Author Topic: OMG - what have I done ??  (Read 19363 times)

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #45 on: January 17, 2015, 07:29:58 PM »
The "moldy stuff" is what makes it taste great!! :o
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Offline OzzieCheese

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 1,507
  • Cheeses: 171
  • Sun-Grass-Cow-Milk-Cheese-Happiness
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #46 on: January 17, 2015, 11:27:05 PM »
Oh No !!  I'm not touching the mould... I'll never be allowed to post here again if I did that  :o.. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll make sure I keep the photos up to date..

Thanks

-- Mal
Usually if one person asks a question then 10 are waiting for the answer - Please ask !

LoftyNotions

  • Guest
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #47 on: January 23, 2015, 11:43:58 PM »
When are you cutting this baby, Mal? :)

Larry

Offline OzzieCheese

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 1,507
  • Cheeses: 171
  • Sun-Grass-Cow-Milk-Cheese-Happiness
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #48 on: January 24, 2015, 05:57:01 AM »
When to cut ?? That is a question I'm not sure of.. Watching the Stilton make videos they say 12 weeks but I'm not make the size they are. So I made it on 12 Dec ... 6 weeks.. (42 days).  The crust hasn't appeared and although I have a little case study going at the same time though I feel this is a lost cause.  The big cheese is softening on the top and the sides are still firm so I'll take any advice I can get at this stage.. :)  If I had a tryer I would be little more confident. My plan was to use the 'hockey puck' cheese as a bit of a measuring stick and let the main cheese go out to the full 3 months.  Too Long ??  I'm unsure at this stage.

--Mal

 
Usually if one person asks a question then 10 are waiting for the answer - Please ask !

Offline Schnecken Slayer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Newcastle, Australia
  • Posts: 636
  • Cheeses: 22
  • Making cheese since October 2012
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #49 on: January 24, 2015, 07:45:54 PM »
It should still be OK at six weeks, as for the trier - do you have an apple corer?
-Bill
One day I will add something here...

LoftyNotions

  • Guest
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #50 on: January 24, 2015, 08:01:04 PM »
That's a beauty, Bill! AC4U


Larry

Offline OzzieCheese

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 1,507
  • Cheeses: 171
  • Sun-Grass-Cow-Milk-Cheese-Happiness
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #51 on: January 25, 2015, 08:48:53 PM »
Australia Day !!  -  Celebrating this wonderful, wide, wild and Beautiful place on Earth
Usually if one person asks a question then 10 are waiting for the answer - Please ask !

Offline OzzieCheese

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 1,507
  • Cheeses: 171
  • Sun-Grass-Cow-Milk-Cheese-Happiness
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #52 on: January 25, 2015, 09:00:59 PM »
Cheese update:  it is now just over the 6 week mark for this make and I decided to put the "Test' Cheese to work. 
Description: the blue is more Blue Grey with white:
Feel:  The Cheese is displaying a certain 'give' in the way it feels - but not soft.  The larger one is slightly more soft on the top.
Smell: there is no off smells and smells strongly of what a Blue smells like - just fresher, not moldy.

More in a bit :)

--Mal
Australia Day !!  -  Celebrating this wonderful, wide, wild and Beautiful place on Earth

 
Usually if one person asks a question then 10 are waiting for the answer - Please ask !

Offline OzzieCheese

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 1,507
  • Cheeses: 171
  • Sun-Grass-Cow-Milk-Cheese-Happiness
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #53 on: January 25, 2015, 09:17:19 PM »
As I'm really unsure of the best time to eat the larger blue - I decided see what other things I could do to the Rind to see if it would go nice and crusty.  So decided to see what knocking back the blue one the outside would do.  1/2 teaspoon of salt for an exfoliating rub was the plan and one thing to note is although the outside seems dry to touch, as soon as you rub the mold you can feel there is still quite an amount of moisture under the matting.

I rubbed the cheese all over, carefully and then carefully brushed any remaining salt off the surface and is now back in the box for another 2 weeks.  Don't fret -  :o   I've not done anything to the main cheese.  One note:  The Blue was not going to move very easily so all I managed was to take the top layer off !

At the two week mark I'll cut the small one to see what has happened inside. 

-- Mal
Usually if one person asks a question then 10 are waiting for the answer - Please ask !

Offline Danbo

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Denmark, Europe, Earth, Universe
  • Posts: 1,277
  • Cheeses: 116
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #54 on: January 25, 2015, 09:36:28 PM »
Looks scary and gooooood! :-)

LoftyNotions

  • Guest
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #55 on: January 25, 2015, 11:21:00 PM »
It looks like an aerial photograph of a jungle island. :)  Mmmmm good!

Larry

Offline Schnecken Slayer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Newcastle, Australia
  • Posts: 636
  • Cheeses: 22
  • Making cheese since October 2012
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #56 on: January 26, 2015, 01:23:16 AM »
If the larger one looks as good as that then you have a winner.

(Thanks for the cheese Larry)
-Bill
One day I will add something here...

Offline OzzieCheese

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Australia
  • Posts: 1,507
  • Cheeses: 171
  • Sun-Grass-Cow-Milk-Cheese-Happiness
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #57 on: February 01, 2015, 06:59:57 AM »
I think now, that I can answer my own question !!.  I've made cheese ! and by all accounts a damn good one.  My First blue.  Not having made one before and just going on the wonderful posting elsewhere in this forum, I cracked the 'Hockey Puck' today for lunch.  It was something I've been putting off for the trepidation of venturing into the unknown.  The results: AMAZING !
The first two images are just cut.  The camera didn't do a good job as the paste is actually a creamy golden colour. The veining is about what I expected but the paste is not.  The paste is firmish but soft and incredibly smooth - slightly salty and not too sharp. There isn't much rind but what of it there is has a slightly salty gritty (but dissolves in your mouth) type of feel.
The rind after I rubbed it with salt started to crust up but the whole environment was a little too wet as the outside of both cheeses was damp to the touch.  BTW the larger
cheese ahs been placed back into the container after I washed and dried the ripening box and is back in the fridge.
The overall taste then is exactly as I imagined it to be.  A back of the tongue PR taste, as only it can, it sort of dissolves into this Blue creamy slightly salty taste with the aftertaste of just a hint ripening going on. You still taste the salt and creamy paste and then there it is - that final tingle right on the tip of your tongue that is just what I was hoping for.

So what to pair it with ?

and for those Australians this beer is like blue cheese - you either hate it or love it - Coopers Pale Ale.  It has a bitter hops that washes your mouth ready for the next bite of Blue cheese. 

Blue cheese is my all time cheese love and today after three years, I have it !! 

I'm sure the other cheese is going to be the same in a couple of weeks time but, in the future I'm going to continue the Hockey Puck size.  This just worked so well.

Part of this success is to all you out there who watched, provided guidance are just as much a part of this success story.  Please all, if I could, add a subliminal 'Cheese' to your count as you deserve it :)

Oh did I say how well this tastes ?  -- AMAZING -- This is why we make our own cheese, because there is nothing like doing it yourself and 'Store bought' is just ..... nowhere.

-- Mal



   
Usually if one person asks a question then 10 are waiting for the answer - Please ask !

Offline Schnecken Slayer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Newcastle, Australia
  • Posts: 636
  • Cheeses: 22
  • Making cheese since October 2012
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #58 on: February 01, 2015, 07:44:54 AM »
Excellent Mal!  A pale ale to you.  8)
I meant cheese...

May all your adventures be cloudy but fine.  O0

ac4u
-Bill
One day I will add something here...

Offline Danbo

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Denmark, Europe, Earth, Universe
  • Posts: 1,277
  • Cheeses: 116
Re: OMG - what have I done ??
« Reply #59 on: February 01, 2015, 09:21:04 AM »
Congratulations Mal - your first blue cheese... And a perfect one!

The first couple of blues that I've made was really terrible. I think that I'm on the right track with the one that I'm currently ageing.

You have another cheese in your basket!

:-) Danbo