Author Topic: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage  (Read 323 times)

Offline elkato

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Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« on: August 13, 2012, 01:57:27 PM »
I am making a Roquefort type cheese that is turning out relatively good, but since I only have one big walk in cave 1030 cubic ft I am doing all the affinage in the same room, so instead of an initial 20 days at 55F and 2-6 months at 37F wrapped in foil like the recipe reads, I have the cave at 48F and 95%RH for the whole affinage
I understand that the warmer period is for the initial blue development, but don't fully understand the purpose of the wrapping and colder period,
So my questions are..
Can I use just one room?
should I use a separate fridge set at 55F for the first 20 days, and set the large cave at 38F for the rest of the affinage?
I attached a picture of a wheel after 55 days in the large cave at 48F the flavor is mild blue, flexible but not creamy,
 i hope to find the best solution using the  equipmet that i have


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Offline hoeklijn

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Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2012, 02:10:15 PM »
First of all, what a magnificent piece of cheese you have there!
As I understand it, the colder period and the wrapping is to slow down the development of the cheese: With a Brie or Camembert I wrap it when the rind is fully covered with PC, so development of the PC stops. When they are soft enough in the middle, I put them in a normal fridge to slow down the inner development.
- Herman -

Offline elkato

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Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2012, 11:34:38 AM »
Thank you Hoekljin!
I have lowered the temp in the main (only) Cave, to 44F in hopes of slowing blue development so all the ageing can be done in one place, while I wait... and wait.... for advice!