Author Topic: Joining the Reblochon Party  (Read 12492 times)

Offline dbudge55

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Joining the Reblochon Party
« on: October 08, 2012, 03:29:51 AM »
This is actually my second Reb make. I made one last night but I had some problems with my ph meter. It was “drifting up so I ended up with a pretty acidic cheese. After 12 hours in the molds they were at 5.18 ph so I salted them and decided to make it again. So, here's the make notes from my second try.

4 gal Pasteurized COT Whole Milk
1/4 tsp PLA
1/8 tsp MY800
1/8 tsp Flora-Danica

Warmed milk to 94.5 degrees F – ph 6.63

3:30 added cultures and molds let rehydrate for 5 minutes
3:36 finished stirring cultures and molds put cover on milk to retain heat.

I checked the ph and I'm still having some problems with my meter so I recalibrated it then checked it against the buffer as I went forward. I'm pretty sure the readings are close but, who knows, maybe my buffer solution is off. Anyhow, Yoav is right, the curve on the acidity goes from slow to fast quickly. I caught it, though, pretty close to the target. 

4:29 added ½ tsp CaCl, ph 6.52, 94degree F.
4:31 added ¾ tsp single strength calf rennet
4:46 Floc time 16 minutes → total set time 40 minutes
5:11 Cut curd to 3/4” finished cutting at 5:16
5:16: 5 min rest

Like Larry, I have a hell of a time cutting the curd to a consistent 1.4th inch. Using the whisk the final product was all over the map from rice size to ½ inch. Did my best. 
 
5:21 cut to 1/4” curd finished cutting at 5:26 94 degree F
5:26 5 minute rest
I'm still too inexperienced to have a real strong feel for when the curd is ready. I stirred for about 11 minutes checking the cured at minutes, 8 minutes and finally at 11 minutes it felt like it matted easily. One of those things, I suppose, where experience will pay off at some point in the future. But the ph target seemed to be about right.

5:31 stirred → 5:43, ph 6:48

I don't know if I actually needed to use cheese cloth when I filled the hoops. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time but I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on it.

6:06 finished hooping press with 3 #s

When I flipped them I had a pretty good knit so I decided to leave the cheese cloth out for subsequent pressing.

6:41 flipped continued to press at 3#s
7:43 flipped continued to press at 3#s

9:15 Checked ph and at three hours was 5.58 decided to de-press and set it in the yeast room. . Seems to be acidifying faster than expected.

Here are some pics. I'll post more  tomorrow after I de-mold and going forward.
Laissez le rouleau grand fromage - Dave Budge

LoftyNotions

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2012, 04:15:34 AM »
Cool! Two Montana boys get to fumble through this together. :)

I used cheese cloth for my first two flips and then went bare. That seemed to work pretty well for me. Do you have 8 Rebs in your yeasting room right now?

It'll be interesting to compare your 2 makes. Mine ended up at 5.05 pH, and I'm accepting that for now.

What pH meter do you have? I felt like my Extech was drifting around a little bit, but probably never more than .05 or so. I ended up recalibrating several times during my make. Letting it stabilize for at least a couple minutes seems to help.

Anyway, congratulations, and a cheese for all your cheeses.

Larry

Offline dbudge55

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2012, 04:23:00 AM »
Yep, there's 8 of those bad boys in the yeast room. I'm interested in seeing the difference too. I have the Extech 100 as well. I had to replace the electrode last week and this is it with the new part. But I had the same problem with the first one drifting when I first got it but then it seemed to stabilize - or maybe it's just the operator  ;D.

Are you going to use pine under your Rebs? I can't find any spruce here either. I think I'll use pine on half of them as Yoav suggested since I have 8 of them.
Laissez le rouleau grand fromage - Dave Budge

Offline Boofer

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2012, 03:32:25 PM »
Looking good!

My ExStik PH100 drifted here & there, up & down, and was pretty frustrating. I soaked it in cleaning solution, recalibrated, and (voilà!) problem solved. Mind you, it will drift a bit homing in on the identified pH & temperature. It is not like a digital thermometer that nails the target BAM!

FWIW.

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Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline dbudge55

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2012, 04:04:04 PM »
Thanks, Boofer. I just ordered some. Hope it works.

BTW, I was just informed by Yoav that his recipe says use 1/4 tsp of PLA but should be 1/8 tsp. We'll see how it affects the make.
Laissez le rouleau grand fromage - Dave Budge

LoftyNotions

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2012, 04:17:41 PM »
I soaked it in cleaning solution...

-Boofer-

Hi Boofer,

What do you use for cleaning solution? I've been soaking mine in 4.01 cal solution, rinsing it and wiping with a paper towel. Maybe I need to be doing more?

Thanks,

Larry

bbracken677

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2012, 06:36:26 PM »
I use a water/vinegar solution for cleaning. Mine isnt as precise as Boofer's but have only had to calibrate it twice. I think it is important after a make to clean it in an acidic solution to help get any milk residue off.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2012, 02:20:29 PM »
Thanks, Boofer. I just ordered some. Hope it works.

BTW, I was just informed by Yoav that his recipe says use 1/4 tsp of PLA but should be 1/8 tsp. We'll see how it affects the make.
I used 1/16 tsp in my Reb #3 and it seemed to do just fine.

I use a rinsing solution I bought a while back. Since then, I have bought 4 oz. bottles of pH4.00 and pH7.00.

I've attached a couple of saved docs for your reading pleasure.  ;)

Perhaps someone has an updated cleaning solution?

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

Offline dbudge55

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2012, 02:46:06 PM »
Thanks, Boofer. You da man! And, yes, I have been doing it wrong...

Learn, start over, and never give up. Never!
Laissez le rouleau grand fromage - Dave Budge

bbracken677

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #9 on: October 09, 2012, 03:29:20 PM »
Boofer: I read somewhere that rinsing the probe in a vinegar/water solution would help keep the probe clean (in reference to the use in milk)...I do this before and after each make. So far, I have only had to recalibrate once since I purchased it. In between uses during the make, I keep it in a cup of sterile non-chlorinated water.
Granted, it is not as precise as yours, but I haven't had any problems with fluctuation or the need to recalibrate often...soon I will be buying one with a 2 decimal readout. Have been checking out various options that are accurate, 2 decimal read-out, and yet reasonably priced. Amazon is a great resource since they have reviews by people who have bought and used the items.

LoftyNotions

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2012, 03:52:14 PM »
Thanks Boofer and bbracken. Good stuff.

Speaking of pH measurements, what pH did your second batch get salted at, dbudge? And at how many hours after starting to press?

Thanks all.

Larry

Offline dbudge55

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #11 on: October 09, 2012, 03:55:56 PM »
It was at 5.2 at de-molding after 8 hours. That said, I'm not confident in my ph readings since my buffer solution was both old and not stored properly - which ensures I'll have to do it again this weekend (I'm going to be giving a lot of cheese away one way or another  :) )
Laissez le rouleau grand fromage - Dave Budge

LoftyNotions

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #12 on: October 09, 2012, 04:33:52 PM »
You can send one over the hill, Dave. I'm sure I can find it a good home. ;)

Larry

iratherfly

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2012, 02:46:02 AM »
Sometimes if it's low on reference solution (inside the pH probe, you can't see it), if your pH meter is on its side the solution will run off the probe junction and the probe will be out of whack. Make the thing stand upright on the probe for 10 minutes and it's back to business as the solution flows back to the junction.

As for the 1/4 vs 1/8 tsp PLA - it's not really such a huge deal on a 4 lb batch. It would have been a serious problem if I would have quoted the starter culture wrong!

Anyway, can't wait to find out how this one goes! Post photos, will you?  Oh my, two Reblochon makers in Montana. That's as insane as having two American Football players in the French countryside! I love it!!!

Offline dbudge55

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Re: Joining the Reblochon Party
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2012, 02:03:10 AM »
Day 5. I took those out of the yeast room yesterday and put them into a 52 degree F cave after washing them with the morge and rubbing them with a dusting of salt. Today I finally got my pine boards together (since I can't find spruce here) and washed them with boiling water and salt. They seem to be coming along as planned. Starting to get rounded at the edges and, as you can see, there's a dusting of geo just before I washed them here.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2012, 02:11:42 AM by dbudge55 »
Laissez le rouleau grand fromage - Dave Budge