Author Topic: Tomme de Haute-Savoie, Bordering on Chevrotin  (Read 1872 times)

Spellogue

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Tomme de Haute-Savoie, Bordering on Chevrotin
« on: September 02, 2013, 09:52:53 PM »
Here is a cheese I began to put together earlier last month.  I wanted to make a washed curd goat tomme innoculated with PLA and it would seem that there is a tradition of such cheeses in the Haute-Savoy.  This approximation might be called a Chevrotin depending on which Savoyard to whom one might speak.  I added a bit of thermo with the two mesos I used since I didn't have any MA4001 on hand.  It seems to be working toward the firmer pâté at which I aim.  I'm not sure now why I cultured so long, especially since the milk would have started to clabber whilst coming to room temp, perhaps time just got away from me.

Here are the notes so far:

Chevrotin / Tomme de Haute Savoie
8/10/13
12 quarts raw goat milk, five days old and fresher
Brought all milk out of fridge. Brought to room temp over 8 hrs
Added 1/16 tsp Aroma B
1/8 tsp MM100
1/32 tsp TA61
1/8 tsp PLA
Bring to 75F
Stand 75 minutes
Raise to 92F
1/16 tsp dry calf rennet.   1:11 am
Floc at.  1:16 am  4  min.  x4 =  16min
Cut  curd into 1 in cubes at      1:28 am  taking 10 min to accomplish
Stir 10 minutes
Remove and reserve 1/2 gal whey
Replace with 1/2 gal c.130F water
Stir 5 min
Remove 10c whey for pressing replace w 4 c  130F water heating to 100F
Stir 5 min

Pack curd into   tomme mold.
Using whey from 2nd removal, press under whey using 29 oz tomato can for 10 minutes.  Flip. Press under whey for 10 min more.  Flip.  Press naked with 28 oz can plus 5 lbs dry for 18  hrs.
Set in saturated brine 10 hours
Make washing brine 1 cup 3% brine, 2 tbsp. leftover ARN wash from last morge, 1/64 tsp PLA.
Air dry 48 hours
Begin washing with inoculated brine every day for 1 week keeping cheese at 75F.  Brought up schmier quickly, 2 days.
After 1 week moved cheese to cold fridge 48F and wash with plain 3% brine every day for 3 weeks. 


Now I'm thinking of washing every other day for 2 weeks then going down to 2x week for one month.   I might stop washing sooner if the rind would just color up a bit more.  I'd like to see a powdery geo film form over the rind. 

This is a pic from today:

Smurfmacaw

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Re: Tomme de Haute-Savoie, Bordering on Chevrotin
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2013, 01:05:32 AM »
Dying to see how this turns out.  Pretty much the same as my Tomme de Savoie but with goat milk.  I"m torn on how long to let it age...I've got plenty of cheeses to eat now so no rush.  I used a red wine wash and it colored up pretty good......although I think the orange color is more from a late breaking case of raging BL instead of the wine.  It's in vacpac right now but I think I'll rescue it in a couple of weeks to let it dry some more since that seems to wet the rind a lot.  Mine was washed rind too so I'm interested to see how it comes out.  I'll probably make a goat milk tome soon though since i can get raw goat for less than half of raw cow...(go figure).

Spellogue

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Re: Tomme de Haute-Savoie, Bordering on Chevrotin
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2013, 06:50:15 PM »
Now that you mention it, I realize that many of my washed rind cheeses don't even begin to color until long after I give up on washing.  Is that perhaps the norm?  I always feel like I'm disturbing the fledgling b.l. growth when I'm well into my rind washing program.

I suppose I'll carve into this one somewhere between the 3 and 4 month mark.  I want to achieve a pliant pâté  while still maintaining some resiliency. I'm hoping having washed the curd will bring out some nutty flavors in the milk.  I might need to core sample this one in November to be able to decide.

I'm still washing this frequently now because I've got it lightly covered in the food fridge.  I'm waiting for some space to free up in the warmer fridge for a micro cave in a few days.  Then I won't be so worried about it drying out in a lower humidity environ, not to mention the risk of rind contamination (and oh, the smell!).  As much as I'd like to see a powdery geo form after the washing routine comes to an end, it won't be the end of the world if it doesn't.

How true Alpkasseri is in saying that washing a rind can cover a multitude of sins.  Leave it to the Trappist cheesemaking monks to figure that out, eh?