Author Topic: First Stiltonesque  (Read 8266 times)

shotski

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2012, 09:08:49 PM »
The Stilton recipe I have tell you to wipe the rind daily with a cloth soaked in salt water. I have seen both with this and without  does anyone have any thoughts on this process? 

bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2012, 09:11:53 PM »
After a couple of days I didn't see any growth...so I gave it a rind wash on one end using Alpkase's suggested methodology. When the blue growth started there was no difference in growth one end to the other.
I would say that if after a week if you see no growth try that...otherwise (for me) it didn't seem to make a difference.

shotski

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2012, 11:53:54 PM »
Thanks for the reply. I did add salt in the recipe and as you can see there is mold growth. Does the salt wash prepare the rind for ageing ? Not that I think the first Stilton will last very long.

bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #18 on: December 04, 2012, 12:59:27 AM »
The recipe I used does not call for a rind wash. I would think that if you have already salted it to somewhere close to 2 or 2.5% by weight, that should be sufficient. If you do the wash...use a 3% salt solution at most, and stop as soon as you notice the slightest amount of fuzz growing.

At least, that's my take....I have very little experience with blues in general and stilton in particular.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #19 on: December 04, 2012, 02:25:53 AM »
Bracken,  How do you know it's the right blue growing?  Your blue looks just like the wild blue that shows up on all of my cheeses if I forget to take care of their needs for brushing or washing.

bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #20 on: December 04, 2012, 02:59:49 PM »
I added PR to the milk during the inoculation phase, and it started pretty early on. The wild blues I occasionally see tend to be  localized spots, whereas this is widespread.

If you have planned blue makes in your cave, the chances of contamination are higher and it seems to me that the contaminating blue would be the same strain that you have used. Which in my case, would be perfectly ok.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #21 on: December 04, 2012, 04:19:37 PM »
Thanks for replying.  Soooo, if I ever make blue cheese will my cave be forever blue?  I mean, all the cheeses of course!   ???  I've been toying with the idea of making a nice mold blue but have been holding off on all blues because of contamination issues.  Has it been a problem on your other cheeses?

bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2012, 05:56:47 PM »
Not really....I have a couple of cheddars I left exposed that had spots show on them, but other than that I have had no cross contamination issues. The key, I think, is in the use of mini-caves (containers) that limit the cross contamination.

Offline Schnecken Slayer

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #23 on: December 04, 2012, 07:25:06 PM »
I think the secret is using containers as bbraken says and cleanliness.
If you are using disposable gloves change them after you handling your blues and before handling other cheeses.
If you don't have gloves then wash your hands with liquid soap then wash with vinegar (and I wash them again with soap) and dry on a new towel or paper towel.
 So far I have had no problems.
-Bill
One day I will add something here...

bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #24 on: December 04, 2012, 07:51:46 PM »
Also, just to eliminate chance....if you have multiple cheeses to flip, make sure you flip the blues or mold ripened cheeses last.

I just automatically flip cheddars first and then my mold ripened.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #25 on: December 07, 2012, 01:35:18 AM »
Flipped my stiltonesque cheeses tonight and took in a deep breath of their aroma.  Very nutty and delicious.  Can't wait for these to ripen.  Hope you have the same luck with yours. :D
« Last Edit: December 07, 2012, 01:56:58 AM by Al Lewis »
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bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #26 on: December 07, 2012, 01:40:31 AM »
So far so good! Has a really nice coat and I see blue growing into the holes I poked!  I have to fondle it daily, you know    :)

Will post a pick tomorrow morning.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #27 on: December 07, 2012, 01:58:10 AM »
Did the same and ditto on the blue mold in the holes.  From the look of this I can't imagine anyone looking at it for the first time and thinking "that would be good to eat".  LOL
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bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #28 on: December 07, 2012, 02:43:38 AM »
LOL yeah!  Looks really cool early on, but then gets kinda nasty looking later. Mine is still in the cool looking stage...

bbracken677

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Re: First Stiltonesque
« Reply #29 on: December 07, 2012, 01:24:48 PM »
Here is how it looks as of this morning. Nice blue coverage, holes starting to fill in a tad....will have to re-stabbity-stab no doubt.  :D