Morbier - from 200 Cheeses
Ingredients:
4 gallons whole molk
1/2 teaspoon mesophilic culture
3/4 teaspoon calcium cloride
3/4 teaspoon liquid rennet
Charcoal ash
cool 18% satuarated brine
bacterial brine for washing rind
Procedures:
Warm milk to 90°F, stir gently and turn off heat.
Add culture, cover and ripen for 1 hour - maintaining 90°F temperature.
Dilute and add calcium cloride.
Dilute and add rennet - cover and let sit for 40 minutes - maintaining 90°F temperature.
Check for clean break. Once achieved cut curds to 1/2 inch and heal for 5 minutes.
Slowly raise heat of curds to 100°F over 20 minutes.
Remove half of the whey and replace with equal amount of 100°F water. Stir gentley for 10 minnutes.
Divid curds equally between two cloth line coolarders and drain. Let curds mat for 10 minutes shaping chhese in one flat round.
Place one piece in a cheesecloth lined mold and sprinkle liberally with ash.
Place second round on top pulling cheese cloth up and folding over the top.
Press at light to medium pressure for 1 hour.
Remove cheese from press and redress cheesecloth. Press again using at light to medium pressure for 8 to 12 hours or overnight.
Remove from press, remove chesecloth and place in 18% brine for 8 hours turning every 4 hours.
Remove from brine and dry on rack at room temperature for 24 hours turning once.
Place cheese on mat in ripening container.
Ripen at 55°F and humidity of 90% for 1 week, turning daily. Wipe initial moisture from bottom of container with paper towel.
Bacterial Brine: boil 1/2 cup water. Let cool. Add 1 teasppon salt and a tiny pinch of B. linens.
Dover and set aside for 12 hours at room temperature to rehydrate bacteria..
Dip small cloth in brine, sqeezing out excess and wash cheese all over. Returen cheese to ripening area.
Ripen for 2 months turning and washing every second day with cloth dipped in brine. The rind will eventualyy form becoming brownish-gray.