Author Topic: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?  (Read 16513 times)

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #15 on: February 10, 2013, 08:51:25 PM »
Why did my cams end up so high in the fist place? Was it the extra CACL i mistakenly added,  the longer acidification time, the higher temperature reached, or the fact that I didnt drain the curds in cheese cloth first?

If the latter why didnt my recipe say to do this?

linuxboy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #16 on: February 10, 2013, 08:54:15 PM »
Cut them in half. those are too tall. They're tall because you used enough milk for 4 cams and used only two molds :)

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #17 on: February 10, 2013, 09:00:21 PM »
Cut them in half. those are too tall. They're tall because you used enough milk for 4 cams and used only two molds :)

Yes but when I did my blues I filled the hoops right to the top almost and they still shrunk down to the correct size of only around 1.25 inches tall. I thought these would do the same.

I will slice them in half salt the exposed layer than put them in the maturaton box and into my fridge at 10C. I was going to just throw them out as with all of my combined stuff ups I really didnt think they would be worth eating. The curds were very rubbery like mozzarella.

margaretsmall

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #18 on: February 10, 2013, 09:07:56 PM »
Some styles of blue cheese direct you to drain the curd then add the salt before putting it into a form. Camembert is a different type of cheese, so is made differently. Try not to worry about the differences, just follow the directions you have for camembert.  As LB says, you needed more forms - I use 3 for a make of 4l milk. I recently made the mistake of using only 2, I kept ladling curd in until the forms were full, and as a result by the time the centres were softened the outer curd was very runny. Maybe you did this too, or maybe because of the way your curd was so rubbery,  they did not drain down much. I agree with LB, as soon as they feel firm enough to survive amputation, cut them in half. Then put them in whatever you are using as a cave on a rack over something to catch moisture turn them every day and wait for the fuzz to appear.  When they are covered with fuzz wrap them up and put them in your regular refrigerator. Don't throw them out, give them a chance to come good - you won't lose anything will you, by waiting.
Margaret

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #19 on: February 10, 2013, 09:12:14 PM »
Thanks Margaret I will do that.

Can I wrap them in the same cheese foil I purchased to wrap my blues in? I assume its the same thing?

margaretsmall

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #20 on: February 10, 2013, 09:45:34 PM »
Yes, that will be OK. You can buy special cheese wrapping paper, but foil is fine.
Margaret

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #21 on: February 10, 2013, 11:29:20 PM »
It is special cheese wrapping foil I received with my blue cheese kit. I just didnt know if it was ok for cams as well or if they required something different.

thanks Margaret.

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #22 on: February 11, 2013, 02:41:20 AM »
This cheese just doesnt want to make it to a cam. I had it sitting on my bench top overnight on a new bamboo mat I had just brought. The ink from the mat transferred to the top of the cheese marking it with pink lines.
So had to scrape all this off. I cut them in half and then they wouldnt fit in my second aging box without touching each other. So then had to pull the blues out of the larger box. Sanitise both boxes and put the blues in the smaller box and the cams in the larger box.

Ive noticed that the cams are now quite dry after 24 hours at room temp. Also some of the edges have a slightly yellowish to light brown stain on them. Is this normal?

Ive placed a wet cloth in the bottom of both boxes to increase humidty and am checking my hygros calibration now using the salt method.

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #23 on: February 11, 2013, 03:12:32 AM »
I was thinking of making up a PC slurry to spray onto th surface of my cheese as per insructions in the wiki on the Camembert recipe.

The Wiki says to spray on suface of cheese after 1 day in the cool room. So do I spray one side then turn over the next day and spray the otherside?  Also how often would I repeat this? Searching for the frequency of spraying didnt really find anything.

linuxboy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #24 on: February 11, 2013, 03:28:59 AM »
Spray every surface. Usually, only once is enough.

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #25 on: February 11, 2013, 05:15:37 AM »
Ok will do. Here is what they look like with them cut in half. The yellow (and pink) marks are from the crappy bamboo mat which I will now throw in the bin.


Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #26 on: February 11, 2013, 08:31:12 PM »
Bump...How do hey look? The surface seems to be too rough so am concerend they wont get covered in mold properly.

bbracken677

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #27 on: February 11, 2013, 08:58:14 PM »
I do not think the roughness of the surface will have any effect on the pc growth. As long as pH is in the right ballpark along with moisture you should be fine.  Once you have sprayed them, you will want to place them into containers (referred to often as mini-caves) to maintain humidity up in the 90s (95% is considered optimum and has been perfect for my makes).  After a day or 2 at room temp, you will want to then move them into your aging environment, which should be 90-95% humidity and 50-52F. You should see excellent coverage by the PC after a few days. Each day you will want to flip them. Once the PC has fully covered the cheese, it is recommended that you continue to flip daily for a couple of weeks and if PC growth seems to get out of hand (sticking to the mat) you will want to lightly press the growth down.
After a couple of weeks of PC growth you should start to notice a softening just under the surface, which will continue until the end of the 4th week at which point they should be ready for consumption.

I am concerned about the moisture level in the cheese...nothing you can really do about that now. Your cheese appears to be drier than what mine are once out of the forms, but then seeing such in pictures is not the same as being there in person  :)   Hence, I may be worried for no reason and the moisture level may be just fine.

Shalloy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #28 on: February 12, 2013, 01:23:39 AM »
Those pics were taken after leaving hem at room temp for 24 hours covered with paper towel. i was concerned they may b a bit dry too. I have them in an aging  container in the fridge at 10C (50F) next to my blues in a seperate container.

I have a piece of wet paper towel in the bottom of both containers but my wireless hygro is only in the smaller container with the blues. The humidity in there is at 91%. I thought the humidty for the cams had to be around 80% so have kept the lid off slightly. Now that youve said it should be 90% also I will close the lid up. When my blues were in their this container held 90% no problems with a wet cloth in the bottom.

is it imperative that you make up the PC slurry, mix it with 200mls water and 2% salt and leave it for 12 hours???

Can I just make up a slurry drain it through a sieve into a spray bottle and use it straight away?
« Last Edit: February 12, 2013, 01:50:04 AM by Shalloy »

linuxboy

  • Guest
Re: Do I need calcium chloride if using skim and cream?
« Reply #29 on: February 12, 2013, 01:38:32 AM »
Quote
Can I just make up a slurry drain it through a sieve into a spray bottle and use it straight away?
Of course.