Author Topic: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue  (Read 5070 times)

leboy001

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Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« on: April 10, 2013, 12:26:41 AM »
So i have been making cheese semi regularly for about 2 years now. I have tried most of the basics, Feta, Halumi, Maasdammer, Cheddar, Gouda, Wendsleydale, Camebert, port cheddar, Romano, ricotta, a dismall attempt at mozzarella and some others that i forget. The reason for all the different types is your never certain if you like a cheese until you try it and probably a bit of ADD

I have ordered myself some P. Roquefort as i want to try making a blue cheese. I'm hoping that those you with experience making blues could give me some suggestions as to a good type to try for a first attempt. I only have access to store brought cows milk (I'm not aware of bottled goat or sheep milk for sale in NZ) and cream (real cream not American whipping cream). I also dint have a PH meter so if that is super important it probably isn't the best recipe for me.

So yeah any suggestion would be great

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2013, 01:07:51 AM »
I am in the same position as you and looking for suggestions.  perhaps it would help if you shared what types of blue taste you like.  I don't want a super strong one......prefer a milder, creamy type.  I got a PR recommendation that should help me achieve that.  What type of blue flavor are you in search of?   :D

leboy001

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2013, 03:23:22 AM »
Im not too worried. I do like strong creamy blues, but at the same time i like milder blues. I have the book 200 Cheese making recipes which i have found really good. I will randomly select one (the easiest looking one) of those recipes if no one here gives us a better suggestion

hoeklijn

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2013, 05:39:52 AM »
Since you have experience with Camembert, I would advice to try Cambozola, because it's a mix between a white and a blue.
Just start with a recipe for Camembert, when you fill the moulds, you let them drain for about 15 minutes when they are half filled, sprinkle some PR powder over the curds and fill the moulds with the remaining curd. Pierce the cheeses after about 10 days for the first time, a week later for the second time.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2013, 10:57:53 AM »
Hi Herman!  nice to "see" you!  Very nice looking cheese, too!  Maybe I will try something like a Humboldt Fog with PR and see what happens.  lately my softer cheeses haven't been coming out so well with this end of winter milk but a Cambozola will be in my future when the milk shifts.  That and a Morel mushroom Brie are on the list.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2013, 01:50:53 PM »
So yeah any suggestion would be great
I'm afraid I'm a little biased...Fourme d'Ambert.

Also here are some suggestions.

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Offline Tiarella

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2013, 02:33:13 PM »
So yeah any suggestion would be great
I'm afraid I'm a little biased...Fourme d'Ambert.

Also here are some suggestions.

-Boofer-


Thank you for that thread, Boofer!  A cheese flitting through the ethers in your direction!  I think I want to somehow make a semi-hard blue cheese with crevices for the blue although maybe I'd pierce too?  I'll start looking at recipes when I move back down to the house.  (didn't bring cheese books to the barn). That last Caerphilly with the natural rind has been sustaining me up at the barn and I like it even more.  I wonder if I could do something like that with blue including a successful natural rind.  I'd call it "Tumescent Blue"!   >:D.  (more interesting name than including "semi-hard" in the name.)   :-[

My milk supply just increased and I have some PR so a blue is in my near future!

hoeklijn

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2013, 02:58:10 PM »
So yeah any suggestion would be great
I'm afraid I'm a little biased...Fourme d'Ambert.

Also here are some suggestions.

-Boofer-


Yeah, we all seem to advice our own successes  ;)

@Tiarella: Yes, I read about your problems with the winter milk. Cows are still inside here at most farms. I hope to find the time this weekend for a batch of Gouda. My Bleu d'Armand is still doing well. Very curious how it will work out....

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2013, 07:21:45 PM »
"Tumescent Blue"
You're killing it, Kathrin! Have you ever thought of doing a stand-up routine? ;)

Thanks for the cheese. You're very kind. :)

How is the midwifery proceeding?

Yeah, we all seem to advice our own successes  ;)
Really? I had no idea. ??? ;)

I just picked up 4 gallons of sweet raw Jersey milk this morning. I'm dithering about what will finally come out of the kettle tomorrow morning, but, at the risk of appearing in a rut, I'm leaning heavily towards Beaufort #7. That would be destined for 12-month affinage. I'm favoring hard and tumescent semi-hard cheeses since I seem to have a ready supply of sliceable, serve-ready cheeses in my fridge now. Another reason for choosing the Beaufort style is that it really appeals to my family and me and it ages well.

I believe the cows in my neck of the woods are grazing on new, fresh green grass. The threat of cold snaps and freezing weather has been a distant memory for several weeks now, so I expect lots of nice beta carotene and deliciousness. :)

Later on this year I want to redo the Reblochon, Garlic Gouda, and Horseradish Gouda (already tried a Cheddar).

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jwalker

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2013, 10:19:52 PM »
Ricki Carrolls website has a recipe for a Gorgonzola Dolce , it is very simple , I have two going now.

While I haven't actually really eaten any yet , I just pierced this one for the second time , and I did lick the chopstick I used after piercing , it already tastes great , very creamy and very tangy , just like the cheese I made the slurry from to inocculate it , and it's only three weeks old !

Ii will be a test of patience to see if I can wait the suggested 90 days before eating.

Cheers Jim.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2013, 01:01:07 AM »
"Tumescent Blue"
You're killing it, Kathrin! Have you ever thought of doing a stand-up routine? ;)

No, I don't do crowds much.  I mostly live quietly.  But I do have an active mind and enjoy using it here and with friends.....and it's double fun when it's both.....here AND with friends like you!   ;D

How is the midwifery proceeding?

Oh, this time was very sad.  Labor was all day and into the night and a perfect little baby doeling  (female) was born dead.  It was a single so the mother is looking everywhere for her baby and calling out.  She'll get over it once the hormones ease but it breaks my heart a bit.  She has bonded to me in absence of a baby but I can't stay there all day and night with her.  Last year she had a single and it was a boy and I sold him at about 12 weeks and she was the only mama with no baby to snuggle with for naps and sleep next to at night.  This year I hoped she'd have her own little family so I am doubly sad.  She is a sweet and elegant doe.....one of those true ladies.  When the bucks are crude and snort and spit in her face she just lifts her nose and determinedly refuses to notice their crassness.  I really wanted her to have her baby..... :'(  I'll attach a photo of her with her twins from the year before.




JeffHamm

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2013, 01:51:24 AM »
She's a cutie.  Sorry to hear the new one didn't make it. 

What breed of goat is she?

- Jeff

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2013, 01:56:03 AM »
Thank you, Jeff.  She is a Nigerian Dwarf.....so about knee high to a grasshopper.  And her kids were so cute last year and the year before.  The twins in the photo are from 2 springs ago.  The little boy in that photo would climb into my lap anytime I got near to the ground, even when he was half grown and could only get his front half into my lap. 

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2013, 11:44:16 PM »
My condolences, Kathrin. That is heartrending.  :(

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Re: Suggestions for first attempt at a blue
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2013, 11:56:40 PM »
My condolences, Kathrin. That is heartrending.  :(

-Boofer-

Thank you.  She's not a happy camper although she's fairly calm and not calling out all the time.  Something is making her scared of being on the milking stand so I'm hoping that resolves soon.  She's got company.....just not her baby.  She is such a beautiful doe.  I'm scheming.....wondering if I can plant a baby on her from the next batch.  It'll take some work, luck and maybe a shot of oxytocin.....and this presumes there's an extra kid.  Next birth is April 24th approximately.  Wish me luck.