Author Topic: My 4th Wensleydale  (Read 9996 times)

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2013, 10:33:28 PM »
Hi,

This one was put in a vac. bag today.  It's weighed in at 1352g, with a density of 1.07g/cm3.  It's down 272g since brining, but the density has dropped from 1.21, so it's probably lost moisture but not shrunk in size.  I have a lot of cheddar types reaching the 1 year mark, so this may end up aging out for some time.   Nice.

- Jeff

Jeff, Did you brine this cheese?  Confused?? :-\
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JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2013, 10:42:44 PM »
Ooops, no, didn't brine.  I should have just said since out of the mold.  I was updating the information for a butterkase at the same time, and that one is brined, and conflated the processes.  Sorry for the confusion - welcome to my world! :)

- Jeff

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2013, 11:19:17 PM »
Okay, thanks for clearing that up Jeff.  I want to make one of these tomorrow and was reviewing your make when I saw that. :o
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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #18 on: January 05, 2013, 01:26:49 AM »
Hi Al,

I'll be interested to hear how this goes for you.  When I returned from our trip, this one had blued up, and had a massive b.linens atach on the facees.  I've washed it right down under the tap, and am drying it off now.  HOpefully, it's still ok.  It should be, but the flavour will probably be unique, for lack of a better word.  I know that this can produce a really nice cheese at around the 4 to 5 month mark. 

- Jeff

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #19 on: January 05, 2013, 01:32:55 AM »
Will do!  Hopefully it won't pick up anything local here.  Thought I would dry it a bit and wax it. ::)


« Last Edit: January 05, 2013, 04:52:08 PM by Al Lewis »
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Offline Al Lewis

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #20 on: January 05, 2013, 01:43:33 AM »
Has anyone tried making Blue Wensleydale?  Apparently it was the original Wensleydale and has not been made in over 100 years.

Quote
Wensleydale cheese was first made by French Cistercian monks from the Roquefort region, who had settled in Wensleydale. They built a monastery at Fors, but some years later the monks moved to Jervaulx in Lower Wensleydale. They brought with them a recipe for making cheese from sheep's milk. During the 14th century cows' milk began to be used instead, and the character of the cheese began to change. A little ewes' milk was still mixed in since it gave a more open texture, and allowed the development of the blue mould. At that time, Wensleydale was almost always blue with the white variety almost unknown. Nowadays, the opposite is true, with blue Wensleydale rarely seen. When the monastery was dissolved in 1540 the local farmers continued making the cheese right up until the Second World War, during which most milk in the country was used for the making of "Government Cheddar". Even after rationing ceased in 1954, cheese making did not return to pre-war levels.

Okay, did a little research and found this is still made at the Wensleydale Creamery.  Appears to be a lightly pressed stilton but I can't find a recipe anywhere.  Also found a Shropshire which is a Stilton made in Scotland with annatto in it.  Again no recipe but that one is easy to work out. 
« Last Edit: January 05, 2013, 05:28:38 AM by Al Lewis »
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Tom Turophile

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #21 on: January 11, 2013, 09:49:22 PM »
Jeff, where do you get your recipes from?  I'm trying to pinpoint floc multipliers, and I see you have 3.25.

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #22 on: January 12, 2013, 06:00:20 AM »
Hi Tom,

I found this one on the net.  It was published by a small dairy (they make wensleydale 1000 L a go).  From their description I was able to put this recipe together.  I posted a link to their web page in one of my previous make (Wensleydale #3).  Others, like the butterkase, I found by searching for, and combining, different procedures (most posted here in the forum somewhere).  I have a couple books as well, which I use.  For floc multipliers, I tweak those a bit to get what I like.  I start by converting the times in a recipe to a floc multipler by assuming the recipe has a 10-15 floc time.  So, if they say "cut after 60 minutes" I take that to mean a 4x-6x.  You can then compare to other cheeses of a similar style, and base it on that, then tweak as you see fit. 

Searching this forum is, however, the best way to find a lot of recipes.  The difficult thing is finding the time to make them all! :)

- Jeff

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #23 on: February 05, 2013, 08:51:30 PM »
Hi,

Well, this is just shy of 4 months by a couple days and as it is a holiday here today, I figured it was time.  It was 1150g, which is a pretty good result.  The curd is very very sticky and moist.  As this was left alone over the holidays while we were away, and in a vac bag that doesn't really seal well, it ended up covered in wild b.linens and various white/blue molds (you can see where the mould invaded the cheese).  I washed those off, but the three weeks has definately impacted upon the flavour.  The unusual paste may also have to do with the fact that the curd shattered during the make and perhaps that is also partly why it doesn't have either the texture or flavour of a cheddar type.  Rather, it's more semi-soft (poor curd), washed rind (wild b.linens).  The molds and linens may also have contributed to softening the paste.  Regardless, this is all fine by me as I quite enjoy it, but it's not the target result. Still, it's not going in the bin as everyone likes it.  Nice when the errors turn out ok!

- Jeff

Offline H-K-J

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2013, 09:01:41 PM »
Love a cheese that makes yuh smile when it's opened ^-^
Sounds great a cheese to you Jeff ;D
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JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2013, 10:55:13 PM »
Thanks H-K-J!  Just made grilled cheese with this.  Melts really well, and tastes great in a sandwhich.

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #26 on: February 05, 2013, 11:14:09 PM »
it's not the target result. Still, it's not going in the bin as everyone likes it.  Nice when the errors turn out ok!
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bbracken677

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Re: My 4th Wensleydale
« Reply #27 on: February 05, 2013, 11:40:10 PM »

Nice when the errors turn out ok!

- Jeff

Awesome, Jeff!
 
My short term experimental cheddar is exactly like that (an error that turned out great).  I tasted it after about 3 weeks and was very unsatisfied, so I tossed it in the back of the cave and then totally forgot about it.... I had intended on bagging it, but placed it in a container for the "short term" which turned out to be a couple of months. The other day I was trying to get caught up on my cheese maintenance and spotted it behind stuff and, well, "yikes" was an understatement.

I should have taken a picture of it pre-wash. I scrubbed and washed it and got it all cleaned up (it had EVERYTHING growing on it...) and noticed it felt a bit softish. Much softer than I would expect from a cheddar. So I chopped a piece off and tasted it and it tasted kinda like a cross between a muenster and a swiss. Very tasty. My daughter didnt like it, she called it a "stinky cheese" but that would not have been quite my characterization. Her husband, however, thought it was outstanding as did my wife.  I think I have a small section of the wheel left which I will photograph and post when I get a chance. Have been incredibly busy and as a result my cheese time has been compromised.

I also have a couple of cheddars that had sprouted some blue on them.  Oh well...que sera'!