Author Topic: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer  (Read 8659 times)

Shazah

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My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« on: September 01, 2012, 03:55:33 AM »
Thanks Yoav for the very detailed recipe, which I have followed to the letter (sort of), and for the molds, cultures and wrappers, which arrived in perfect condition and within a week of ordering.

Thanks Boofer for your visual examples which gave me the inspiration to give this a try.

I am well pleased with my first attempt.  They have just come through their salting stage and now I'm waiting for the Geo to make an appearance.

I was quite surprised by the yield from 10Ltr Farmhouse milk and 500mls full cream (I wasn't sure if I should add the cream, but opted to in the end) 
I had to quickly set up two other molds and then found I had no followers to fit them, so used a smaller basket inside, which seemed to work quite well.  They are the larger two rounds so I'll be interested to see how they age compared to the two formed in the proper Reblochon molds.

My flocculation time was 23 minutes (which I thought was quite long??)  I didn't get a clean break at 58 minutes so waited another 10.

My PH strips didn't work so well as I found it difficult to calculate the readings between 5 to 6 or 6 to 7 so I sort of had to wing that part.  I guess it will show up in the taste just how successful I was.

I'm at step #15 with my wash made and sitting at room temperature.

I'll post more pics when I have some Geo to show.

JeffHamm

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2012, 04:50:59 AM »
Those look very good.  Where did you pick up the reb moulds?

- Jeff

Shazah

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2012, 05:09:49 AM »
Hi Jeff

I ordered the two Reblochon moulds from Yoav, iratherfly, along with some cultures and wrappers that I couldn't find here in NZ.  I made the two taller ones from containers I bought from the Plastic Box.  They work quite well but the cheese is more difficult to flip because of the height, and of course I didn't have any followers that fitted them.

I'm thinking of making a Caerphilly next and I read that you've had some good experiences with them.

Cheers
Sharon


Offline Boofer

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2012, 06:05:49 AM »
Looks good so far, Sharon. This is a fun cheese to make and it seems to turn out well each time. Very forgiving, I guess. Another point in its favor is the short time between making and eating.  :D  I should be making this at least once every three months.

Glad my threads helped you. It's good to share.  A)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2012, 08:11:01 AM »
Hi Sharon,

Yes, caerphilly has worked well for me.  I just use Homebrand's dark blue for that, and it seems to work well. 

- Jeff

iratherfly

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #5 on: September 04, 2012, 06:43:24 AM »
Woo hoo!  Looks fantastic!

Make sure that the wash only stands in room temp for the first 12 hours of its life. It's fridge after that!

Good yield too, though I suspect that addition of cream may helped it.  Normally you can expect 4 wheels of 450g (+/- 50g) out of 8 liters.  Cream seem to make softer cut and also traps a lot of moisture in the final cheese so watch out for this.  Adding cream beyond the fat % of this recipe may also create stronger flavor due to lipolysis.  Geo loves fat so also beware that your geo may go a little crazy. If that happens, slow it down by lowering temperature.

Your floc time indicates that your pre-rennet time may have been too short.  The MY800 culture has a strange acidification schedule where it hardly does anything for a while and then it produces very abrupt and sharp acidity.  Not bad for a first practice. I am sure these will turn out quite close to the target. Now it's all about affinage!  What temp/humidity are they at now?

So excited! Keep us posted!

Shazah

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2012, 05:10:48 AM »
The Geo finally showed up, so I washed as per the instructions and have them in the cave now at 11C.  Humididty is not quite there at 87% but I'm working on that to get it higher.

The wash did go into the fridge after the 12 hours at room temperature.  Will the same batch last for the two week washing period or should I re-make after the first week?

I don't know if you can see it to the left, but I tried to squeeze into the picture my piece of Spruce board that I purchased today.  It needs some work and then to be sterilized, and a sit in the sun (not much of that around at the moment) but I hope to get my cheeses onto it tomorrow.  I phoned a number of timber merchants here and they didn't sound hopeful that I would get any Spruce, but got some in the end, (although it could be anything for all I know...) :-\

I have a 6 month old Parmesan sitting at the top of my cave, are they safe from each other, uncovered??

bbracken677

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #7 on: September 05, 2012, 12:19:47 PM »
Nice looking cave holding some nice looking cheeses! One of these days (or one of these months) I am going to have to invest in a larger cave, meself. The one I have is getting a bit crowded!  I still have room for a couple more cheeses though! 

Shazah

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #8 on: September 06, 2012, 02:22:57 AM »
Thanks bbracken

I am usually quite good when it comes to being patient, but I am struggling a bit with this cheese.  First I had to wait for the molds to arrive, which didn't take long, but I just wanted to get started on them, and now I drool over the cheese each day as the smell is so delicious and it's driving me crazy.  I can't wait to see the orange rind start to develop.  I just want to try some but I know it's some weeks off yet.

I've been really pleased with my cave.  It was a cheapie at $399.00 compared to the average price of $800 to $1000 for a similar dual temp wine fridge.  I check the temp by having another thermometer in there and so far it hasn't missed a beat.

bbracken677

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #9 on: September 06, 2012, 03:22:57 AM »
Awesome! One of those wine fridges will be an option I will definitely be looking into before long.

Regarding your struggle....I feel your pain, man! I really do   haha   I am in the same boat...just a few more days...I know I can make it...

iratherfly

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #10 on: September 06, 2012, 08:02:27 AM »
Shazah - what do you meant you are working to get the humidity higher? Just cover the cheese with a box! That's all there's to it.  It needs it anyway. You don't want the geo and B.Linen to get all over your Parmesan etc.  Cover it ASAP!  It's a lot easier to maintain moisture in an aging box.  Also, you don't have to deal with ice buildups in the fridge when you are using a box vs humidifying the entire fridge. It's also easier to control if you want to reduce humidity of one cheese and increase humidity of another cheese - just partially open the lid of the box more or less as you wish. This way you never depend on an ambient humidity for the entire cave.  This is especially important when you make so many different cheeses. It's a different story if your entire cave is dedicated ONLY to Reblochon.  Does that make sense?

Shazah

  • Guest
Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #11 on: September 06, 2012, 10:27:30 AM »
Thanks Yoav

Done!

I've given the Parmesan a light oil, which it was due, in the hope I can avoid any damage there.

iratherfly

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2012, 06:08:02 PM »
So moisture all good now?

Shazah

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2012, 06:15:11 AM »
I think I am still on track with these.

I have them covered and wipe the moisture (from the cover) away with each daily flip of the cheese.

I did think they may be more orange by now, but I'm not sure if I'm just being impatient or that will arrive after I wrap them next week.

I am delighted with my spruce boards.  I did ask my brother in law to leave them rough but I guess it's just not in a good craftsman's heart to leave it that way, so they are beautifully finished.

iratherfly

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Re: My first Reblochon, inspired by iratherfly and Boofer
« Reply #14 on: September 14, 2012, 06:27:22 AM »
They look great! Color is fine. They still need a wash or two before they go in the fridge. Look for the corners to turn softer and rounder (pillowy). The color will intensify in the next couple of weeks even after you stop the wash regiment. At the same time a secondary growth of geo will start. It will look like white dust speckles. How strong is your morge brine? 5% salt or so?