My ugliest Blue yet !

[jwalker]

Two gallons raw milk from Idaho
1/8 tsp mm100
2 skewer tips PR
1/16 tsp lipase
1 tsp calcium chloride
1/4 tsp rennet
1 1/2 tbsp salt

Heat to 90
add cultures wait 5 min and stir
let sit for 35 min
add lipase
add add calcium and stir
wait 5 min
add rennet and stir
let sit for 2 hours
maintain temp.
cut curd in 3/8 cubes
let sit for 5 min
stir gently 5 times over the next 60 mins maintaining temp
let curds settle
drain whey
put in mold with no weight
flip cheese daily in mold for 3 days
put in saturated brine for 6 hours
dry for 3-4 days and age in cave til texture is as you like
Pierce after a week of aging
this one is just under 6 weeks.

It always amazes me how ugly something can be and still be good.
This one seems to have a little of everything on it , linens , PR , PC , Geo.
It is quite soft and creamy , texture similar to a Brie , the rind is very mild and has a nutty taste to it , definitely a good rind , allthough you would never guess by looking at it.
I don't pierce mine very much as I don't like too much blue in the interior.
The recipe from GCs book said to age for several months , but this one is certainly ready now at 6 weeks.

[Digitalsmgital]

I like the looks of that, sounds delish!

AC4U!

[Bear and Bunny cheese]

Looks like the rind is made of bacon bits! ;D 

[H-K-J]

That is almost as ugly as my latest :o
A cheese to you for such an ugly blue ;)

[murmur]

 The thought of a nice slab of ugly on a beautiful grilled steak.
Cheese to you

[JeffHamm]

A cheese to you for your ... cheese?  :)  Sounds really good actually!  And yes, I'm surprised not only by the fact that the rind tastes good, but that you tried it in order to find out!  Then again, a lot of my rinds end up with wild moulds, which tend to be very dry and dusty tasting, so I quite often remove them.  I still will try them to ensure I'm not throwing away something with great personality, so I shouldn't be surprised that others have tried their's as well.  Anyway, well done.

- Jeff

[Bear and Bunny cheese]

I've only made three blues before so I'm no authority on this at all.  I was curious though about your use of lipase.  Never heard of it used in blues.  Is this an innovation or something Gianclis recommended?  What kind of contribution did it give?  A cheese to you in advance....and some back-bacon.

[jwalker]

I've only made three blues before so I'm no authority on this at all.  I was curious though about your use of lipase.  Never heard of it used in blues.  Is this an innovation or something Gianclis recommended?  What kind of contribution did it give?  A cheese to you in advance....and some back-bacon.

GC lists it in the recipe as "optional" , I find it gives most cheeses a little more flavor earlier , almost as if it helps a cheese to age a little faster.

The rind really surprised me , I thought at first , there is no way this will be edible , but even my wife liked it , as well as the neighbor who took some home with him last night.

Thanks for the cheeses. ;D