Monterey Jack getting sharper 3 weeks after smoke?

[jwed980]

My smoke is clean and I've eaten this cheese (2-hr smoke) from right out of the smoker, up through the 1-week point. Nice and soft, creamy, and lovely smoke flavor with no bitterness.

I had also vacuum sealed some and waited a full three weeks before sampling.

Now, this is something I wasn't expecting - it was firmer, drier, much less smokey - and just seemed like it had become a lot sharper. It even had a very different texture than before.

Is this normal for this type of cheese?

I've never done this before so I have no Idea. I don't think I've ever run across a "sharp" MJ before.

It is perfectly good to eat, though I would probably smoke it much longer than I did since I prefer longer smoking times for sharper cheeses.

Thanks in advance -

John

 

[gmc2003]

I'm not sure I have an explanation. I have seen MJ's texture become brittle post smoking. I don't have a real answer as to why. Only a couple of thing I can think of off the top of my head. Did you freeze the cheese at all? Or is you refrigerator set really cold? Just guessing.

Chris

 

[jwed980]

Yup, I think it must have been accidentally frozen at one point.

I tried another sample smoked just 2-days after the first, and it was still soft and creamy.

I had bought a new a new mini-fridge just for cheese storage, and I may have been too impatient to allow temps to stabilize before loading with my cheese. I ended-up having to dial it down from "normal" setting for the 67-degree basement.

Lesson learned.


Thanks Chris,

John