Author Topic: Saint Paulin...The First  (Read 10309 times)

Offline Boofer

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Saint Paulin...The First
« on: December 23, 2012, 04:12:48 PM »
Well, I wasn't going to make any more cheeses for the rest of the year. That was last week. Then someone (not pointing any fingers, george ;)) talked about how nice a stinky cheese would be. I'm already pretty fond of washed rinds and stinkies so that just tipped me over.

I got 2 gallons of one of my favorite raw milks and then couldn't decide what to make. I had considered making another attempt at Taleggio, but reconsidered in that it is customarily made with pasteurized milk (creamline). I thought about Oka and trappist cheese styles and finally decided to try a Saint Paulin.

I have a recipe for Port Salut (a cousin to Oka and Saint Paulin) in the 200 Easy Homemade Cheese recipes book, a Saint Paulin-like recipe in Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell, and a Saint Paulin recipe from Choozit. They all do things a little differently. I picked a few points from the Caldwell and Choozit recipes and forged my own cheese.

initial pH: 6.67
rennet pH: 6.57
wash pH: 6.35 (a little lower than my target of 6.4-6.45)
brining pH: 5.4

2 gallons Dungeness Valley whole raw milk
1/8 tsp TA-61
1/8 tsp ALP D
1/32 tsp Renco dry calf rennet, dissolved in cool distilled water
1/8 tsp annatto (still trying to gauge the strength of this new annatto)
  • Raised milk to 95F.
  • Stirred in annatto and cultures.
  • Looking for a .1 drop in pH before renneting.
  • Stirred in rennet.
  • Flocculation in 12 minutes. Using 3X factor before cutting.
  • Initially cut to 1 inch, rested 5 minutes.
  • Whisked to 1/4 inch (green pea to hazelnut size), rested 10 minutes.
  • Maintaining 95F, stirring to prevent matting and to reduce size of any missed curds.
  • Looking for pH 6.4-6.45 before washing.
  • The pH took a little dip and was 6.35 before I began removing 1 gallon of whey (50%).
  • Removed whey is saved for later use.
  • Replaced withdrawn whey with 1 gallon of 120F water to which 1 TBS salt had been added to help slow acidification.
  • Stirred until temp was 100F.
  • Maintained temp at 100F for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent matting, checking texture.
  • Lined two Reblochon moulds with Plyban (plastic cheesecloth).
  • When curd texture was correct, drained remaining whey from curds, and moved curds to warmed, prepared moulds.
  • Pressed both moulds in the pot, under 95F whey, with a 10 lb weight (5 lbs for each cheese).
  • After 15 minutes, flipped & redressed cheeses, and repressed for 15 minutes.
  • When I went to flip/redress the cheeses, I found that the Plyban was sticking to the cheese.
  • I added some vinegar to some saved washed whey (not the original removed whey) and dipped the Plyban into it to help prevent sticking.
  • I drained the whey, redressed the cheeses, and continued pressing in the pot with 10 lbs.
  • Earlier I had boiled some water in another pot. I positioned the cheese pot above this warm water pot to keep the curds warm while they were knitting.
  • Looking for a pH of 5.2-5.6 before brining, I checked the cheeses and removed them from the pressing at 5.4.
  • The knit was not entirely perfect, but acceptable because the rind-washing would erase a lot of those imperfections.
  • The cheeses were warm and soft, but firm.
  • I poured half of the cooled gallon of whey-brine into the gallon-size container.
  • I gently put the cheeses into the whey-brine, put a Reblochon follower on the top cheese, and poured enough of the whey-brine to lift the follower to a point where the lid would push it down and ensure the cheeses were submerged.
  • Lid on, and into the cave (~ 51F) for two hours.
  • After two hours of brining, I flipped the cheeses over in the whey-brine to make sure they were well-covered.
  • After another three hours (I got busy with another task.), I removed the cheeses from the whey-brine, dried them off and weighed them.
  • Then the cheeses were put into their minicave and set out to air-dry at room temperature.
  • Checking this morning, The cheeses should be ready to go into the cave to continue drying and ripening.
  • After a week, I will begin washing them with the SR3-dosed brine that I have prepared.
The color from the annatto is a little more saturated than I expected. I'm still checking the intensity of color that this new bottle of annatto is giving me. I can only assume that the original bottle I purchased from Leeners way back then was highly diluted.

Hopefully, this cheese will mature and give me a special stinky treat to present to my lovely wife for Valentine's Day. A)

-Boofer-
« Last Edit: February 26, 2013, 03:02:46 PM by Boofer »
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

bbracken677

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2012, 04:21:32 PM »
Those look great!  I have never tried a St. Paulin so, no idea what the taste and texture are supposed to be like.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2013, 06:40:52 PM »
Those look great!  I have never tried a St. Paulin so, no idea what the taste and texture are supposed to be like.
Check the attached descriptions doc in the first post.

I've got a little trouble I'm working on currently. January 6th and then today I washed with brine to remove unwanted incursions. This cheese is starting to smell wonderful. :)

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

bbracken677

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2013, 09:09:45 PM »
Thanks!  I didn't notice the attached docs..

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2013, 10:02:44 PM »
boofer, is your alp d the same as this
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bbracken677

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2013, 11:52:21 PM »
I have ALP D  and it is as follows:
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis
Streptococcus thermophilus
Lactobacillus helveticus
Lactobacillus lactis

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2013, 01:55:28 AM »
Boofer!  How nice of you to keep the curds warm while they were knitting.  Read that in your make description and could not help picturing a row of curds knitting hats, socks and sweaters.  Cute image.  I look forward to watching your make age.  I've just done another washed curd with ale and I'm eyeing some beet juice for another cheese.  Do you think it would work to make a pink (beet juice dyed) Brie, heart-shaped of course, for Valentine's day???  Oh and I did a Tomme with Mycodore so I can play with natural rinds.  Isn't this all fun??   :D
« Last Edit: January 16, 2013, 12:48:57 PM by Tiarella »

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #7 on: January 13, 2013, 06:21:45 AM »
I have ALP D  and it is as follows:
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis
Streptococcus thermophilus
Lactobacillus helveticus
Lactobacillus lactis
Thanks for clarifying that. It is a pretty complex mix. I like it a lot.

Boofer!  How nice of you to keep the curds warm while they were knitting.  Read that in your make description and could not help picturing a row od curds knitting hats, socks and sweaters.  Cute image.  I look forward to watching your make age.  I've just done another washed curd with ale and I'm eyeing some beet juice for another cheese.  Do you think it would work to make a pink (beet juice dyed) Brie, heart-shaped of course, for Valentine's day???  Oh and I did a Tomme with Mycodore so I can play with natural rinds.  Isn't this all fun??   :D
What an active imagination you have! :)  Great idea for the pink Brie. You may be running short on calendar days. ???

Yes, this whole process of deciding what to do with the milk and each step along the way. A little bit of every pursuit is embodied in this cheesemaking adventure. Investigative, research, biology, chemistry, troubleshooting, gambling, religion(praying), teaching, food science, packaging, and learning. I'm sorry, did I leave out "entertainment"?

Good stuff. I'm having fun. 8)

-Boofer-
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Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #8 on: January 13, 2013, 01:06:15 PM »
Oooooh, I can relate to the gamble part pretty intensely right now.  That batch of Shitake Brie was fatally impacted by my neglect to salt before applying the Shitake bits.  All going to the compost heap.   :-\. My large Chaource make is also just not yummy.  I thought I had salted it but it tastes saltless and not worth eating.  Hope I have some cheese-loving rodents out near the compost!  They'll be obese rodents shortly after eating this haul.
  It's all fun and all learning.  I'm okay with losing some since it's a small proportion of the makes.  I'd rather lose quick cheeses than long aging cheeses if I have to lose some.  Good company along the journey helps!!!   ;D

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2013, 06:24:00 AM »
Trying to stay in line with the recipe, I wiped the wheels with annatto & brine, then let them dry. Today I vacuum-sealed them as per the recipe for continued aging.

Sometime in February might be good to give one of them a taste.

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Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2013, 12:52:05 PM »
So being a neophyte at vacuum bagging this is a great chance to learn something.  The spots of mold I can see are not a cause for alarm for you?  Will they be unable to grow further without air, etc?

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2013, 02:07:21 PM »
Hey, I'm a neophyte too! Who knew?! :D

Well, there's mold and then...there's mold. Some bother me more than others. The critters on here don't raise too much of an alarm. I've seen their type before. Sometimes I have to run 'em outa town! :P

As with all my cheeses, they are under supervision to make sure they don't do anything stupid. ::)

Yesterday morning I wiped the wheels down with vinegar & salt. Yesterday afternoon I vacuum-sealed them.

-Boofer-
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Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2013, 01:00:07 PM »
Hey, I'm a neophyte too! Who knew?! :D

Well, there's mold and then...there's mold. Some bother me more than others. The critters on here don't raise too much of an alarm. I've seen their type before. Sometimes I have to run 'em outa town! :P

As with all my cheeses, they are under supervision to make sure they don't do anything stupid. ::)

Yesterday morning I wiped the wheels down with vinegar & salt. Yesterday afternoon I vacuum-sealed them.

-Boofer-

SOOOOOOOO, when you get all badass to run them out of town I'm imagining you as a gunslinging cowboy type, wide-legged stance, hands poised near the handles of your holstered vinegar and salt brine spray bottles, snarling that, "This town ain't big enough for the ? of us."  (hard to choose a number to put in there when dealing with microbes)

Ummm, a serious question now.  You referred to this as a stinky cheese but the description document doesn't talk about stink at all.  Reads as if it were "sugar and spice and everything nice." And also, I didn't know I could vacuum bag a cheese this soft.  I thought I wasn't supposed to.  (and you Know how much I follow directions!).   And did you use just vinegar and salt or was it diluted with water?  I've wondered about doing it "straight up" but wasn't sure about whether it might be too strong or what.  How does that advertising line go?  Strong enough for a mold but formulated for a cheese?    ;D. (If you don't recognize that it's because we don't have television and any ads I know are from decades ago.  I'm woefully behind on my popular culture stuff.)


Offline Boofer

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2013, 03:59:51 PM »
ROTFLMAO ;D

Let's see...I add a little salt to a small bowl, add a little water, stir to dissolve the salt, and then dose lightly with vinegar. If the cheese has a more serious case of the blues (or blacks), then I'll skip the water and dissolve a little salt in straight vinegar. In the case of wiping before sealing, I elect to wipe with vinegar & salt, dry, and seal.

Here's a linens-rind that I vacuum-sealed. It manages to stay pretty well in that state. Some cheeses do okay under vacuum-seal...others not so much. I'm still learning what I can do to extend the life of certain cheeses. Some cheeses do not do well at all and the rind gets pasty and smeary.

The difference between vacuum-sealing (or waxing) and cream-coating is that the cream coating does allow a little exchange of gases & moisture where the other two do not. The cheese, in essence, has a chance to breathe. 8) A bonus with the cream coating is that the one I use has natamycin as a component which further helps to control infections.

-Boofer-
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Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saint Paulin...The First
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2013, 04:02:04 AM »
Always glad to provide some cause for laughter and if you are rolling on the floor laughing I can only presume that you have the company of dust bunnies or that you've vacuumed more recently than I.   ;)

Soooooo, when I put salt on a cheese it makes it wet from the moisture pulled out.  Wouldn't that be a problem if I then vacuum bag it?  I'll have to get some of that cheese cream stuff sometime.  I just can't quite get into putting a petroleum based product on my food.  Maybe I'll invent one based on something else.....in my copious free time of course.   :P

Just down from the barn checking on the two stud rams that got taken from their ewes (breeding season is over and they get rough with the ewes once there's no reason to flirt and be on good behavior) and put first into the same tiny stall and then into adjacent stalls when it seemed like they wouldn't survive.  Supposedly putting them into a tiny stall so they can't get a head of steam up for head butting will keep them from killing each other.  Doesn't seem to help though if one has horns that curl a full circle and then start going outward.  he just flailed his head sideways jamming the tip of his horn into the other ram repeatedly.  Separated them and then he started taking apart the barn.  Blew through two gates even after I took my cordless driver and added a bunch of screws!  Testosterone poisoning is a sad thing.   :'(