Author Topic: TWO BLUES.  (Read 2926 times)

jwalker

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TWO BLUES.
« on: November 16, 2013, 06:30:50 PM »
Well , been extermely busy this year , and wasn't paying attention to my cheese making , and with the new cave being so big , it's looking really empty now.

In the last few weeks , I've made four Goudas , (one with garlic and one with Dill) , two Gruyere as per this recipe http://naturesharmonyfarm.com/make-cheese-gruyere-alpine-style/ , and two Stiltin type , one from Caldwells book , and one is kind of experimental , I feel I know just enough about making cheese now to try some custom makes.

I've just taken a new job for the winter , hauling compressed bales of hay in sea containers to the docks in Tacoma , so I will be coming thru Idaho 3 or 4 times a week , I can stop and get proper milk for my makes on the way home.

All four gallon makes , that's my standard now.

The one I customized is this:

3 oz. container of finely crumbled Blue cheese.
4 gallons low temp pasteurized creamline milk.
2 tbsp salt
1 pkt. m101
pinch Flora Danica
1/2 tsp. Lipase
1/4 tsp. Kazu
Anatto for color (I have all these new additives and have been dying to try some , never used Anatto before either).

Added anatto to milk while heating to 80 degrees , then added cultures.
Raised temp to 95 and held for 30 minutes.
Added Calcium Chloride and wait 15 min.
Add rennet and let sit for 60 min.

Cut curd let rest 15 min.
Stir gently at 95 for 30 min.
Press in bottom of pot , pour off whey and keep draining/cheddaring in warm pot for 30 min.

Break up curds , add salt and Blue cheese crumbles and mix well.
Put in unlined mold to drain.
Flip at 15 min. 3 times , then every hour for four hours , then twice a day for 3 days.
Smooth on 4th day and put in container in cave.

At day six I have mold appearing on outside.
I've been keeping both blues in one of those trays with a hood for starting seedlings , it seems to keep just the right amount of moisture in.
The new cave is staying nicely at 52-56 degrees.


I've never used anatto and didn't measure , just added until I liked the color , and I do kind of like it.
Plan on aging it for 6-8 weeks .

I tried using my new ph meter , it started out at 7.4 , and never went below 7.1 , just as in 3 previous makes , so , I have my doubts that it is working properly , even though I did calibrate it , and it seems to read the calibration solutions correctly.

It should be interesting anyway , I will keep updating as it progresses.







graysalchemy

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2013, 09:00:47 PM »
Nice looking cheese.  :D

The anetto one might turn out like Shropshire Blue one of my favourite blue cheeses.  :D :D

jwalker

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2013, 07:24:59 PM »
Well a week or so in the cave and here's what we have , the tweaked/experimental one is getting nicely blue with almost no  white mold , and that's good , as usually my blues are overrun with white mold by now.

Maybe it's the new cave , or the container I have it in ( a seed tray with cover ), it seems to keep just the right amount of moisture in , and the new cave is keeping a very steady temperature (52-57 degrees) with lots of air flow due to the fan I have wired into the thermostat (when the heater comes on , the circulating fan comes on as well).

The traditional Stilton (white one) , is finally getting some blue to it as well , albeit a little slower.

The one with the anatto looks just like a piece of English imported Stilton I looked at in a store two days ago , I must have got the coloring just right.
I was going to buy a piece , but at almost $8 for a 3 oz. piece , I passed.

I want to age the white one for 6 months , and hopefully eat the yellow one in 6 to 8 weeks. (Christmas present maybe ?)

I will pierce both in another week or so , they smell great , very mushroomy and cheesy at the same time.

Offline H-K-J

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2013, 07:58:44 PM »
They do look good JW :P I just love the way these change day to day :o
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jwalker

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #4 on: December 24, 2013, 04:40:00 PM »
Wow !!

Really nailed it on my first custom cheese , the Taller Stilton is still aging and will be for at least six months , but the one I tweaked is now about six weeks old and is fantastic.

I didn't pierce it a lot , as I like just a hint of blue , and this one is what I was going for exactly , it taste like a very old sharp Cheddar with just enough blue to kick it up a notch.

It is very moist , a little crumbly (but can still be sliced with care) , and it melts very well on toasted rye bread , in fact one of my best melting cheeses yet , meltability is something I have been having limited success with so far , but this one has it to the max.

I should add , that this one developed some nasty big cracks in it due to the lid being left off the ripening container at one point , so I sprayed it down with a little red wine and vacuum packed it for a week or so , the cracks totally dissapeared , I then took it out and wrapped it in cheese paper for another week or so to dry out a bit , and Voila , here it is.

It is probably my most flavorful cheese to date , I'm not sure if it is due to the addition of Lipase or Kazu , or both , but I will be making another one of these right away as this one won't last long.

I also used some Anatto , just to try it , everyone here seems to be really happy with the color as well , it's a Christmas hit Charlie brown !  ;D ;D ;D

It's flavor and texture is similar to MacLarens Imperial Cheese , if you've ever tried it , with a hint of blue.

I've included some photos of it and my breakfast , enjoy !



Geodyne

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2013, 09:24:14 PM »
It looks amazingly yellow. This is the one you added kudzu et al. to, isn't it?

Have a cheese for achieving a desired result.

jwalker

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2013, 01:27:12 PM »
It looks amazingly yellow. This is the one you added kudzu et al. to, isn't it?

Added Anatto for color , and Lipase and Kazu for flavor , superb !

Having some again this morning. >:D

Very flavorful on cheese burgers as well.

JeffHamm

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2013, 05:11:21 PM »
Very nice!  A cheese to you!

- Jeff

Digitalsmgital

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Re: TWO BLUES.
« Reply #8 on: December 28, 2013, 03:48:50 PM »
Looks great and sounds delicious! ACFU!