I made my first Camembert on October 4th. I used Flora Danica for the culture, used just a gallon of raw goat milk and made only 2 cheeses. I had a devil of a time trying to keep the humidity high enough and the temperature low enough, but after futzing around with various containers and locations, I finally just put them in plastic Ziplock bags and left them in the refrigerator, turning them every day.
This was what they looked like when I finished salting them.
I've read conflicting advice about how long to age, going from 3 weeks to 7 or 8 weeks. Today I opened up the bags and took a look. One smelled a bit like ammonia. Not overpowering, but faintly. The other smelled divine. I decided to leave them out to come to room temperature to see if the ammonia smell dispelled. After an hour, my curiosity got the best of me and I sliced into the ammoniated one. It didn't taste half bad! In fact, it tasted pretty good, and it looked to be ripening well. I don't like Camembert when it gets runny and strong, so this was just right: the outside was soft and pliable, the middle firm.
I wondered about the second one. As I put it down, I noticed that it, too, was getting soft on the outside. A small piece was hanging off, so I picked it off and tried it. This one is even better. It looks like I picked exactly the right time to try the cheeses.
Tomorrow I'm having lunch with some friends. We're all supposed to bring something to go with the salad. I think I'll bring feta--and Camembert.