John's Cheese #037 - Camembert #7

[Cheese Head]

Today I start my seventh Camembert making based on the recipe here, updated with fellow member FineWino's recommendations here, my other Camembert records here:

• #1 Records
• #2 Records
• #3 Records
• #4 Records
• #5 Records
• #6 Records

MAKING

• Mar 27, 2009:
• 9:00AM: Placed two fresh 1 US gallon jugs of store bought pasteurized homogenized cow's milk from fridge into sink to gently warm to room temperature and in sink so that condensation drained down drain.
• 2:00PM: Poured milk into ~3 US gallon stainless steel stockpot and placed in sink filled with warm water bath from tap, measured temp at 67°F/19°C and pH at 5.62 (my meter must be off). Whisked in 1/4 teaspoon diluted CaCl2 to help get good curd set.
• 2:10PM: Measured milk at 79°F/26°C.
• 2:26PM: Measured milk at 82°F/28°C, water bath at 88°F/31°C, added 50% more hot water.
• 2:35PM: Measured milk at 84°F/29°C, water bath at 90°F/32°C, filled sink to top with hot 110°F/43°C water (our hot water is not very hot for kids), stockpot is now floating!
• 2:40PM: Measured milk at 86°F/30°C, water bath at 95°F/35°C.
• 2:55PM: Measured milk at 89°F/32°C, water bath at 91°F/33°C, measured and sprinked ~0.5 grams Danisco's Choozit Brand Mesophilic Starter Culture MM100, 3-4 puffs of Penicillium candidum spores, and 3-4 of Geotrichum candidum spores onto milk and whisked all in. Covered and set aside for culture ripen.
• 4:50PM: Measured milk at 87°F/31°C, water bath at 86°F/30°C. Melted ~0.5 grams powdered rennet crystals in 1/2 cup cool bottled water, trickled into milk while stirring with whisk thoroughly for 1 minute. Bailed 1/4 water out of sink and filled back up with hot water.
• 5:30PM: Checked curd set, good, could not find normal bread knife to cut curds with, decided to just ladle uncut curd into 4 Camembert Hoops on mats on draining board. Ladled uncut very soft curds until 4 hoops full, wait for whey to expell before refilling.
• 6:30PM: Turned hoops, found curds had glued into mats, a mess, shaved off curds as coul not peel off, cleaned mats. Cut remaining curds with dinner table knife and ladled on top to fill hoops.
• 7:00-10:00PM: Turned and filled hoops with remaining cut curds, turned curds few times before bed.
• Mar 28, 2009:
• 7:00AM: Turned hoops.
• 8:30AM: Weighed 4 Camemberts to calculate amount of salt required, 13.4 ounces/381 grams, 13.4 ounces/385 grams, 13.7 ounces/391 grams, 13.0 ounces/371 grams, average 13.4 ounces/382 grams. Assume need 1% salt by weight when final and that fresh Camemberts will shrink another 15% whey after salting and before wrapping means final Cams will be 11.37 ounces/325 grams each. Therefore need 0.11 ounces/3.25 grams salt each. Measured weight then poured into 1/2 Teaspoon measuring spoon, just barely filled. Sprinkled 1/2 Teaspoon salt on each cheese (top and bottom only as will be absorbed) and placed on draining mats on paper towels on plates in household fridge set at 48-50°F/9-10°C and covered with bowls to maintain high humidity.
• Apr 1, 2009: Age 5 Days, turning Camemberts every 2 days, no sign of white mold yet, measured fridge at 46 F, raised setting slightly.
• Apr 4, 2009: Age 8 Days, turning Camemberts every 2 days, no sign of white mold yet, measured fridge at 48 F, raised setting slightly, added 1 tablespoon water to each bowl.
• Apr 8, 2009: Age 12 Days, turning Camemberts every 2 days, added 1 Tablespoon water to each per day, OK sign of white mold, weighed, 364/362/383/367 grams each, wrapped, and placed back in fridge and set temperature to lower for cold aging.
• Apr 24, 2009: Age 28 Days, took two of this batch out of cold fridge, outside of wraps moist to touch, unwrapped both and and cut one. Not good, see pictures below, rind slip, tasted one, immature.

NOTES

• Uncut or freshly cut curds and amount of time draining determine how moist remaining Camemberts are, how moist should they be?

[Cheese Head]

Pictures #1 . . .

[Cheese Head]

Pictures #2 . . .

[Cheese Head]

Pictures #3 . . .

[Cheese Head]

Pictures #4 . . .

[finewino]

John,
 
These are looking very good.
 
I have run into the "sticking curd" problem more times than I would care to mention.  I have started using waxed paper with some slits cut in it "for drainage" between the curd and the mat.  Once the curds have set up (after a couple of flips) I remove the waxed paper.

[Cartierusm]

John your curds look good way better than Camembert #6.

[Cheese Head]

@FineWino

I have run into the "sticking curd" problem more times than I would care to mention.  I have started using waxed paper with some slits cut in it "for drainage" between the curd and the mat.  Once the curds have set up (after a couple of flips) I remove the waxed paper.

Good idea, the other way to solve the sticking curds is of course to cook them more before placing in molds. But Cam's are not made that way as call for minimal cooking and even no cooking or cutting in some recipes. You have a good solution, another is maybe both of us are using wrong type of mats, wish I new what the French use!

@Carter, thanks , felt like I had some good ones this morning too !

Update:

• As of yesterday, no sign of white mold, still early as only 4 days old.
• I was trying to use very uncooked curds also to avoid the gaps in cheese as seen in pictures above as unsightly, but realized that they disappear over time as none of my riped Cams have them.

[finewino]

John,
 
How are the latest Camemberts doing?

[thegregger]

John:

I love your post, and the level of detail you provide.  Especially classic is the fact that you couldn't find your bread knife, and pressed on w/out bothering to cut the curd.  Too classic.

Do you put the cheeses in your 'fridge at the first sign of white mold?  When are they ready to consume?

Best,

Greg

[Cheese Head]

Hi Greg, sorry for not replying, just saw your post. Thanks for positive words, sadly I'm inventing ways not too things, which still has value . . . just not best value for me.

Daughter took bread knife to school with birthday cake for someone . . . ladled without cutting as some recipes call for that and Finewino in one of his posts hadn't found much difference. But as above too much curds for hoops and decided to cut and drain some whey while waiting for curds in hoops to deflate with whey drainage.

After draining on board I put cheeses immediately in fridge. But with fridge set for higher temp as recommended by FineWino and others. But I didn't get a good while mold bloom so I decided to wrap anyway after ~10 days when got poor bloom and set the fridge to colder aging temp for long term.

I just opened two of four and added 3 pictures above. Problem with poor mold bloom or other problems is evident in pictures, slipped rind, and poor pate development. Similar problem with my Camembert batch #8.

Any advice is welcome.

[rosawoodsii]

Today I start my seventh Camembert making based on the recipe here, updated with fellow member FineWino's recommendations here, my other Camembert records here:

I realize this is an old post, but I'm hoping someone will check it.  The URL for the Camembert recipe does not work.  Since my first try with Camembert failed miserably, using chevre for a base and innoculating it with a commercial culture, I'd like to have a real recipe.  Where can I find it?

[ArnaudForestier]

Rosa, here's the camembert recipe.