Author Topic: 1st Munster  (Read 5869 times)

John@PC

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1st Munster
« on: February 11, 2014, 10:40:17 PM »
Inspired by Jeff Hamm's entertaining post.

1st Munster  (Cheesemaking.com with exceptions marked with *)
Ingredients
  2 gal. whole cow’s milk (low-temperature pasteurized, non-homogenized)
  1/16  tsp. (pinch) MA 4001
  1/32 tsp.(smidgen)  b. linens
  1/32 tsp. (smidgen) Geotrichum
  ½ tsp. CaCl diluted in ¼ cup cool non-chlorinated water*
  ½ tsp. single-strength calf rennet (diluted as above)
  light brine (with b. linens??) for washing

Curd Prep
  Warm milk to 86 deg. F.
  Sprinkle DVI starters & bacteria, re-hydrated 5 min. and stirred in
  Let ripen 1 hr. holding 86 deg.
  Increase milk temperature to 96 deg. F.
  Add CaCl, gently stirring for 1 min.  (See Uh-Oh #1 below)
  Add rennet, gently stirring for 1 min.
  Cover and maintain 90 deg. approx. 1 hr
  Clean-break @ 50.
  Cut curds in ½” pieces; let sit for 5 min.*
  Stir 30 min.

Draining / Pressing / Aging
  Prepare molds and draining cloth and place into a pan large enough to retain whey.
  Pour free whey into the molds to warm them.
  Fill molds, allowing whey to rise 1-2” over top of curds.
  Add the follower plus 2 lbs
  Hold at 75-80 deg. F for 3 hrs. (See Uh-Ohhhh #2)
  Allow to cool to 65 deg. F and hold for 18-24 hrs.
  Flipped and redressed cheese and pressed at 10 lbs. for 12 hr.
  Placed in birne for 8 hrs., flipping once
  Removed cheese from brine, dried with paper towel
  Air-dried for 2 hr. *(recipe calls for 24 hrs. but I prefer a softer rind).
  Plan to ripened at 55F and 85%RH
    and wash every other day with b Linens in salt solution for 2 weeks*
    *recipe calls for allowing a natural “dry” rind but I wanted to try the wash
  Plan to age for 7 weeks

#1:  As soon as I stirred in the CaCl and rennet I realized I had not increased the temperature to 96.  Thought it was early enough in the coagulation stage that I could go ahead in heat if I did it within 5 to 10 min.  Took about 6 min. and I could tell there was some differences in curd firmness between the sides and middle but not too bad.

#2:  I came back to do the first flip and saw that my 'Miracle Whip" weight had toppled over.  Undressed the cheese and it looked like a vanilla moon pie that had been sat on.  I realized I couldn't correct by just pressing without fracturing it, so I did a "frontal lobotomy" and cut the high end off and set it over the short end.  Had some left over that I milled and used to fill in the spaces.  The problem occured because I didn't think the whey pot would fit between the arms of my toggle press, but turns out it did so I finished pressing (at slightly higher than recommended weight - about 12 lbs) using it.  All things considered I was satisfied with the result but we'll see in a couple of months.

JeffHamm

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2014, 11:13:06 PM »
Nice save!  This is quite a different make protocol, so it will be interesting to compare notes.

- Jeff

John@PC

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2014, 11:24:15 PM »
Nice save!  This is quite a different make protocol, so it will be interesting to compare notes.
- Jeff
  This recipe was different than yours and Gianclis's (Mary Karlin didn't have one in her book) but I did want to try a press "under whey" and keep it simple.  A learning experience but I love the smeared-rind cheeses and look forward to this one.  Will update with pictures.

JimSteel

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2014, 12:57:51 AM »
Looking forward to your progress reports John.  I've joined the Munster club as well. :D

And yes, that was quite a clever save you made there.

Spoons

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2014, 02:07:45 AM »
I love these posts! Boofer created a fun "failures I have Known" thread, I think there are enough posts here (like this one) to create a "What a save! The Ultimate Improvised Troubleshooting Guide" thread as well. lol.

John@PC

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2014, 10:01:59 PM »
Here's little Eddie (Munster) at a bit over 2 weeks.  In spite of the issues during the press it looks pretty decent although a bit sticky (dropped humidity to 80% and it has helped).  Getting a little bit of small white mold spots and some blue in a few of the crevices where I had to patch it up.  Did a final light brush with the wash but wouldn't be at all surprised if the mold comes back.  Any suggestions (i.e. dry brush, continue washing, changing solutions?).   I guess I was expecting the b. linens to crowd out the other surface molds.  Was this a bad assumption?

JimSteel

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2014, 09:16:17 PM »
I've had mixed results in early stages with the b linens crowding out the molds, but they usually do it in the end.  Some of my makes have been perfect with a linens forming quickly, others not so.

Have you been washing with linens in the wash?  The colour looks pretty white for 2 weeks in.

I wash pretty regularly and rigoruously (sometimes both surfaces every day), probably a bit too much, but end up with nice linens usually.

So to answer your question, I do not think it was a bad assumption, as long as you can get that linens started quickly.  (of course, this is coming from someone who has only made 5 washed rind cheeses  ^-^ )

John@PC

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2014, 12:51:17 AM »
Thanks Jim.  The wash did have b. linens.  Definitely has the characteristic aroma and while the picture doesn't show there is a good bit of orange there (when I took the pic I had just brushed it and it brought some of the paste to the surface).   4 weeks and counting.

Offline ArnaudForestier

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2014, 01:38:13 AM »
Wow John, great looking cheese.  And agree - that save was both impressive and, well, made me crack up.   ;D

Looking forward to seeing how this develops.
- Paul

John@PC

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2014, 10:00:38 PM »
Here's a one-month update on my first Munster.  Like Jim and Jeff I had issues with blue mold in the crevices (no doubt due to my botched first press), but not too bad.  I cut some out just to see if it had progressed down through any voids and it hadn't.  I was still getting some white mold spots crop up after 2 weeks, but a third week of washing eliminated that.  Smells fantastic, but if you look at the pic you'll see a small crack at the bottom.  Checked out the cave and saw my humidifier pan was empty and RH was 75%.  Fixed the problem but I decided to put it in a mini-cave until sampling.  Planning to wait another week to cut.

JeffHamm

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2014, 11:39:01 PM »
Very impressive rind!  Mine has stayed very minimal, but that's ok.  I'm enjoying the results.  Make sure you take this out each day and give it some air.  B.linens need to breath for proper growth (which could be why mine isn't taking off as I've not been airing it as much as I probably should).  Looking forward to your tasting notes.

- Jeff

JimSteel

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2014, 01:31:12 AM »
Nice cheese John.  Looks like you are the only one left in the J-boys Munster experiment.  Mine was flop.

I'll be keeping an eye out for when you sample it.  Looking forward to good news.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2014, 02:10:36 AM »
Beautiful cheese John and a great save!!  A cheese to you for doing such a great job!! ;D
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John@PC

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #13 on: March 14, 2014, 10:06:52 PM »
Thanks guys :).  Unfortunately I left my little "b. linens" jar and brush out last night in the cold (I do my brushing outside).  Hopefully it survived the cold snap as my little jar of wash been around for about 6 mo. now (when it gets "low" I just add a bit more brine solution).  Keeps my cave smelling great (that is if you love the smell of coryne's)  ;D.

andreark

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Re: 1st Munster
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2014, 05:20:11 PM »
Well?

How did it go?  Could you post photos?


andreark