Author Topic: My 1st (2) Stiltons  (Read 7863 times)

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #15 on: June 14, 2013, 04:17:08 PM »
When I flipped my cheeses last night I had blue mold showing! It was exciting, but I forgot to take a picture. I will have to do that tonight

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2013, 12:32:54 PM »
My Stiltons are 2 weeks old now. The first picture is Cheese #2, the M 4002 culture and the one that I cut the curd, but later I tore the curd apart by hand instead of cutting it with a knife. The other two pictures are cheese #1 which I did not cut the curd, I ladled it into the cheese cloth lined strainer. I used Flora Danica on it, and later, I used the knife to cut it into chunks.

Cheese #2 is dryer on the outside, but growing blue and white molds.

Cheese #1 is moister, and last weekend I used a brush to take off the extra undesirable molds on the top and bottom. Now, those spots that did have that other mold on them have now turned red.

Should I scrub off the red mold or leave it on there?

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #17 on: June 22, 2013, 12:36:55 PM »
As a side note, I am throughly enjoying watching these two cheeses develop. I have only made hard cheeses without a rind up until this year. I washed a Swiss and a couple of Gruyere's this year and I liked playing with the cheese everyday! I get these out and flip them and look at the nice ugliness that is starting to grow and think I wonder it tastes like?

My recipe says to poke holes in the cheese after 3 to 5 weeks. I assume 4 weeks would be logical?

BobE102330

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2013, 10:17:34 PM »
I think I'd brush that red off.  A little bit isn't a big deal, but you don't want it taking over.  It looks like it's going to town.  You could also try to lower the humidity a bit.  Just a few points separates where PR likes to grow and where linens dominates. 

Piercing at 4 weeks is reasonable. 

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #19 on: June 24, 2013, 04:14:14 PM »
I brushed the red off last night. Well, I got most of it. When I went to get it out to brush it off, it was actually covered with whit mold, and I thought about leaving it, but I didn't, I brushed it all off. Hopefully the white will take over again.

jwalker

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2013, 01:27:49 PM »
I brushed the red off last night. Well, I got most of it. When I went to get it out to brush it off, it was actually covered with whit mold, and I thought about leaving it, but I didn't, I brushed it all off. Hopefully the white will take over again.

All my blue type cheeses kept getting contaminated with white mold as well , I am assuming it is PC.

It seems to cause them to ripen faster and get very soft and creamy , like a Cambozola , which I like anyway.

But my last Stilton , I wanted a true Blue Stilton , a little firmer , so I have it wrapped and aging in a completely different fridge , I will unwrap it soon and post a pic of how it is going.

So you may want to remove the white if you want a true Blue Stilton , just from my experience.

Good luck with it.

Cheers , Jim.

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #21 on: June 29, 2013, 05:15:10 PM »
I didn't realize that the white was not normal, I actually thought it was what was supposed to happen. Oh well, I will try it again in a couple of weeks and I will try to keep the white down better. I can brush it off of this one as well, but I will be more careful with the next one.

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #22 on: June 29, 2013, 07:35:22 PM »
I've been reading the posts about Stilton today. It seems that some people wash them to keep the white from developing. I didn't do that, because I didn't realize I was supposed to. I also see that I am supposed to move it to a colder temperature after 4 weeks to let it age slower for the next 4 weeks.

My Mary Karlin recipe does say to wash it, but the Caldwell book does not. My Caldwell book says to move it to a colder temperature but my Mary Karlin book does not.

I am going to make another one in a week or two to have at my daughter's engagement party September 28th. I am going to use pasteurized milk, and I want to get all the steps right on that one. This one is going to be a great experiment of things I didn't know I was supposed to do.

I scrubbed this one a pretty good bit to get the white under control, but it's not going anywhere at this point.

jwalker

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #23 on: June 30, 2013, 02:25:46 AM »
Actually , I think the PC mold makes them even better.

That's just me tho.

Mmmmmmmm.......................

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #24 on: June 30, 2013, 01:22:24 PM »
I hope the white makes them better, because I have some!

I have a small refrigerator that used to be the cheese cave. I plugged it back up and set it to lower. Right now it's 44 degrees like Caldwell's book says. I repoked holes in both of the cheeses and wrapped one in cheese paper and I put the other one in a mini cave with a wet sponge to keep the moisture up. I put both of them in the colder environment.

Now we wait for another month.

Spellogue

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #25 on: June 30, 2013, 04:36:31 PM »
The white could be PC, but I tend to think it is more likely a geotrichum.  I like a little white for complexity of flavor too.  And a hint of red.  I'm still unsure if the red is a B.L. strain or some type of mold. Does anyone know?  On my blues the red seems more of a stain than a fuzzy substance. 

I have a blue that I just pierced and it seems the rind is drier than it should be.  I'm thinking of washing it, but I don't want to encourage BL.  Are folks recommending washing blues with 3% brine, or is a higher salinity better?

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #26 on: June 30, 2013, 07:11:51 PM »
Here's a photo of my 6 pound Stilton I did a while back.  The rind was almost dry to the touch.  The colors in the rind were amazing.  Only thing I would worry about are "furry" molds.  Especially gray ones.  Could be mildew.
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #27 on: July 01, 2013, 12:44:58 AM »
nice picture, I like the colors.

My mold is not fuzzy, just powdery. My cheese is also very dry, despite the mini cave where I have tried to keep the humidity up.

I still have high hopes.

jwalker

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #28 on: July 01, 2013, 02:11:43 PM »
I think yours is just fine , in fact it looks just like mine did.

I don't brush or wash my blues at all , so far have just let them age in the cave until they start to soften , then wrap in cheese paper and give them another month or so in regular fridge.

They have all been great so far , I'm sure yours will too.

tnbquilt

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Re: My 1st (2) Stiltons
« Reply #29 on: July 27, 2013, 10:02:23 PM »
Cheese #1 on the left, not much blue, cheese #2 on the right. #1 is salty and tastes pretty good, but not good. #2 is dry and tastes like bitter salt. #2 is so bad I almost threw it away, but I put it back in the cave anyway. #1 I wrapped in cheese paper, and #2 I had in a mini cave. #2 dried out really bad, but it grew blue veins. #1 was moist and after it warmed up it tasted ok, but not good.

I bought a Stilton at the store to taste with my cheese and it was horrible, nothing but salt. No flavor, but salt. My friend who loves Stilton, had never had one that was as bad as that. We threw it away.

I put both of mine back in the cave. I suspect that #2 will go in the trash eventually, but I think that #1 will age out a little nicer.

I tasted a blue cheese at the cheese festival last year that was wonderful. It was creamy and moist. It was not pressed, and you just stuck your spoon inside of it and got a sample. It tasted of bleu cheese, and butter, and creamy milk. I wonder what style that was. I lost the card from the people who made it.

Mine was horrible compared to that. I am going to try again, but if it doesn't improve I will give up pretty quick.