Author Topic: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)  (Read 8390 times)

Offline Boofer

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #15 on: July 12, 2013, 02:07:03 PM »
Yesterday when I had the cheeses out for their airing I decided to cut one open. It's at the 6.5 week point and my target was for 8 weeks just like the first effort, but my curiosity would not be held back.  :-\

I had tried to work through some slip-skin moments and that's pretty obvious from the wrinkly rind and the folds & creases. The paste near the rind is gooey which also reflects a slip-skin condition. The core is still fairly firm. It was just out of the cave so it was still chilled when I tasted it. Slightly tangy, slightly salty...with an earthy character, especially from the rind. Interesting and not altogether disagreeable. :P

I tasted it a couple hours later after it had warmed to room temperature...better. I sliced it (very soft, so rather difficult to really slice) and spread it on some sourdough bread which was then toasted in the toaster oven. It melted quite readily under the heat of the oven. This cheese would lend a lot of character to a tartiflette or other cooked or baked dish.

I wrapped up the rest of the cheese to age a little longer in cheese paper under cooler conditions. The cheese is fairly decent right now, but might benefit from ripening a little longer. It isn't as rich as the first effort since it didn't receive the added cream. I think the first effort was more correct, but the added cream level should be reduced.

-Boofer-
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JeffHamm

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #16 on: July 12, 2013, 08:11:31 PM »
That's looking pretty good Boofer.  The solid centre to be expected as there's still a week and a half to go to EDT (estimated done time).  I suspect it will be gooey to the core by 8 or 9 weeks.  So, for your next make, would you add 1/2 the amount of cream you did the first time?

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #17 on: July 13, 2013, 04:39:26 PM »
Yeah, I think half the cream would be just about ideal. I'll probably hold off on a third effort any time soon though  because there are other cheeses in the queue.

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Spellogue

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #18 on: July 15, 2013, 04:02:57 AM »
From other photos I've seen I'd always thought that Pont l'Eveque was a PC and b.l. ripened cheese.  I still wonder if such an attempt might be successful, but now I know the rind is geo based.  I see they Yoav suggests just the ARN alone, but would you continue with the addition of geo 13 Boofer, or might you tweak the recipe by using 15 or 17?  I think I'll need the Geo boost as I fear my ARN blend no longer carries a viable geo strain.


FRANCOIS

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #19 on: July 15, 2013, 04:10:53 AM »
You certainly could do a PC and BL rind, it would be very much like a traditional farmhouse brie.  Just leave it alone and let it grow.

Or you could replace the PC with GEO (I prefer 17 or 13) and wash it.

Spellogue

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #20 on: July 15, 2013, 06:34:40 AM »
Mmmmm.   Thanks Francois.  Perhaps in the next week or two I'll try one of each, but with goat's milk.  The sort of version one might find in Poitou, no?  I've got quite a few bloomies going now, but I'd also like to add something like Boofer has acheived here. 

Offline Boofer

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #21 on: July 16, 2013, 01:45:05 PM »
I see they Yoav suggests just the ARN alone, but would you continue with the addition of geo 13 Boofer, or might you tweak the recipe by using 15 or 17?  I think I'll need the Geo boost as I fear my ARN blend no longer carries a viable geo strain.
I still am fairly well off the mark for this style. My first effort was closer, but still didn't achieve the texture and character of the target cheese I tasted.

When next I attempt this style I'll use my recently-acquired ARN along with half the cream and I'll use my Taleggio mould. I would expect the results to be much different.

Why do you believe that the Geo in your ARN has retired? Perhaps just not the environment that makes it happy. You can see I had some difficulty with the Geo and linens in this make. Ahh, affinage, you're a cruel mistress. :(

-Boofer-
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Spellogue

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #22 on: July 16, 2013, 06:43:49 PM »
Last season and over the winter I stored my cultures and mold packets in the refrigerator, no vacuum pack.  I should've known better. When I tapped into my PC and Geo stash this spring I couldn't get a cheese to bloom if my life depended on it.  They'd even clumped a bit from moisture issues.  New stock I recieved last month is working and I'm now storing them in a sealed mason jar in the freezer, bringing to room temp before opening.  The ARN was stored all winter in the same fashion as my dead PC and Geo 17, so I'm concerned that the geo in the blend might also be kaput. It never went clumpy on me though.

I'm two weeks into developing a schmier on my first washed rind of the season with brine I innoculated with that ARN.  I'm confident the b.l. is good because of the early stage  ivory-grey shade that's taking hold.  The same color resulted from ARN for me before.  The wild b.l. that turns up on my cheeses on occassion tends to be reddish-orange from the get go.  Perhaps the yeasts in it are still good too.  Time will tell if the geo might still be viable. 

Shouldn't usually need to use extra geo with ARN, but I do think I compromised my blend due to bad storage.  the only isolated geo I have right now is Geo 13.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #23 on: July 21, 2013, 07:28:23 PM »
A couple days ago I enjoyed a wedge of this latest make. It has been ripening in the cheese wrap inside the colder refrigerator. Upon opening the cellophane wrap, the ripened cheese adheres to the wrap and is gooey and taffy-like. This is a characteristic that I enjoy. There is still some disparity between this and a commercial example, but it's closer.

The inner core has all but disappeared and presents no obstacle to spreading this delightful cheese on sourdough bread. The taste is mild. The odor that emanates from the cheese is strong but not off-putting. No obvious ammoniation. The rind is soft, moist, and not disagreeable.

-Boofer-
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JeffHamm

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #24 on: July 25, 2013, 07:00:07 PM »
A cheese to that great looking result.  Very nice.

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: Pont l'Évêque...n'est–ce pas? (#2)
« Reply #25 on: July 26, 2013, 01:48:52 PM »
Thanks, Jeff.

I started a new thread asking for ideas for a 4 gallon make this weekend.

Any suggestions? You're a cheese repeater...meaning that you've been over the same style, in several cases, multiple times. You've honed recipes and techniques to a fine point.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.