Author Topic: My first try at Camembert  (Read 1677 times)

Pete S

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My first try at Camembert
« on: October 08, 2013, 03:21:43 AM »
                                                               CAMEMBERT


   I thought that it was about time that I try a white mold cheese. So I  ordered PC-SAM3 and a puffer of black charcoal. I originally planned on a Valencay but I had not finished making the molds so decided on a Camembert.
  I basically followed Ricki Carroll's book.       I used Mesophile Aroma B & Animal rennet
the make went smoothly. I left them in the molds 24 hours because they were to soft to handle.
  Because Ricki states that they are difficult to age  I decided to coat one with ash I have read this  assists in getting a good even mold growth.( I also wanted to see how the ash works)
they went into there container and the cave (a little warmer then recommended at 50-550
   The pictures tell the rest of the story.  I turned them on the 3rd day and patted them down on the 6Th
day. I also aired them out and wiped the condensation off the lid every day.
  The mold shows up best on the ash covered one but they feel the same
  I have never tasted a Camembert or seen one except in the pictures here on the forum so this is a totally new experience for me.  I am pleased with them so far.
                                                                                                          Pete

High Altitude

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Re: My first try at Camembert
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2013, 03:54:37 PM »
Wow, those look really great to me (having only made one cam attempt, which I'm still working at!).  Be sure to post photos when you open these!

Pete S

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Re: My first try at Camembert
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2013, 07:52:56 AM »
Thanks High Altitude.
  I have been following your apparently successful rescue attempt. I think it may have saved me a like fate.
  My curds were very fragile when I started to stir them, so I let them set to see if they would heal more. After the 30 minute time that I was to hold them at 90 d I ladled them into the molds. I took 30 min to get them all in the molds. after the 5 hrs drain time they were still so fragile that I let them set for a total of 24 hrs.You see the results
   Should I move these to the colder fridge now that they have a complete covering of mold?
                                                                                                                                                      Pete

High Altitude

  • Guest
Re: My first try at Camembert
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2013, 07:23:04 PM »
Well yours look very successful to me, Pete! 

I put mine in the refrigerator (38 degrees) as soon as it had full mold coverage (in my case, day 5 or 6).  I have read about many who leave in the cave to age and many who choose the colder fridge environment.  My recipe called for the fridge, so I went that route.  It is supposed to take 5 weeks after that to mature, so we'll see. 

I'll start taking a look at it next week to see if it seems to be softening at all.  For the moment I just flip it daily.

Good luck and keep us posted :-)!

timkrav

  • Guest
Re: My first try at Camembert
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2013, 12:30:21 PM »
Pete did you cut them open yet?

How long did you stir the curd and how vigourosly? How log was the rest time after stirring?