Epoisses 3/14/13

Started by sheepj76, March 14, 2013, 03:53:56 PM

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sheepj76

Alright, I'm trying to make a Epoisses style cheese. I will be using 20 gal of milk in a large vat so hopefully everything goes well.
The cultures I'm using are:

MM100
PLA
B. linens

I plan on putting some B. linens in the brine as well to hopefully get that nice orange rind and I will be washing the cheese with a cognac after the initial washes/brine. Anyone have any pros/cons if using PLA in the initial innoculation instead of just using GEO and applying the PLA later in a spray?

Pictures coming soon.

mgasparotto

Exciting! Very interested to hear how yours come out!

bbracken677

Quote from: sheepj76 on March 14, 2013, 03:53:56 PM


I plan on putting some B. linens in the brine as well to hopefully get that nice orange rind and I will be washing the cheese with a cognac after the initial washes/brine. Anyone have any pros/cons if using PLA in the initial innoculation instead of just using GEO and applying the PLA later in a spray?

Pictures coming soon.

I believe you can go either way with it. Either initial innoculation or by applying later.

mgasparotto

I applied PLA as a spray and Al added his PLA directly. We ended up with very different coloring - his linens are much darker than mine were. I don't know if the method made the difference, though.

sheepj76

Quote from: mgasparotto on March 15, 2013, 10:55:38 PM
I applied PLA as a spray and Al added his PLA directly. We ended up with very different coloring - his linens are much darker than mine were. I don't know if the method made the difference, though.

Verrrrry Interestingggggg. The type of B. linens can cause big differences in color from what I understand. Do you know if the linens were the same type in your PLA?

Boofer

Quote from: sheepj76 on March 14, 2013, 03:53:56 PM
20 gal of milk
Really?! :o

Is that a typo? That can't be right. ???

Have you made this cheese previously? I would venture to guess a "no", given the questions you've asked. A trial run might use one or two gallons. At any rate, that would make a lot of curd. ::)

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

Al Lewis

Quote from: Boofer on March 16, 2013, 02:21:09 PM
Quote from: sheepj76 on March 14, 2013, 03:53:56 PM
20 gal of milk
Really?! :o

Is that a typo? That can't be right. ???

Have you made this cheese previously? I would venture to guess a "no", given the questions you've asked. A trial run might use one or two gallons. At any rate, that would make a lot of curd. ::)

-Boofer-

These are typically the size of a Brie.  Hoping that was meant to say 2 gallons or, he has a lot of molds.
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

sheepj76

Ha a lot of molds is right. Work in a little commercial kitchen that specializes in tasty cheese. Just made a 20 gallon batch of  cam that turned out great so I figured I would experiment with another softy. We get milk directly from farm so its not as expensive of an experiment as you might think. A test batch still would have been a good idea but I'm pretty comfortable with large volume.

Al Lewis

Better have a liquor store next door also.  I used an entire bottle of Courvoisier VS on the four cheeses I did.  Most of that on the 3 little Epoisses.
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

sheepj76

Quote from: Al Lewis on March 16, 2013, 04:48:01 PM
Better have a liquor store next door also.  I used an entire bottle of Courvoisier VS on the four cheeses I did.  Most of that on the 3 little Epoisses.
really? It soaks it up that much or did you avoid using the same liquid on more than one cheese? Usually I can wash up to 47 lil cams with about a gallon of solution.

Al Lewis

This one requires that you wash it with a cognac solution that is strengthened over time to a straight cognac. I used a small spray bottle and misted mine.

QuoteWhen flipping wipe the entire surface with brine (1 teaspoon salt to 1/2 cup boiled water)
After first week alternate washes with brine and a 50/50 mixture of cognac and water
At 3 weeks switch to straight cognac washing every 3 days
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Boofer

Quote from: sheepj76 on March 16, 2013, 04:32:58 PM
Ha a lot of molds is right. Work in a little commercial kitchen that specializes in tasty cheese. Just made a 20 gallon batch of  cam that turned out great so I figured I would experiment with another softy. We get milk directly from farm so its not as expensive of an experiment as you might think. A test batch still would have been a good idea but I'm pretty comfortable with large volume.
More power to you. Good luck. ;)

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

sheepj76

I chose to spray the cheese with PLA and put a very small amount into the milk just to make sure. Today I will be washing the cheese for the second time in my B. Linens 3%brine.

JeffHamm

Photos!  We need photos!  No photos no proof, no proof no cheese, no cheese no cheese for you!! :)  Actually, I'm just really interested in these espoisse makes and want to see how they progress. 

- Jeff


sheepj76

Quote from: JeffHamm on March 21, 2013, 07:16:28 PM
Photos!  We need photos!  No photos no proof, no proof no cheese, no cheese no cheese for you!! :)  Actually, I'm just really interested in these espoisse makes and want to see how they progress. 

- Jeff

Haha I'll get some photos up tomorrow or sunday I need to bring a better camera with me my phone camera is pretty bad. They get there first cognac wash in 2 days!