Author Topic: My 4th Tomme  (Read 5189 times)

JeffHamm

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My 4th Tomme
« on: May 03, 2014, 09:04:09 PM »
Hi,

I've been planning on making another Tomme for a while now.  I did some looking around on the board and found Pav's note to use 2% milk.  So, I mixed 1.5 and 3.3 % milk to get as close as I could (hit 1.99%).  That gives me a 1.78:1 p:f ratio.  I backed down on my rennet because my last couple makes floc'ed really quickly, but I noted an airbubble in the syringe with the rennet, so probably added about 1.4 ml.  That got me a floc of 19 minutes, bit long, but not too bad.  I think up to 20 minutes is considered good for Tomme, though I'm not sure if I'm remembering that right.  Not a disaster in any case.  Just cut the curds and getting things ready for raising the temperature to cook them.  Fun stuff.

Tomme (Pav’s instructions) Sunday, Apr 13, 2014; sunny air pressure 1061; temp 20 C)

3L Homebrand standard milk (3.1 : 3.3 p:f)
8L Homebrand light blue (3.7 : 1.5 p:f) – combined have 1.99% fat milk, with p:f of 1.78:1
2 ice cubes buttermilk, 1 crème freche, 1 MW3
¼ tsp 50% CaCl in egg cup of water
1.5 ml 280 IMCU calf rennet in egg cup water (1.77 last time floc’d at 8-9 minutes)
6.25” tomme mould

1)   Add CaCl2 while setting up
2)   Add ice cubes
3)   Warm 11 litres milk 31.10C (31.1 C : start 7:06 - reached at 7:22 am)
4)   Ripen for 30 mins at 31.10C (88 F) (7:11 - 7:52 ; 30.8.C)
5)   add rennet (7:53: 31.1 C; noted air bubble in rennet; so < 1.5, about 1.4)
6)   floc time (7:12:00 = 19m 00 sec 3x = floc time 57m 00 sec = cut time 8:50:00)
7)   Cut into 1/4 inch cubes, let rest 5 mins (5:51 – 9:00)
8)   Stir and increase temp to 37.80C (100 F) over 30 mins. (9:06 – 9:33, temp reached 38.3; bit early)
9)   Hold at 37.80C (100 F) until the curd is at the right texture. You can tell this by pressing a tablespoon of curd in your hand. It should mat together slightly and be somewhat firm. (??:??am - ??:?? – took an hour last time, but I used FD)
10)   Drain in vat or warm colander (10:45 - 11:05 – scooped it with measuring cup, had to empty 2nd pot to store whey in jugs.  Curds are matting under their own weight while sitting in the pot). pH should be 6.35 or higher. Let curds mat (draining in colander over pot in cheesecloth and press slightly under whey. Important to get a good knit. Drained and by 11:05 into mould under whey with mortar and pessel on top as weight ~ 5.2kg = 0.37 PSI for 10 minutes – until 11:15) 
11)   Put into cheesecloth lined molds. This cheese sticks, so soak the cheesecloth in pH 5.2 whey beforehand. (during step 10)
12)   Press under own weight + 5.2 kg turning at 15 min (11:30), 30 min (12:00), and 1 hour increments (1:05, 1:30 – going out). (normally flip through the day; with 5.2 kg as weight to emulate stacking, but went out.  Flipped again at 6:16 pm and 12:35am; knit looking much better, still a few “spots” though)
13)   Press until pH is 5.4 or overnight. (Pressed until 6:00 am; knit good)
14)   Brine in fully saturated brine 3-4 hours per lb of cheese. (1258g = 8 h m 18 - 11h 4m 15.7 x 5.9 = 1.10 g/cm3 ; hours 6:30 am – 5:05 pm 10.5 hours;  1201g out of the brine, 14.7 x 5.7 cm = 967 cm3 = 1.24 g/cm3)
15)   15)   Leave at12.8-18.30C  (55-65 F) for a day at ~70% RH for the outer rind to dry a little before moving to the cave. – I left it out until 5:00 pm (14.9 x 5.6 = 976cm3 and 1168g, for 1.20 g/cm3).


Made Ricotta from approx. 9 litres of whey ; raised to 91.2 C, added ¼ cider vinegar, let sit 25 minutes scooped it out into cheesecloth lined colander (drained until 6:00 pm).  Got  approx. 316g.  Added 6 g salt (1-2% by weight).

Age 3-6 months at 10-12.80C (50-55F), 85-92% RH (or higher if using special rind treatment or making a b linens variant). Natural or oil rubbed rind.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2014, 05:03:11 AM by JeffHamm »

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2014, 06:44:08 PM »
Looks like a better, if not perfect, knit compared to my last tomme.  Still a few "spots" on one face where mould could get in.  Will try and brush and smooth it out a bit (you can't see them in the photo, but they are there).  Anyway, all seems to have gone ok.  Only time will tell.  I'll fill in the final details in the make notes after it comes out of the brine this evening.

- Jeff

P.S. Couple things to note though.  The weight is much lower than a lot of my meso makes.  I stirred quite a bit once the curds firmed up, so this really helped to expell the whey.  Makes me think I'm still a bit gentle on my other makes that end up 100 - 200 grams heavier out of the mould.  And those makes have 35k.2g of weight stacked on them, not just 5.2; it's the make, not the pressing, that gets the whey out of the curds.  Pressing helps with the knit, and helps push out any trapped, but already expelled, whey. 

Finally, the heat rise chart is pretty good, though I reached temp a couple minutes early.  I put the pot of curds in the sink, with hot tap water as a bath.  This brings the temp up nice a slowly.  I add a kettle of boiling water if things are too slow, and this usually works just fine.  As the rise was leveling off near the end (2nd and 3rd last reading not much change) so I added a kettle and you can see it spiked a bit quicker than I expected.  Still, should be fine.

It's now out of the brine after 10 hours 35 minutes (3rd photo) and is down to 1200g.  I suppose the reduced weight could be due to the lower fat milk actually!  It's shrunk a fair bit, and the density is up quite high.  Will air dry it for a day or so, wipe it down, get final measurements, and into the cave it goes.  Not much room in there any more.  Will let this develop a wild mould rind as those are pretty easy to get going in my cave.  :)
« Last Edit: May 05, 2014, 05:37:08 AM by JeffHamm »

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2014, 05:04:03 AM »
Well, it's into the cave for a long winters nap.  Should be ready around Oct/Nov.  May make it until Christmas, we'll see.  Will update as the rind progresses.

- Jeff

GlabrousD

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2014, 06:34:21 AM »
Well, it's into the cave for a long winters nap.  Should be ready around Oct/Nov. 

Well there's a Southern Hemisphere quote :)

We're just getting into summer with temperatures around 45 degrees centigrade... 113F. It'll be getting warm soon :)

Cheers, GD.

PS. Very nice looking cheese.

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2014, 06:45:42 AM »
Thanks! 

I still find it hard to think of this time of year as winter (I'm from Canada originally), and the winters here are around 10 C while summer is around 22C.  So, basically, I feel like it is always spring, though it varies between early and late spring. 

- Jeff

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2014, 01:53:44 PM »
Ah, the promise of future dairy dalliance (in this context, "a trifling away of time").... ;)

Your make stirs the creative energies I have been lacking of late. I am beckoned to grab some sweet creamy milk from the rain-soaked pastures here in the Pacific Northwest and restock the Cave Network. Really, the past several months have been the wettest on record here in Washington State. The grass is lush and green, promising high levels of beta carotene and rich cream.

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JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2014, 06:24:34 AM »
Sounds like the perfect time to put down some cheeses for extended aging.  A couple tommes and beauforts, mixed in with a few gooey creations, and you'll be wondering where all that cave space went. 

- Jeff

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2014, 05:25:42 AM »
This is coming along really nicely.  For the first week or so it was a bit sticky and tacky, and I though linens were going to start taking over, but then this geo came in and now it has a nice coat of wild geo developing.  Occasionally some blue shows up, so I brush that off.  I'm hoping this progresses nicely to a decent wild rind.  I usually get that on my other cheeses without trying, but this one is taking quite a different course from the others - it's much "cleaner" in terms of the rind development process, so hopefully I won't stuff it up too much by trying!  :)
« Last Edit: May 20, 2014, 06:41:12 PM by JeffHamm »

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2014, 07:42:19 AM »
Just a further update to show the progression of the rind.  It's developing a nice wild geo rind.  I've not added anything to it, so this is due to the cheese just forming the right environment.  I have been brushing any blue that shows up when I flip it (twice daily, morning and evening), but that's it for maintenance.  It's now 15.5 cm x 5.0 cm, and weights 1104g, for a density of 1.17 g/cm3.  The cheese feels softer than a cheddar type, though nothing like a cam or brie, which is good.  I'm hoping the geo will continue to progress and eventually will claim this one for its own territory so I won't have to brush the wild blue anymore.  Eventually, the rind should go brown and rustic looking.  Will see how it goes, and will try and remember to update noticeable changes.

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2014, 03:42:13 PM »
Looks great so far, Jeff. How does it smell? Musty? Earthy?

Love that geo bloom. :)

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JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #10 on: May 26, 2014, 06:43:53 PM »
It has a bit of an earthy and mushroomy smell.  So far, this is coming along nicely.  It's starting to get to the point where the blue mould is being held in check.  Had a few spots today, but they were weak, and not threatening to take over.  Another week or two and both faces should be filled in and this will start to turn into a more low maintenance rind. 

- Jeff

JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #11 on: June 16, 2014, 06:54:47 AM »
Just a quick update to show the rind progression.  You can see the orange wild b.linens that has developed along with the wild geo.  Coming along nicely.  Weighs 1008 or 1010g, the scale keeps creeping up.  Just tested a new battery, but I think the scale is just wearing out. 

- Jeff


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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #12 on: June 16, 2014, 01:06:26 PM »
Very nice. :)

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JeffHamm

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #13 on: July 25, 2014, 06:47:19 AM »
Just updating the rind development.  As you can see, some wild geo and other moulds are now starting to cover over the wild linens.  Curioiusly, despite the fairly substantial linen rind it doesn't have any real detectable sock/feet scent.  Still, it will produce flavour, and the moulds coming on now will, hopefully, do their magic to the paste as well.  Few more months and we'll know I suppose.

- Jeff

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Re: My 4th Tomme
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2014, 05:21:23 PM »
Hey, that rind flora looks very familiar. ;)

Ah, the anticipation of future taste delights! Looks good, Jeff.

I haven't smelled a lot of the dirty sox aroma in my linens either. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound quite right. :o

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