I made my first attempt at Crottin de Chavignol, based on Jim Wallace's recipe on cheesemaking.com. I could only get 3 liters of goat's milk so:
3 liters goat's milk, which I pasteurized
14:05 Brought milk to 25.1 celcius
pH 6.43
14:14 added a little less than 1/4 tsp Flora Danica and small pinch Geo
waited 5 minutes, stirred in well, then added 4 drops of rennet diluted in 3mL of water
stirred in well
14:23 Left to coagulate, temp was 24.2
Next day
9:50 temp 19.9 c pH 4.31
drained into cheesecloth, tied and hung up to drain
18:30 mixed curd and re-hung up to continue draining
22:00 put in forms and added 1/4 tsp salt per form (the recipe said to wait 2 hrs after putting in forms, before adding salt, but I was too tired
Next day
8:00 flipped cheeses added 1/4 tsp salt to each form
15:00 un-molded and put on rack to dry (pic 1 and 2)
I put them in the cave yesterday, after 2.5 days of drying at room temp, and when I picked them up, I could feel that the Geo was starting to bloom.
Today I went to turn them, and they feel like they are lightly covered with Geo, but the tactile feeling is like the camembert i just made.
(pic 3 and 4)
My question is whether or not these will turn into crottin? Meaning, will they mature to develop a bumpy rind and rich paste in the center, or will they mature like a camembert, and become liquidy and stay this smoothish white? My intention was to age these 21 days circa (from yesterday), but if I messed something up and they are going to age in the wrong direction, I would rather eat them now, especially because the curd fresh was delicious!! and also because I found someone who is finally ready to sell me some goat's milk on a consistent basis!!
I am really hoping to master these crottin, partly because they are my favorite cheese, and partly because my Dad grew up not too far from Chavignol, and he too LOVES crottin, and would be oh so proud if his daughter could make a good crottin-he is a tough critic. Anyway, pointers, tips, comments please!!
Thanks, Celine