Author Topic: Second Stiltonesque  (Read 2478 times)

Reino

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Second Stiltonesque
« on: February 17, 2013, 10:51:22 PM »
Hi,

Have been reading this forum for some time and must say it's the best place for hobby cheesemakers!

Wanted to share my second Stilton type cheese, which is currently about 8 weeks.

Make did go well until bluing was supposed to show. At first is seemed that there was no blue appearing on the cheese at all, but on 7-th day there was some signs of blue. As I kept reading from other posts not to worry about blue showing up in first five days, so I didn't. Day 10 thourough smoothing with knife and off to the cellar.

No some really scary things started to happen. In addition to blue, it seemed to have all kinds of molds on it. It smelled not so much blue, but something mixed with PC etc. At some point I was really discouraged, but kept on turning them daily. Week 4,5 did the piercing and at this point it seemed to me that I had done at least something right - little crumbles of cheese tasted really good. So I decided to let it sit in the cellar a bit more.

I've been reading here that smaller batches tend to mature sooner, so after second piercing at week 7, I decided to cut into one of them. What a surprise! There was really nice veining and the smell was just right.

Trying to attach a picture of it as well. To me it seems that I could keep them for another week or two?

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2013, 11:21:28 PM »
Your veining is exactly what I would like to achieve 8)
Yes very nice, what recipe are you using?
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Reino

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2013, 11:18:37 AM »
Thanks HKJ,

I think I used a recipe from "Making artisan cheese" by Tim Smith, with my modifications.

This time I didn't add any cream whatsoever and lower fat content helps with better veining.

Must check my notes when I get home.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2013, 04:02:58 PM by Reino »

hoeklijn

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2013, 11:44:51 AM »
What a beauty this is! Started one last Saturday and called it "Bleu d' Armand" (Herman's blue) and I hope it will work out just as fine....

bbracken677

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2013, 03:38:32 PM »
Cool!  I am going to begin another attempt at a stiltonesque myself.

Best of luck to us both!   :)
« Last Edit: February 18, 2013, 05:29:26 PM by bbracken677 »

Reino

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2013, 04:01:41 PM »
Sorry for the bad link. It was the first one from google that came up.

This is from amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Making-Artisan-Cheese-Cheeses-Kitchen/dp/1592531970

I'll remove the other link.

Reino

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2013, 10:57:02 PM »
I reviewed my notes and here they are:

8,5 gallons (32 l) of raw milk
some slurry from Stilton Blue
buttermilk as mesophilic starter
rennet to achieve 15 min floc
salt

It was my intention not to add any cream in order to achieve better veining and crumbliness.

Kept at room temperature for 10 days
Day 7 - first signs of blue mold
Day 10 - smoothing with knife and off to the cellar
week 4,5 - first piercing
week 7 - second piercing

So far so good!

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2013, 11:33:18 PM »
That's one beautiful Stilton. ^-^
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Offline H-K-J

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2013, 11:37:36 PM »
Reino,
when you pierce do you do the top, bottom, and sides or just the top and bottom or just the sides? ???
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Reino

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Re: Second Stiltonesque
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2013, 07:44:11 AM »
Thanks Al, I've been following your 6-gallon make, since I started couple of days after you. Your cheese looks awesome!

HKJ, you are right I do pierce only from sides as it's done in Stilton factory. This way it gives more aestethic look, so that you don't see the holes as you cut the cheese crosswise.

Chees!