Author Topic: Cabra al Vino/Birra  (Read 3287 times)

GlabrousD

  • Guest
Cabra al Vino/Birra
« on: March 24, 2014, 05:52:13 AM »
Well I've been busy experimenting and tried making Cabra al Vino and Cabra al Birra from a recipe by Mary Karlin. As I don't have an 8" Tomme I made two 5" cheeses, one soaked in beer (Baltika - Russian beer and very good) and the other in Merlot which I pinched from the FLW (Fair Lady Wife) :)

The curds cut well, the cheese pressed OK (must make myself a proper press) and the soaking left the cheeses rather colourful. They're now in the cave in a covered container.

I'll keep everyone informed of progress... I'm typing with fingers crossed :)

Cheers, GD.


GlabrousD

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2014, 02:37:21 PM »
At eleven days old... and there's no real difference although a blue interloper is trying to take over the beer cheese and the wine version is a bit soggy on its bottom. Poor thing. I'll probably wax after another week as I need the cave space.

Cheers, GD.


JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2014, 04:59:36 PM »
Looks good. Be careful about waxing before they are dry though. 

- Jeff

GlabrousD

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2014, 03:59:04 AM »
Thanks very much for the warning Jeff - I'll give them another week (or two) and leave them in a "normal" refrigerator for a day to dry out and chill before waxing.

Cheers, GD.

Geodyne

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2014, 11:05:07 PM »
What a great experiment. How long did you leave these before waxing, in the end?

GlabrousD

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2014, 04:05:08 AM »
Thanks Geo,

sadly they started to develop some rather slimy tendancies so were dumped back into wine/beer respectively, dried and then waxed last weekend. Who knows what the outcome will be :)

I dipped them at a very high temperature (115C - 240F) for six seconds to hopefully kill off any nasties and they're now back in the cave... probably sulking 'cos I spoiled their fun :)

Cheers, GD.

GlabrousD

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2014, 10:50:00 AM »
Well I opened the Cabra al Birra and the texture looks great... sadly the taste leaves a fair bit to be desired. It tastes of bitter, rather stale beer... go figure :)

Regardless I'll soldier on and eat this before opening the Cabra al vino (it's sister cheese).

Wish me luck :)

Cheers, GD.


JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2014, 05:58:11 PM »
A shame the flavour's off a bit, but it may improve after coming out of the wax and airing for awhile.  A cheese to your adventure though!

- Jeff

GlabrousD

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2014, 04:56:30 AM »
Thanks very much for the cheese Jeff. Foolishly I've vacuum packed the remaining half which isn't doing anything for the flavour. I'll open it and start airing it to see if it improves.

Cheers, GD.

Geodyne

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2014, 08:27:57 PM »
Or perhaps try aging it for a longer time. A lot of people who have commented on similar flavours have said that the flavour often improved with longer aging.

GlabrousD

  • Guest
Re: Cabra al Vino/Birra
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2014, 05:33:40 AM »
Thanks Geo I think I'll try leaving the wine-soaked cheese for longer to age... perhaps if I forget about it and come back in six months it will have turned from an ugly duckling into a cheesy swan :)

Cheers, GD.