After one month of age it is time to taste Nikki’s nuclear spiced cheese.

For appearance I would consider this my ugliest cheese to date.  The curds knitted together better than I expected them to considering how crumbly feeling it felt going into a vacuum bag.  (had to bag it because of the crumble)  The cheese has a great odor right out of the bag.  Smells of a good jack cheese with only a hint of spice to the smell.

Very soft when cutting with some of it sticking to the knife as I cut into it.  Not the best knit to the curds due to the soak in tapatio.  I think a different sauce with no vinegar/acetic acid in it would have made for a better knit.  I had a request for ghost pepper jack.  might have to try that.

And now for the taste test.  I need a drum roll before the taste.  You can tell from the slice how crumbly the cheese still is.  The first bite gives the cool taste of a good moist jack cheese.  Then after 5 seconds you get hit with the OMG what did I just put in my mouth!!!  I have never had any pepper jack that has such a long delay from the time you bite into. To when the heat hits your tongue.  It has a great flavor but the heat is almost too much.  I like it, but the wife took one bite and glared at me because I didn’t tell her it was that spicy.  I like to surprise her some days.  Half of the wheel went back into the cheese fridge to age for a couple more months.  The other half will be used at the baby shower next week.  Over all it was a successful yet ugly cheese