Hi Kdttocs,
I finally bought some Humboldt Fog, loved it, and since I've been making Valencay pretty successfully, thought I'd piece together an attempt at making one. Plus you posted the video and it motivated me! I've only been making cheese a year or so though, so am still very much a beginner.
I based the recipe on one from this site, Peter Dixon’s Lactic recipe, the new Gianaclis Caldwell book and the 200 Easy Cheeses Valencay I've been making and may have altered too many variables.
My recipe:
3/4 gallon fresh raw Nubian goats milk (my own -- all I had)
Did not pasteurize.
Heated to 78 degrees
Added 1/4 tsp+ MM100, pinch Geo 17 and pinch PC Sam.
I also added ¼ tsp CaCl which I haven't been using in my cheeses as the yield is so high, but thought would help create a more dense cheese.
After 25 mins, added 4 drops rennet to 1/4c water.
Ripened overnight at 70 degrees for 17 hours. Curd pulled away and cracked, golden whey pooled on top.
Predrained for 10 hours, same temp.
"Milled curd" like the video-- thought mine felt softer than theirs looked! I have a new PH meter and haven't calibrated it yet, but the reading was 4.35 which seemed low?
Used a large pressing mold (no holes) lined with cheesecloth and kneaded curd in place for first layer, ashed the surface, molded the second layer into place. In this video they seem to scrape off the top but my mold was taller, and you can’t tell if they drain or immediately unmold? I left mine to drain on a cheese mat overnight, redressed and flipped at 18 hours (very little whey). Very delicate curd
After 38 hours draining in the mold, no more whey seen, but PH is now 4.14 and I had thought it would go up (I'm new to using PH). Now it's in an 18% brine for ?? It's a large cheese, so figuring about an hour v. Crottins for 20 mins a side?
Plan is to drain on cheese mat until damp to touch, then ash fully (no more salt) and move to 55 degree 85 % RH fridge and see what happens.
Would appreciate if you or anyone else would weigh in about aging conditions/timing, or things I should already have done differently. Will be a shame if it's a big soft Valencay that collapses, but would still taste good!
Thank you!