Author Topic: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue  (Read 4274 times)

Offline Vina

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Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« on: May 27, 2013, 08:02:25 AM »
well, on 10th of May I was brave enough for my first blue cheese.
I used 2 gal of pasteurised farm cow milk and R.Carrol's recipe for blue.

For the first time I didn't have an questions, but now... nothing but a blues appears on its rind (I understood there will grow everthing)
and other thing - one side refuses to cover with mold. Is that normal?

Thanks in advance!



george

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2013, 09:42:12 AM »
Pet the moldy side, and then pet the non-moldy side.  That will help spread it around.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2013, 10:55:52 AM »
Vina, I'm so glad you are trying a blue.  I'm working up my courage to try one.  I don't know where to age it since I don't dare but it near my other cheeses. 

Mary's idea is great for spreading the blue mold.....   Hi Mary!  Hope you have sunshine down there!

Offline Vina

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2013, 09:18:02 PM »
Thanks Mary, I'll try.

Tiarella, I'm aging it at separate container, hope this is not a big threat to others.

shotski

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2013, 10:59:53 PM »
well, on 10th of May I was brave enough for my first blue cheese.
I used 2 gal of pasteurised farm cow milk and R.Carrol's recipe for blue.

For the first time I didn't have an questions, but now... nothing but a blues appears on its rind (I understood there will grow everthing)
and other thing - one side refuses to cover with mold. Is that normal?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Vina, have you been turning the cheese one or twice a day?

Offline Vina

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2013, 08:16:55 AM »
oh, sorry for late response..
First i was turning ir even twice a day, for next 2-3 weeks once a day, and now once every 2-3 days.

Its ring now is quite colorfull :)

Offline Vina

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2013, 08:42:15 PM »
well, this is what I get now on its 'clear'' side.
I did as recomended - rubbed along blue side, than the clean one.

now its 47 days old.

 

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2013, 08:59:53 PM »
Wow, you have a colorful cheese there!  That looks B linens growing so I think it  might have a strong flavor.  Hopefully you like strong flavors.   :D. Thank you sharing your cheese photo!

Offline Vina

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2013, 08:50:21 AM »
well, I do like strong flavors, but red / orange was not exactly I ecpected. Anyway, I understand I can't get rid of it.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2013, 10:55:26 AM »
well, I do like strong flavors, but red / orange was not exactly I ecpected. Anyway, I understand I can't get rid of it.

Boofer sometimes washed B. linens off under a stream of water in the sink but that is with hard cheeses, not a blue cheese so I'm not sure. Maybe someone else has an idea of how to inhibit B. linens and encourage others.  Did this side of your cheese get salt?  I noticed on a blue cheese that I made that the blue only showed up where the cheese was in the brine soak.  That particular cheese floated very high in the brine  (maybe too salt saturated a brine?) and even when I flipped it there was a band in the middle of the sides that never was under the brine and that part didn't turn blue.  I wonder if you salt it now if that would impact the B. linens.  Please know, I don't have enough experience in this area.....   ???

Offline Vina

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2013, 08:24:10 PM »
... and I don't  like that ammonia smell (before there wasn't)

jwalker

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2013, 12:05:30 PM »
If it's starting to smell of ammonia , I would eat it now , it is probably ready , much longer and it could be past it's prime.

I have been eating my blues in the 5-6 week stage , they were all great.

Just my opinion though , perhaps others with more experience will give some input.

It looks good !

Cheers Jim.

meyerandray

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2013, 01:48:02 PM »
That looks great!  I agree with Jim that if it is starting to smell like amonia you should eat it, you don't want it to turn bitter. 
I am still wondering if I should crack mine open or not, I was hoping to wait 60-75 days, but Sunday is my father-in-law's 70 birthday and we are having a BBQ, I thought it might be fun to have a cheese to cut.  Keep us posted if you do cut it!

Offline Vina

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2013, 01:28:50 PM »
If it's starting to smell of ammonia , I would eat it now , it is probably ready , much longer and it could be past it's prime.

I have been eating my blues in the 5-6 week stage , they were all great.

Just my opinion though , perhaps others with more experience will give some input.

It looks good !

Cheers Jim.

Jim oooo, I think I'm too late. It smells that way for some week. This is what happens when you do thing only by book (which says 90 days ;-) ) untill you gain some experience

meyerandray, ok, I will. It seems like we're cutting it tonight.

Smurfmacaw

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Re: Ok, I gave it a try - 1st blue
« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2013, 04:54:45 PM »
My blue was starting to smell of ammonia too.  I took a cheese cloth dipped in strong brine and gave it a good wash down to get rid of the white mold, which to my understanding thus far is one of the major contributors to ammonia production, and pierced it again.  Today there is no ammonia smell at all, just a nice blue cheese smell.  I also used about a teaspoon of salt and rubbed it down just knock the white stuff back a little in the hopes of give the PR a fighting chance on the outside.  From the taste of the paste that squished out when I pierced it, the inside is doing just fine.  I'll take a core sample in a couple of weeks.