Author Topic: Gorgonzola Make #1  (Read 6344 times)

rosawoodsii

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Gorgonzola Make #1
« on: December 03, 2012, 02:43:03 AM »
Second try to post this.  The first time I hit the back button when trying to post photos, and it took me to the index.  When I got back to where I started, all I had written was gone.  So, that was a few days ago, and things have progressed from there.

I had a lot of extra milk and had to either use it or give it to the poultry, and I wasn’t willing to do that.  So, feeling brave after my successful Camembert make, I decided to try Gorgonzola.  I used a combination of cheesemaking.com's recipe and one that I found on Cookipedia.

I used 1 gallon of raw goat milk and 1-1/2 qts of raw Jersey cream
To that I added 1/4 tsp Flora Danica and a large pinch of P. rogueforti, which I had hydrated for 24 hours in 1/4 C water.
Then I let it culture for an hour.

After the hour, I added 9 drops of double strength vegetable rennet (diluted, of course), which brought the floc time to just about 13 minutes.  I let it set for a factor of 2, or 26 minutes.  The curds were very delicate, and next time I may try for a factor of 3, depending on how this make turns out.
I let them rest for 30 minutes, stirring  a couple of times gently—mostly just shaking the spoon a bit to get some motion and encourage release of the whey.  At the end of that time I  ladled off as much whey as I could.  I then carefully ladled the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander and let them drain, lifting the sides of the cheesecloth to aid in the drainage. 

It actually took a bit of draining before I could get all of the curds into the colander. When they’d drained considerably, I ladled them into a 6” mold, which sat atop a plastic mat on top of a cookie sheet, which sat on a pan to catch the whey.  I turned it at 15 minutes, 45 minutes, and then several times after that before I let it sit draining overnight.

The following afternoon, I removed the mold and salted the cheese.  I repeated this every day for 4 days, then removed it to a plastic container in a location around 55° and turned it daily.   A couple of days later I skewered it top and bottom to encourage blue mold formation.

The blue mold is developing as it should, but now there's white mold on it as well.  Is this normal?  Should I brush it off? Salt it?


« Last Edit: December 07, 2012, 04:33:01 PM by rosawoodsii »

rosawoodsii

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2012, 10:10:20 PM »
Any suggestions about what to do, if anything, about the white mold?

rosawoodsii

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #2 on: December 27, 2012, 04:55:29 AM »
I should have left well enough alone.  I salted the Gorgonzola to get rid of the white mold, before I heard from someone that its normal.  I turn the cheese every 2 days, and I've been battling a soft, tacky skin, which has now become rather slimy. Under the slime, the cheese seems rather firm, and it doesn't have a disagreeable odor to it, but I'm wondering what this slime is, and what I should do about it.  I ran my finger along the top of the cheese and the collected a bunch of the gunk on my finger. 

I hope someone has an explanation or suggestion as it doesn't appear that this Gorgonzola is developing the way it's supposed to.

I've attached some photos of the cheese before I ran my finger down it, then with the gunk on my finger, and the last one shows the clear line where my finger scooped off the slime.




Offline Schnecken Slayer

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2012, 05:45:48 AM »
Wow, There is a lot of it! I don't have enough experience yet to say definitely, however, could it be B Linens?
-Bill
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Offline Tiarella

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2012, 12:56:33 PM »
I am SO totally not an expert about this so I can only tell you what I think I know.  I do agree that it is likely b linens.  The salting of cheese does tend to make it moist on the outside so I have learned to mostly avoid that except for particular situations. 

If it were my cheese I'd dry it with a gentle fan (not hot dry stove heat because I'd be worried it would crack although Gorgonzola is probably too rich and creamy to crack....   If I wanted the b linens gone I'd wash it under gentle stream of water (with gentle finger action) over the sink, then air dry.

Do you want b linens for a Gorgonzola?  I don't know enough about it.  I also don't remember if you've been doing cheeses with b linens or not.  it's been a pretty stinky experience for me! :D

rosawoodsii

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2012, 02:13:53 PM »
I thought of b. linens, too.  No, I hadn't made any cheeses with it, so I don't know where it could have come from--something in the air in my funky basement, I suspect.  But I never realized B. linens was so thick and slimy!  I thought it just gave a red color on the surface of a cheese.  And no, Gorgonzola isn't supposed to have it.  I thought saltig helped to dry out the rind, no make it softer.

I'll try gently washing it later today and see if that helps. 

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2012, 04:13:10 PM »
in my tiny amount of experience b. linens is whatever level of moisture the cheese is at.  I've had it in a variety of situations with a variety of moisture levels.  At least, that's what I think it was in all those cases.  If you read Alp's treatise on washed rind cheeses the Alpine way you'll see that they develop a thick pasty gloppy coating.  I've had that happen too on several cheeses.  Keep us posted!

Tomer1

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2012, 01:29:33 PM »
I too combated a slimey pink (very sulfery-meaty smelling) yeast on my dolce. I ended up loosing.  I scraping it (it came back), rubbing with high proof brandy (worked for a while but once the alcohol evaporated it rebounced), wraping it to deprive it of oxygen.   
It, along with the PR (what ever was there as the slime kept sealing the holes) caused the paste to be very creamy but the aroma was very funkey which I didnt enjoy as a table cheese.

white can also be problematic if it takes hold (and you dont dry it off) as it can cause slip skin.   

Basically, your humidity is too high and should be reduced. (dont worry, the cheese wont dry out).
 


AndreasMergner

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2012, 02:36:53 PM »
I also had the same pink slimey meaty smelling stuff on my Raclette that Tomer describes!  I didn't know what it was until now.  I ended up rinsing it off under water and vac bagging it and that "fixed" it.  Well, except it doesn't have any b linens anymore and won't taste anything like Raclette.  ::)

rosawoodsii

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2012, 03:06:47 PM »
I too combated a slimey pink (very sulfery-meaty smelling) yeast on my dolce. I ended up loosing.  I scraping it (it came back), rubbing with high proof brandy (worked for a while but once the alcohol evaporated it rebounced), wraping it to deprive it of oxygen.   
It, along with the PR (what ever was there as the slime kept sealing the holes) caused the paste to be very creamy but the aroma was very funkey which I didnt enjoy as a table cheese.

Basically, your humidity is too high and should be reduced. (dont worry, the cheese wont dry out).

I reduced the humidity a week ago.  As a blue cheese, it really shouldn't be vacuum packed or waxed.  A nice creamy paste would be fine with me, but isn't Gorgonzola supposed to be a bit crumbly?  Anyway, since it's my first make, I'll cry a bit if it doesn't turn out, but I guess I can chalk all this up to learning experience.  :P

Andraes, I'm not familiar with Raclette, but if it's supposed to have B. linens, wouldn't the lack of growth affect the flavor?

AndreasMergner

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #10 on: December 29, 2012, 03:44:59 PM »
Yes, the lack of b linens would affect the flavor.  Not only did it have a not-so-appealing meaty smell, but the rind was compromised.  I had no choice but to vac bag it.  I'm not even sure the cheese is salvageable, but I'm aging it to see if it becomes edible. 

rosawoodsii

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #11 on: December 29, 2012, 04:39:44 PM »
Well, here's what my Gorgonzola looks like post-cleanup.  I think I was a bit too aggressive on one side, though it was just plain squishier than the other. You can see where just the pressure of my thumb holding it took a soft piece out.  Like you, Andreas, I'm just hoping to salvage this.

Now it'll go back into a drier, cooler place to see if I can get a better rind on it and stop the slime.

Offline Schnecken Slayer

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #12 on: December 29, 2012, 08:40:31 PM »
You have done a good job of cleaning it. Well done.
-Bill
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Tomer1

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #13 on: December 29, 2012, 08:49:59 PM »
I hope you got it under control and it wont come back.  from my expirience its very agressive. I decided to sanitize my cave afterwards and moved it to the cold fridge.  You might consider doing that.

I wonder if there are any mixed rind cultures which can be used on a blue cheese to creat a desirable mix rind like in stilton for example.
As I understand it, the heavy rind salting inhibits blue grows (so you restrict the PR and get veins growing from the inside out) but more salt resistance stuff can obviously grow, espacially in a high moisture cheese like Gorg dolce.   

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Gorgonzola Make #1
« Reply #14 on: December 29, 2012, 10:18:10 PM »
Looks great now.  I wanted to sanitize my cave and thought about wiping it down with a water/chlorine wash but I'm worried about the smell permeating into the cheeses.
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