Author Topic: Third Fourme d'Ambert  (Read 4878 times)

Kirkbybil

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Third Fourme d'Ambert
« on: November 10, 2013, 09:21:57 PM »
I started reporting on this cheese here: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,12071.0.html as the subject came up during my Cantal make but we all decided it should have it's own thread so here goes...

This is my third Fourme d'Ambert.  I originally decided to make it because we love blue cheese and it seemed much easier and quicker than a Stilton or Gorgonzola so I gave it a go. Happy to post the recipe if anyone is interested.

The first make went horribly wrong, it was one of my first cheeses and, for some reason, it took 75 mins to floc which = 300 mins set as opposed to the 90 mins guide in the recipe! However, the final cheese was delicious and everybody thought it was wonderful. It was a rich and creamy blue.

The second make was much more in line  with the recipe, 90 mins exactly to clean break and the cheese came out like  a Fourme d'Ambert should be, (or at least as I think it should be, I have never tasted one!), much firmer but still very good indeed. Personally I preferred the first one in terms of the texture but both tasted very similar,

So this is my third, the recipe was, again, in line with the recipe so fingers crossed it turns out well and ready for Xmas.

This was a four gallon (UK) make and I expected four x 1lb cheeses in my 4" moulds but ended up having to use a 5" mould to take the surplus which was another 1lb cheese so a nice bonus.

Here's some pix of the cheeses in the mould. The last in this series is the cheese at 14 days old (1 day make, 2 days drying, then 11 days in the ripening container in the cave at 50F and around 80-90%RH).

Just like my last two Fourmes, the blue started to appear at 10 days, exactly as the recipe predicted!   





 

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2013, 09:29:37 PM »
It's always nice to have recipes for comparison to what other's are doing ;D
Cheese is lookin good :o
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Offline Boofer

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2013, 02:38:46 PM »
Thanks for moving the thread. Much better to track. :)

Whose recipe is it? Seems like some of those times are extreme. Are you using the correct dose of rennet? Is the rennet viable?

Oooh, I've got a crook in my neck. Wait...fixed it by turning my laptop on its side. 8)

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Kirkbybil

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2013, 07:38:10 PM »
Firstly, I think it's something I did, rather than the Rennet. I put it down to pilot error but the outcome was very nice! The recipe is actually from a book called Cheese It! by Cole Dawson. Anyone know if it's okay for me to post the recipe or are there copyright issues?

Secondly, turning your laptop on its side is fine, but not very helpful for those reading this on a desktop. If you are, simply lie on the desk and roll onto your side - that'll work just as well  :D

Thirdly, if someone could tell me why sometimes the photos are the right way up, sometimes not, even though they are all taken on my iPhone in portrait mode, I'd be grateful and it will probably be better for everyones health in the long run.


Offline Boofer

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2013, 03:01:06 PM »
Firstly, I think it's something I did, rather than the Rennet. I put it down to pilot error but the outcome was very nice! The recipe is actually from a book called Cheese It! by Cole Dawson. Anyone know if it's okay for me to post the recipe or are there copyright issues?

Secondly, turning your laptop on its side is fine, but not very helpful for those reading this on a desktop. If you are, simply lie on the desk and roll onto your side - that'll work just as well  :D

Thirdly, if someone could tell me why sometimes the photos are the right way up, sometimes not, even though they are all taken on my iPhone in portrait mode, I'd be grateful and it will probably be better for everyones health in the long run.
Posting the recipe I believe falls under the "fair use" policy. You are not doing it for monetary gain.

We've had discussions before about iPads and iPhones and their inability to deliver WYSIWYG interpretations of folks' photos. Sorry, I don't happen to belong to that fan base. I typically snap pics with my digital camera, dump them to my PC, grab the best quality pic of the lot, and run it through Paint.NET to resize and tweak it, then post it. I also want to post a pic in the minimally acceptable resolution so that the forum isn't slogged down with high resolution pics (3264 x 2448) of a "snowball". I say snowball because it doesn't have any redeeming details that would warrant a high resolution pic. It would be fine as a 1024x768 or 800x600 pixel pic. Too small a pic presents challenges to the viewer in that there isn't enough detail to fully appreciate what the poster is attempting to show. These are the 450x320 pixel pics or lower (thereabouts) that strain my eyesight.

I take a bunch of pics because one shot is never the right shot. I try not to throw a shadow on the subject. Also, if I'm trying to feature a cheese in the best possible light, I will turn it so that the light falls upon it and it isn't in its own shadow. If I can I try to shoot without flash because it washes out the pic, but the flash helps to sharpen the focus and is sometimes required. I try to use the pics to help "tell the story".

Wow, sorry, I apparently had an out-of-body experience just then.... ::)

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

Kirkbybil

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2013, 08:16:31 PM »
Here's the Fourme Recipe that I have used very successfully, even when I got the make wrong.  I made it because it seemed a lot simpler than a Stilton for a relative beginner and I think that proved to be the case. 

I'm never sure about instruction No.9 where it says to pierce the cheese after two days, and then, in No.11 to pierce again. However, I thought 'who am I to question an expert' so I have followed the instructions to the letter and the mould growth and distribution has been perfect so it works.

Fourme d’Ambert
A labor of love for farmers in Auvergne, this cow’s milk cheese takes its name from the wooden mold (form) used to shape it into a cylinder about 8 inches high and 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Like Stilton, Fourme d’Ambert is lightly pressed and name-controlled. It is a pretty sight on a cheese platter with its marbled white interior and gray-brown crust. Enjoy this blue with the big French reds—Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Beaujolais. You will need a 2-pound tomme mold for this recipe.
Yield: about 2 pounds
Ingredients:
 2 gallons pasteurized whole milk
 ¼ teaspoon direct-set mesophilic culture or 4 tablespoons mesophilic mother culture
 1/8 teaspoon Penicillium roqueforti
 ¼ teaspoon liquid rennet, diluted in ¼ cup unchlorinated water
 Brine bath.
1. Use a double-boiler or water bath to warm the milk to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring gently.
2. Add the P. roqueforti, and then add the culture. Let them dissolve on the milk’s surface for 5 minutes. Mix well from top to bottom using a skimmer.
3. Add the diluted rennet and stir gently for 1 minute. Cover and let set at 90 degrees Fahrenheit for 1½ hours or until the curd is firm and separates cleanly.
4. Cut the curd into ½-inch cubes, vertically and horizontally, in a grid pattern. Let them settle for 5 minutes.
5. Gently stir curd for 1 hour until the pieces shrink and firm up.
6. Pour off the whey to the level of the curd. Ladle curd into a sterilized, cloth-lined tomme mold. As the whey drains, you will need to top off the curd.
7. Place the mold in your cheese press and apply light pressure (5 to 10 pounds) for 1 hour. Remove the cheese from the press and the cloth from the cheese. Turn it over and rewrap it. Continue light pressure for 6 hours.
8. Remove the cheese from the press, unwrap it, and put it in a brine bath for 12 hours. Flip the cheese after 6 hours.
9. Dry the cheese on a rack for 2 days at room temperature. Pierce all the way through, horizontally and vertically, using a sterilized needle or another tool.
10. Place the cheese on a clean mat in a ripening container. Age at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 percent humidity. Turn the cheese daily and wipe up any whey that has drained (excessive moisture will interfere with proper mold growth).
11. After 1 week, pierce the cheese all the way through, horizontally and vertically, per the instructions on page 138. This allows oxygen to reach the cheese center and facilitates veining of the mold. Turn the cheese daily.
12. After 2 weeks, a bluish moldy crust will begin to form. Continue to ripen for 1 month, at which time it’s ready to eat. Wrap it and store it in the fridge.

Kirkbybil

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2013, 08:06:30 PM »
Here's my Fourmes after one month.

Not as blue as previous makes, white mould appearing and lots of dark spots.

Not sure if I should be concerned? Any thoughts

Should I brine wash?

Kirkbybil

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2014, 02:23:37 PM »
Here's a picture of the (half eaten) Fourmes. They didn't look great externally but they really were delicious. I advised everyone to cut off the rind as I wasn't sure about the black spots, white fur and other odd colours/growths (I'm colour blind which doesn't help so I'm a bit paranoid).

I made it for the Xmas period with a selection of other cheeses ( http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=post;msg=94918;topic=12310.0 ) and I probably mis-timed as they are structurally okay straight out of the cave but after a day they are quite runny - just how I like them but they're not going to keep. Still, everyone loves it so no-one objects to taking some home!

This is my third make and all have looked suspicious but they have all tasted the same and been delicious. I have never actually tasted a Fourme d'Ambert so maybe they are nothing like the real thing but I don't care, they have been well received by everybody and I'll be making batch number 4 very soon.



 

milkybar kid

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2014, 11:48:50 PM »
hi all, iv'e just made this with 3 uk gallons and know nothing about brining other than what iv'e read on here and i'm still no wiser, it seems different strengths for different cheeses? Iv'e read that 26% is maximum saturation, but too much salt can do as much harm as too little ?. It's 11:47 pm here and i need to get this in a solution shortly, so would appreciate some help, thank you.

Offline awakephd

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2014, 02:37:57 AM »
Milkybar, I just now saw this -- maybe too late for your need -- and I'm no expert, but since no one else has replied ...

I would think you are fine using a saturated brine. If the cheese is too salty, next time reduce the time in the brine, not the strength of the brine.

My non-expert opinion; worth every penny charged ... :)
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milkybar kid

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Re: Third Fourme d'Ambert
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2014, 09:57:25 AM »
Thanks awake, never too late,seems a reasonable answer, better than nothing. Just have to work out how to do this x amount of salt in x amount of water, thanks for your effort.