead and cheese and bread are so related! I just started mead this summer and I'm gearing up to make my first batch of wine from our grapes!

[@johnclark1925]

This was fascinating. Set up of the house is really interesting, going for a walk in the middle really active, reading a book while cooking, but the best bit is making a mistake correcting it. I’m just going on I’m not worrying about it. What a cool lady that is. Liked and subbed.

[@jmilkslinger]

Aw, thank you!

[@kristysmith6229]

I am so glad I found your channel ! You should publish your notes and recipes ! Also, how many goats and cows do you have ?

[@jmilkslinger]

Currently 3 cows (milking 2), 3 calves, one heifer (living on another farm), and 1 irritating do-nothing goat which belongs to my younger son.

[@thelittlethingskate9567]

Your timing is impeccable. I’m working on a Gruyère, and its fur coat was pretty gnarly for a minute. I was sure pleasantly surprised to see how nice it looked when I gave it a brine bath. It’s looking like yours! Also, good news, I didn’t screw up the calcium chloride! Yay! It’s developing this pretty brown rind, which is dry, as well as an even coating of white fuzz. The fuzz retreats when I wash it, and comes back evenly between washings. Fingers crossed it isn’t disgusting when I cut into it many months from now. Maybe I’ll have a pig by then! 😂 I’m wondering if you’d mind sharing where you get your big clear aging containers. Thanks for another excellent video!

[@jmilkslinger]

I still haven't quite managed to get that uniform white fuzz coating like you mention --- goals!! I bet it's gonna be good. (Glad you found the link!)

[@user-gi4zx3ci4x]

I got large containers off of Amazon!

[@papadzso33]

Gratulálok! Szép a sajt.

[@jmilkslinger]

Thank you!

[@Adnancorner]

I love your house. Its cute and comfy.

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

Oh I’m jealous, I would love to make cheese. My raw milk source is a 2 hr round trip drive to the Amish and sometimes they don’t have any but I can’t call them ahead of time to be sure. It’s just a pain so I make simple cheese when I get milk. I love your videos !!!

[@jasonmiller5698]

So I've watched this video a few times and finally made this cheese. I also took a "page from your book" and went hands in on my stiring for the first time! Didn't have clabbard, so I used thermo c and p. Shermani. Hopefully it'll come out as great as yours! BTW what a great view out your kitchen window.

[@jmilkslinger]

Oh, wonderful --- I hope it works out for you!!

[@jeremykelley4990]

Hell ya so good!!!

[@redabdab]

Very impressive. Gruyère is one of my favourite cheeses and I would love to have tasted that one. Looked superb! I’ve only just started cheese making, but it’s great to learn that you can use yogurt as a starter culture! Would regular natural yogurt from the supermarket work? Thank you.

[@jmilkslinger]

Yes, I think so! Choose a good-quality yogurt with live and active cultures.

[@alhachlibou3lam94]

جبنة جميلة

[@Baya_req]

هذا ينأكل؟ صار بي عفن ما يسبب تسمم؟ ة

[@billpearson8910]

Jennifer a question about brineing a hard cheese. Even though you added salt prior to pressing would you still brine. Enjoy your videos, very informative. Thanks

[@jmilkslinger]

Usually, if you add salt before pressing, that's the extent of the salting process --- there's no need to brine.

[@kayrams1792]

Your Gruyere belong to perfect recipe books

[@iwonacharleson7071]

That looks to die for! Well done! I think the rind looks spectacular and the colour of the paste is amazing. Truly there are no words!!! I'd love to try making my own clabber (but not from goats milk) and I can only buy cultured buttermilk here - would that work do you think? Love to hear your view.

[@jmilkslinger]

No, cultured buttermilk would not work for clabber, but you can use it to culture mesophilic cheeses!

[@iwonacharleson7071]

@@jmilkslinger

[@iwonacharleson7071]

@@jmilkslinger Sadly its what I thought and I have used both buttermilk and yogurt instead of commercial cultures at times.

[@rubygray7749]

Delicious video. Unfortunately the volume is painfully low on my phone. I kept going to sleep, but it is 2.30 a.m.

[@bridog9313]

I enjoy your videos :) Any plans to try a Parmesan cheese?

[@jmilkslinger]

Thank you, and yes! I have one video in production but it'll be months until it's complete since Parmesan has such a long aging time.

[@bridog9313]

I'm stoked for the video!!@@jmilkslinger

[@masonlifestyle3003]

Jennifer!.... i watched this whole video salivating at the edge of my seat to see the end result...lol ... awesome job.... i also saw the Cujada video and made some since i always add salt to my mozza and ricotta anyway...it is YUMMY!... made a rice and beans with with my a saute sauce from my lil backyard food garden to have with Cujada kinda like what you shown at the end of that video and WOW!... anyhoo QUESTION!... can i give back life to pasteurized whole milk by adding Buttermilk to it ? and would be like a cup of buttermilk to a gallon of whole milk? asking for a friend :)

[@jmilkslinger]

I have not tried to turn pasteurized milk into buttermilk via cultured buttermilk, but according to this video you can! www.seriouseats.com/diy-cultured-buttermilk-recipe

[@masonlifestyle3003]

thx for that quick response :) ... making the buttermilk substitute from yogurt or sour cream i'm ok with... but after my first comment ... i was searching for RAW farm i finally found one an hour away that make RAW Jersey milk weekly ...at 12bux a gallon mind you ...sigh... but i'm going out there for fresh air and befriend a cattle rancher's daughter...that could end up fun lol :)

[@jmilkslinger]

@@masonlifestyle3003 $12/gallon?! That's wicked expensive!!!

[@bryanjoachim5655]

Good job, Hon. Truth be known I kinda thought you were going to poison yourself. Nice vid.

[@Tiffycha1982]

I'd love a link for that giant whisk!

[@jmilkslinger]

Here you go! amzn.to/43WlYcJ

[@kellymoler6594]

Question: is it possible you wipe the cheese down with a salt dusting to keep the mold from forming?

[@jmilkslinger]

I think so, yes, but I'd have to do more research before I answer definitively because I've never done that myself....

[@maggietaylor9713]

Fabulous video of a true cheese maker. Have you tried aging your cheeses by washing them with the salty whey? I find this works 🤔

[@jmilkslinger]

My light brine (the one I wash cheeses with) is salty, but not SALTY salty. How long does your salty whey last in the fridge?

[@maggietaylor9713]

I'm making cheese every day(not the quantity you make as I've only three nannies) so after I've salted the curds I use the residual salty whey to wash cheeses that are starting to mould so I'm not actually storing the salty whey... However I have friends who store the unsalted whey in their fridges for a week to make their smoothies so I'd check it out. It's traditional in Portugal to wash all the cheeses in whey and it does give them a skin similar to your beautiful gruyere. I use clabber also and each week make a fresh jar with a tablespoon sized slosh of warm whey into fresh milk as I find the clabber gets runner as the days go by. My old neighbour just 'back slops' each day so a cup of yesterday's whey goes into the fresh milk to culture it. Absolutely loved your demonstration. Many thanks from the mountains of Portugal 😊

[@mariomene2051]

😊

[@konstantinapapaioannou4306]

Hat do you do with leftovervwhey?

[@jmilkslinger]

Feed it to the pigs!

[@arunidammalage9811]

Hello again, I am all ways folw your videos, my I now what is the deferent with microbial rennet and animal rennet ?

[@jmilkslinger]

Microbial is produced from fungi, yeast, or mold, so it's good for vegetarian rennet. I've never used it, though...

[@arunidammalage9811]

I am using that that's y my chees is test little bitter test

[@lindaferguson593]

How do you know its gruyere flavored cheese? What are the decernments of additions to recipes that develop the types of cheeses? Confusing for me. Thank you.

[@jmilkslinger]

Good question! This has been an ongoing confusing thing, for me, too. Every cheese is different and "official" cheeses as we know them (like Parmesan, Gruyere, Jarlsberg, etc) are highly regulated and industrialized. Small tweaks make big changes. The more scientific a maker gets, and the more specific with notes, the more uniform the product. I'm not there, though (and don't really want to be). I'm afraid my answer probably doesn't clear anything up for you, though...

[@lindaferguson593]

@@jmilkslinger I'm with you! I'm also reading of many substitutes for rennet and penicillin inoculations.

[@danf2]

Huge money saver by making your own like this, id assume.

[@jmilkslinger]

In some ways, yes, but cows ain't cheap!

[@Sailorlluna]

Sorry I only just subscribed so I don’t know… do you have your own dairy cows or do you buy your milk?

[@jmilkslinger]

We currently have 3 family milk cows.

[@johnhowaniec5979]

I have been making fresh cheeses for awhile now. Just getting ready to convert a wine or mini fridge into a cheese cave I've noticed you haven't made feta or atleast made a video on feta? Feta is perfect for beginners and homemade feta blows the doors off store bought and it's very easy and has a more creamy texture then store bought. Any plans on a feta video? 😊

[@jmilkslinger]

Feta is my nemesis! I've tried it a couple times and both times it failed. How ridiculous is that?! It's on my to-make list, and I WILL be conquoring it soon. Do you have a good recipe to recommend?

[@johnhowaniec5979]

@@jmilkslinger i watched the gavin webber video. I'm surprised after all the other cheeses you made with such higher difficulty ratings! The lipase is key to the feta i think plus you age it in brine with a little calcium chloride in the fridge no cave needed! Give it another go? Every time i make it i watch his video as a refresher.

[@johnhowaniec5979]

He has has more than one video on feta i believe?

[@jmilkslinger]

@@johnhowaniec5979 Oh, I'm definitely going to give it another go one of these days!

[@Mziggy3771]

Does it taste like a Smokey guyere??

[@jmilkslinger]

I've never had a smokey gruyere, so I don't think so. The natural rind does give it a bit of umami flavor though. It's soooo good!

[@lovellmendez2207]

Do you have a regular cheddar cheese video

[@jmilkslinger]

My go to is the Derby Cheddar. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3ucan9jj5hoe8k

[@lovellmendez2207]

@@jmilkslinger thanks so much

[@papasmurf9146]

. (Yes, a throw away comment to the algorithm gods).

[@TheMontyOriginal]

You wipe it down with vinegar instead of salt

[@chriskirkman5425]

Gorgeous. Daggy waggy...hehehehe

[@jaegrant6441]

So because, in the past, people would making a daily cheese from the daily milking, the flipping and salt rubbing would be done for several cheeses yeah?

[@jmilkslinger]

I guess that, as it is for us, it would depend on how much kitchen space and how many cows they had, as well as the season. But yes, if you have more space and more milk, then you'd be doing more cheeses.

[@johnshankster2464]

Doesn’t it dry-out in the fridge?

[@jmilkslinger]

Not if there's sufficient humidity (which can be a challenge!).

[@robinsimoni688]

Bravo! But does it taste like a Gruyère? Maybe this is THE cheese your terroir wants you to make. And is it just me, or do any other cheese makers find the sound of a cheese going in and out of a mold . . . satisfying?

[@jmilkslinger]

I'm not an expert on Gruyère, but I think the texture is right, and the flavor is close, or at least in the same vicinity.

[@yarkorab]

It looks great, really. Luckily, you didn't vacpack it... Where dud you keep those plastic containers? What temperature? Looks like the humidity during that period was too high and caused all your problems. But the final result, chapeau bas...😉🙂

[@jmilkslinger]

The downstairs bedroom, mostly, I think. Without going back and looking, I imagine the temp was probably between 50 and 60.

[@yarkorab]

@@jmilkslinger my Gruyere is almost 13 months old, I've been keeping it in a cheese cooler all the time. A couple more months and I'll think about opening it...

[@jmilkslinger]

@@yarkorab The suspense!!!!

[@Abdelrahman639]

Why is there no translation in Arabic?

[@jmilkslinger]

I don't know --- I'm sorry! That's something that KZbin manages. Unfortunately, I don't have a say in the matter....

[@numberoneduchess]

I love your videos, but you are very hard to hear.

[@jmilkslinger]

Thank you for the feedback!