Author Topic: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage  (Read 2833 times)

elkato

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Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« on: August 13, 2012, 06:57:27 PM »
I am making a Roquefort type cheese that is turning out relatively good, but since I only have one big walk in cave 1030 cubic ft I am doing all the affinage in the same room, so instead of an initial 20 days at 55F and 2-6 months at 37F wrapped in foil like the recipe reads, I have the cave at 48F and 95%RH for the whole affinage
I understand that the warmer period is for the initial blue development, but don't fully understand the purpose of the wrapping and colder period,
So my questions are..
Can I use just one room?
should I use a separate fridge set at 55F for the first 20 days, and set the large cave at 38F for the rest of the affinage?
I attached a picture of a wheel after 55 days in the large cave at 48F the flavor is mild blue, flexible but not creamy,
 i hope to find the best solution using the  equipmet that i have

hoeklijn

  • Guest
Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2012, 07:10:15 PM »
First of all, what a magnificent piece of cheese you have there!
As I understand it, the colder period and the wrapping is to slow down the development of the cheese: With a Brie or Camembert I wrap it when the rind is fully covered with PC, so development of the PC stops. When they are soft enough in the middle, I put them in a normal fridge to slow down the inner development.

elkato

  • Guest
Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2012, 04:34:38 PM »
Thank you Hoekljin!
I have lowered the temp in the main (only) Cave, to 44F in hopes of slowing blue development so all the ageing can be done in one place, while I wait... and wait.... for advice!

elkato

  • Guest
Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2013, 05:55:28 PM »
I will answer my own question (one year latter) just so it can help someone
 Since posting this thread I have learned a bit about blues
Now pierce after a week, leave in cave (12c 95RH) for 3 to 4 weeks then wrap in cling plastic and keep in fridge temp 3 to 4deg C for  another 60 days
if I was to leave in the cave for the whole affinage it would be overgrown with blue mold and turn too strong

linuxboy

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Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2013, 06:22:30 PM »
Sorry, didn't see this one before.

Any cold rest is for conditioning and flavor balancing. With a warmer aging temp (meaning normal initial cave for blues), you get a lot of growth and enzyme potential. Those enzymes need to do their work, but not too quickly. Like a good wine... you want to age it out slowly and over time to create flavor layers and nuance, so that the entire cheese is balanced.

Cold rest also will give you longer shelf life because you change the cheese trajectory into one of balanced flavor development over time.

lead_dog

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Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2013, 08:21:51 PM »
Elkato, gorgeous cheese and thanks for updating!

LB- what would you recommend as the aging process if going for a full flavor, natural rind blue? Pierce when, age at what temp/humidity for how long before moving to what temp/humidity for how long?

Thanks for sharing your expertise!

linuxboy

  • Guest
Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2013, 08:39:55 PM »
Quote
LB- what would you recommend as the aging process if going for a full flavor, natural rind blue? Pierce when, age at what temp/humidity for how long before moving to what temp/humidity for how long?
Can you give me strain and target shelf life and flavor bell curve? There's no one answer. What are you trying to achieve?

lead_dog

  • Guest
Re: Purpose of cold period at the end of affinage
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2013, 01:26:40 PM »
Can you give me strain and target shelf life and flavor bell curve? There's no one answer. What are you trying to achieve?

LB- PV and/or PA. Ideally distribute at 75 days with peak flavor at 90-120 days. Flavor/texture somewhere between Stilton/Bayley Hazen. Hope that helps.