Author Topic: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?  (Read 28505 times)

Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2013, 06:01:03 AM »
One thing I could offer,
take very good notes on your make and post them up. Based on that I can tell how long the cheese should be aged.

In fact, I am thinking about making a little chart to show different aging times and their related temperature targets.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #16 on: January 31, 2013, 06:07:03 AM »
Here are my choices...
Other vendors are less expensive...TheCheeseMaker, for instance.

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

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #17 on: January 31, 2013, 03:14:19 PM »
Here are my choices...
Other vendors are less expensive...TheCheeseMaker, for instance.

-Boofer-


Couldn't find either of the molds I have on there.  Did place an order for PLA and Brie containers though.
« Last Edit: February 01, 2013, 01:25:25 AM by Al Lewis »
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Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #18 on: January 31, 2013, 04:11:37 PM »
Just come home after a long hard day at work and rub your sweaty feet all over them  ;D :o

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #19 on: January 31, 2013, 05:24:32 PM »
That's very strange Alp.   :o LOL
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Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #20 on: January 31, 2013, 07:02:22 PM »
Salty and wet, sweaty feet are the perfect breeding ground for linens!

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #21 on: January 31, 2013, 07:35:49 PM »
I'll just fo ahead and stick with the stuff I ordered. LOL  Not that I doubt your word, just saying. ???
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Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #22 on: February 01, 2013, 12:27:10 AM »
Al I left off an important step to the Mutschli.

After the curd is cut and stirred, you need to brew the cheese for 30 minutes. All this is is slowly stirring the cheese for this time to give the culture time to develop and acidify.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #23 on: February 01, 2013, 12:37:33 AM »
Thanks Alp!  I plugged it into the recipe. ^-^
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Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #24 on: February 01, 2013, 05:26:48 PM »
Received this rrom Pav today.  Honestly, you guys are really amazing to take this much time to help out us new folks.  You're a wealth of knowledge and I, for one, really appreciate you.

Quote
you can do any cheese with whatever wash you want. question is what is the purpose of the cognac. there are three possible uses:
- 1. as aromatizer. you use the cognac as a perfume, washing or misting with it, and possibly also by enclosing the cheese in a bubble and letting the perfume soak in
- 2. As rind flora manager. To use the alcohol and adjust the rind balance through alcohol concentration if you want to target a specific proteolytic mix (as epoisses does)
- 3. as colorant/or other hybrid use. This is where you understand the function of alcohol as rind manager, and are trying to do more of a mix of 1 and 2. Chief difference between 2 and 3 is concentration and frequency/duration of application.

The MFFB of the cheese also matters. You can use alcohol with any cheese, but softer cheese absorbs more flavor and reacts fastest in the rind.

So take a cheese like langres... small cheese, washed with cognac and brine to impart color and a bit of flavor and as rind manager. epoisses is similar, but used more for the rind management, to shift flora balance and adjust the ripening speed. A harder cheese like mutschli is used more for color and flora balance because not a drastic amount of aroma or flavor carries through.

so it all depends what you're going for. Hope the above helps with your cheese design. there are many ways to approach it. if you pick a single cheese, I can help craft a regiment to reach your goals
.

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Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #25 on: February 01, 2013, 10:30:19 PM »
PAv is right in pointing out that in the Alpine family of cheeses, the biggest reason for the use of alcohol in its various form is rind control. However, the contribution it makes to the flavor and character of the cheese is not to be underestimated.

A cheese like Mutschli is often heavily flavored with secondary ingredients such as garlic, peppercorns, and other herbs and spices, or in other cases with alcohols. It is very receptive to flavor, but will not be overpowered by the cognac's flavor -it will still retain a great deal of its own character.


Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #26 on: February 04, 2013, 07:38:43 PM »
Well I made a 6 pound Mutschli approximation saturday and brined it in 2 pounds of salt, one gallon of water, and a half bottle of Courvossier Cognac.  Tested my new Sturdy Press by pressing it overnight with 450 pounds.  No problem. It will be washed with half cognac/half water for the remainder of its aging.  Should be an interesting cheese. :o
« Last Edit: February 04, 2013, 10:35:32 PM by Al Lewis »
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Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #27 on: February 04, 2013, 10:48:48 PM »
Like I said, there is no such thing as a Mutschli approximation as the cheese itself is an extremely loose classification. So go ahead and call it Mutschli if you like. Or if not, call it something else -you can name this whatever you want (Ludwigerkäse, you could name it. German for Lewis Cheese)

Alpkäserei

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #28 on: February 04, 2013, 10:52:44 PM »
Also, we neeed...

wait for it....

Pictures!



Might also want a little bit of salt in the wash. Helps to condition the rind to keep it from splitting when you dry it off next week or whenever you choose to stop washing it.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Cognac Washed Rind Cheese?
« Reply #29 on: February 05, 2013, 12:55:58 AM »
Okay, here's the porn  pictures.  And no, I didn't drink the brine.  ::)  Here's what I did do…


I didn't have the other cultures recommended so what I opted for was to add 1/8 teaspoon PHN-19 with the 1/8 teaspoon TA-61 for the 4 gallon pot, half for the two gallon pot.  Don't know if it will have any effect as it is a meso culture but it was the best thing I could think of.  The cultures were added to the milk early and let to stand about an hour at 90F.  I put in 1 1/2 teaspoons of calcium chloride and then added 3/4 teaspoon of vegetable rennet, I made a 6 gallon cheese so 2/3s went into the 4 gallon pot.  After 30 minutes I cut the curd into large pieces and stirred for 30 minutes.  I then brought the temperature up to 113F over 30 minutes and stirred again, with a whisk, until the curd was about the size of a bean for 5 minutes.  Then I transferred the curd to the mold and went through the pressing schedule of 5 min, 10 min, 20 min, 40 min, 1 hour, do a shot, 2 hours, and 4 hours flipping, and re-dressing it each time.  This was at 50 pounds.  For my final pressing I varied from the schedule a bit.  I pressed overnight at 9 psi or 450 pounds in my new sturdy press.  I then took the cheese out of the mold and placed it in a brine of 2 pounds of salt to 1 gallon of water and 1/2 bottle of cognac.  I left it there for 15 hours.
« Last Edit: February 05, 2013, 03:15:10 PM by Al Lewis »
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