get back control over your army of rebel microbes.
I have this vision of millions of microflora standing up... "I'm Spartacus!"
"No, I'm Spartacus!"
No, I am Spartacus!
Seriously you guys, someone called me "The cheese whisperer" a few months ago and while I was humbled by that, not only did I feel I can never deliver, but I also thought that this title is already used for Willi Schmidt, Rolf Beeler and Hervé MonS and I am not nearly at their class...
But Cheese Spartacus will do!
I take the bag out of the freezer, take what I need quickly, and re-vacuum seal the bag to suck out the moisture. They have been staying fairly dry and unclumped that way. Still, every time I open the vacuum seal and expose them to moister air over the years, there has to be some degradation in viability.
Well, one of the easy tricks to do this is to take the bag out of the freezer 30-60 minutes before you need to use it. Let it all get to room temperature inside the dry environment of your vacuum so there is no moisture (it's all on the outside of the bag). Now open the bag, doze, vacuum and back to the freezer it goes. If you noticed, this is what Danisco recommends in their instructions, of course referring to the original factory-sealed sachet with the protective dry nitrogen-flushed atmosphere inside which is better than any of our vacuums... But if you strongly believe that your vacuum is dry than do it. By the time you open it the powder will be at room temperature and without the thermal shock there will be no condensation (unless of course you live in a Turkish bathhouse). Something to think about. May improve the longevity of your cultures.
I stopped washing almost two weeks ago because the rind appeared to be softening too much and I was trying to dry it out a bit. I would agree that the slickeriness is mocasse. I've seen that before. I just expected it to fade by now, the Geo to dry a bit and head towards grittiness, and for the linens to come on a bit more.
I'll resume washing tomorrow morning with my SR3 & 3% brine. That should help correct some things.
Actually, you are hitting my point about taking back control: Do the opposite and get proactive on it. Don't let the geo run wild. Your washing is exactly what will keep it geo in check. It will develop the B.Linen and wipe some of that geo off. It will dry and thin out the rind. Reduce humidity and temperature and wash, wash, wash. In fact, before you continue your wash routine, I suggest to toss a bit of coarse salt on the surface, then rub it in with the rag/brush soaked with your morge. Then rub it once more with a demp cloth to get the exces liquid out and leave it only moist but not wet. (don't worry about salting, at this point your cheese is not moist enough for osmosis so it won't make the cheese overly salty, only the rind). The salt's abrasiveness will dig in the geo, it will slow it down and it will give you stronger, firmer, drier rind with good elasticity. You need to get the B.Linen growing as fast as possible at this point because this is what will make the main proteolysis from now on, hence giving you that Camembert-like texture (in Camembert the PC does it)
Then I'm wondering about the target ripening date range.... Everything points to 4-6 weeks ripening. Wednesday marks five weeks. I'm not in a rush...this needs to be ripe before I cut into it.
Get out that cheese trier! This cheese will also be good if the center is not ripe all the way. (personal taste though...)
Awesome pics! Beauty form and impressions on your rind!
Thank you! Yes, I like these rinds that look like tuffed pillows and they crack when bent to reveal some oozing interior. Can't explain why I find them appetizing. I just do...