Author Topic: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process  (Read 19216 times)

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #30 on: April 05, 2013, 12:28:18 AM »
Stupid question,
What is PC VB and where do I find it?

I like the 2/3, it's "your" cheese....

The only stupid questions is an unasked one.   :D
PC is Penicillium candidum and VB is just a variety.  You can check out varieties at this site.  (click on the more info links)  I don't buy from them but I find their descriptions very helpful.  I've been buying from forum member Yoav  (iratherfly) and his website has a launch date of April 9th I think.  Not everything will be up there but I imagine the PC will be.  Each variety of PC has a different personality.....with regards to vigor, height, etc.  Can I tell you that one is better than another for certain cheeses?  No way!  I am much too much of a beginner for that!!!   ::)

dirigoma

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #31 on: April 05, 2013, 02:14:24 AM »
Since Tiarella cut her Fog open, I braved opening mine even though it was a week older.  We're close enough for a taste test soon...

I used 3/4 gallon fresh raw Nubian goats milk, 1/4 tsp+ MM100, pinch Geo 17 and pinch PC Sam.  I also added ¼ tsp CaCl then 4 drops rennet.

Ripened overnight at 70 degrees for 17 hours.  Curd pulled away and cracked, golden whey pooled on top.  Pre-drained for 10 hours at 70.

"Milled curd" and kneaded into a pressing mold (no holes) lined with cheesecloth/ash/rest of curd.  Left to drain overnight, redressed and flipped at 18 hours (very little whey).  Very delicate curd.  Total 38 hours draining, brined in 18% brine for an hour, then dusted with ash.

55 wine fridge until white mold took over (thick and quickly), patted down, wrapped and into reg. fridge where it's been for 4 weeks and just started to soften on the edge.

Tasty, but quite 'fresh' compared to the more aged flavor of my Valencays.  The rind was pulling away and too thick, with a black line of (too much?) ash.  Texture is crumbly but creamy.  Very mild, PC flavor comes through at the rind. 

Then I opened my sliver of real HF which is now past ripe.  The consistency is completely different -- I described as 'saponified' from my soap making, but it was more cream colored and the consistency was very even and spreadable v. crumbly.

Would LOVE some whey-in here about some of the issues.  Did I use too much PC or Geo to cause the thick rind?  Did that stop the interior from melding together?  Or did I need a different make technique to get the smoother texture?  I figured HF was a lactic cheese, but wondered if it is a stabilized paste? 

Thoughts?






Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #32 on: April 05, 2013, 02:44:58 AM »
Yours does look softer than mine.  I think you should come over this weekend.  Joseph is away at a conference and there's lots of cheese in my fridge to try and discuss.  We can hang out and have girls-talk-about-cheese time.  If we come up with any brilliant theories we can take notes and share on this forum. 

I ate quite a bit of my foggy style cheeses and the "Drunken Haze" definitely has a lovely nuanced flavor from the whiskey.  At room temp the paste just under the rind is starting to soften a bit.....it is a bit more ivory in color than the bright white of the rest of the paste.  They both were best on slices of apple. Bet they'd be really nice with pear.  One had the faintest flavor whiff of PR flavor.  Made me think I'll experiment with a Blue Haze cheese when the PR arrives. 

Off to bed to dream of baby goats.   :)

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #33 on: April 05, 2013, 11:21:14 AM »
I've managed to over ripen the milk.   drained at pH 4.57.   
I should have use less starter.  maybe 1.5%.   The temp droped from 32c to only 27-28c during the night (I double covered the pot) so I could have ripened with lower temp too.

It shrinked from about 3 kg of curds to about 1.5 kg now.







Also there was a large fat layer floating on top of the whey which I lost.

I think I'l do a large one with ash (1kg) and a small one (300 gr) speked with some black truffle paste.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #34 on: April 05, 2013, 12:19:51 PM »
hey, it's fun when a few of us attempt to make the same style of cheese at the same time.  maybe we should do it on purpose!  I have to wait a bit until more goats start giving milk but maybe then one of us could initiate a make of something.  maybe even another Humboldt Fog type cheese.  I'd like to experiment with washing it with stuff like wine or whiskey.  (I have a whole bottle of whiskey and I don't drink the stuff).   ???

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #35 on: April 06, 2013, 12:48:09 PM »
After 12 hours of draining I ended up with 1450 gr of very dry creamy curds, I salted to 1.5% by weight and drained for a further 12hr at aprox 75f (room temp).
Not much whey was further released during by morning (maybe 50ml).
Despite make apeared to be too acidic , It tasted great. Not tart at all, way less acidic then my previous lactic cheeses.  Maybe LB can shade some light on how this is possible, perhaps it involves citrate metabolism?

This is the tiny crottin (150-200gr) with a line of black truffle paste running in the middle. (the small jar was about 14$)     High hopes!


And here is the "Fog", I decided to make it less tall so I can have more creamy paste and less crumbly center.  (The truth is that I was out of curds after making the one above   >:D )
Packed the first half tightly, ashed the center, packed the second half , ashed the top.  Flipped , smoothened the outside and then Unmoulded and ashed the sides.
It felt really fragile and soft compered to the video, Maybe they cool down the curds (?) before moulding so they are more easy to handle, I cant imagine putting the wheel on its side to ash, It would collapse by its own weight.

Its now in the cheese cave as 10-11c (which also doubles as a fermentation cave for 25 bottles of sparkling fruit rose wine), and Im out of room. :(
I hope to build a cool room next month for winemaking and have the fridge free again ,entirely dedicated to cheese aging.

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #36 on: April 06, 2013, 12:50:13 PM »














And btw, I have a facebook group in hebrew (but with alot of pictures).  Artisianal cheesemaking at home

https://www.facebook.com/groups/342679915850767/
Everyones invited :)

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #37 on: April 07, 2013, 11:20:28 AM »
Wow, Tomer!  Thanks for posting so many photos!!!!!  And notes!!!  On the Fog, did you pre-drain and then mix the salt in before packing it into molds or did you salt the outside after unmolding it?  What are your plans for aging  your cheeses?  The truffle one sounds amazing!!  Have you done that before?   :D

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #38 on: April 07, 2013, 07:55:39 PM »
I bought the truffles with a lactic set cheese in mind.  But its also gone go inside some Tommes and maybe I'l get some sheep's mik for pecorino tartufo.
This stuff is very powerful, packs a big punch like no mushroom I've tasted.  Go some notes of fresh garlic heat action on the palate.   

The curds were dry salted after it has finished draining, 

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #39 on: April 08, 2013, 02:56:20 PM »
I bought the truffles with a lactic set cheese in mind.  But its also gone go inside some Tommes and maybe I'l get some sheep's mik for pecorino tartufo.
This stuff is very powerful, packs a big punch like no mushroom I've tasted.  Go some notes of fresh garlic heat action on the palate.   

The curds were dry salted after it has finished draining,

Tomer,  I'm sorry to ask again but I want to make sure I understand what you are saying.  Is this what you did?  Predrained curds by hanging in cloth?  Then mixed salt into the curds before hooping?  Or did you put salt on the outside of the cheese after it came out of the mold?  I want to make this type of cheese again and I'm interested in trying different ways so I'm curious. 

I think I will have to find some of that truffle stuff too and try it somehow........      :D

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #40 on: April 08, 2013, 05:10:14 PM »
I bought the truffles with a lactic set cheese in mind.  But its also gone go inside some Tommes and maybe I'l get some sheep's mik for pecorino tartufo.
This stuff is very powerful, packs a big punch like no mushroom I've tasted.  Go some notes of fresh garlic heat action on the palate.   

The curds were dry salted after it has finished draining,

Predrained curds by hanging in cloth?  Then mixed salt into the curds before hooping?  Or did you put salt on the outside of the cheese after it came out of the mold?  I want to make this type of cheese again and I'm interested in trying different ways so I'm curious. 
 
Exacly.   This is how I think they do it in the video.  I cant see any specs of salt in the ash they use and they mix the curds before moulding for a reason (dry salting is my guess).

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #41 on: April 09, 2013, 09:54:21 PM »
 

PC has come bye to say hello.
I decided to flip it as it started to get a bit stuck on the drying mat.

It seems that the ash, deacidifying the rind allows for quicker onset of molds. 

The naked Truffle-lactic is still... completly naked.  No GEO or PC in sight.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #42 on: April 09, 2013, 10:27:52 PM »
Also, the ash makes it easier to see those faint traces of PC and Geo.  maybe you have baby PC and Geo on the other one but it's invisible???   ???

Tomer1

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #43 on: April 13, 2013, 01:36:31 PM »


Got full coverage of PC.  I patted down the furr and its off to the normal fridge at 4-6c for 30-40 days?
The little guy too.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Humboldt Fog video - small snippets of their process
« Reply #44 on: April 13, 2013, 03:28:16 PM »
hi Tomer!  Is that your Fog?  Looking good!  I just started another batch. 

Milk innoculated on 4/11 in evening.  Ladled into mesh bag for predrain the next morning.  Drained in bag from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm and then put in lined molds.  Once again I did a really lousy job of guessing when I'd put half the curds in so my "fog line" is at about 2/3.  They are in the brine this morning and I'm thinking of trying an experiment with one of my two foggies.  I want to have some red peeking through the PC so I'm thinking of dusting with paprika after the ash and then washing with whiskey after the PC blooms.  I hope the paprika does't inhibit the PC growth.

This batch I used MA4002, PC VB, Geo 17, MVA.  I have not yet found thorough info on MVA but I'm trying it to learn about it myself.