My Bleu d'Armand

[hoeklijn]

Well, since officially Blue Stilton is a protected name, at least here in the EC, and my name "Herman" is "Armand" in French, I decided a couple of cheeses ago to name my Stiltonesque ones "Bleu d'Armand", Herman's Blue.
Last Saturday I cut the one that I made three month ago. Only the last two weeks it was in the cave in an open container, but most of the time I used a closed but fairly big container. I used to turn it every day, dried the container if needed and let it in the open air for about half an hour.
After the make it was 3 kilo, but when I was about to cut it it was about 2.5 kilo, so I expected a cheese that would be a bit too dry.
But it wasn't! On room temperature it's firm but creamy, not crumbly. Taste is also creamy with a lot of blue. More blue taste than expected since I used PR mold that I cultivated from a piece of Fourme d'Ambert, which was quite mild.
   

[Stinky]

Very pretty! +C

[H-K-J]

Wow that looks very very nice :ou
AC4U. a very nice rind and the paste looks excellent(and it smells good to)

[LoftyNotions]

Another C4U. That's a beautiful cheese, Herman!

Larry

[Boofer]

It has been quite a while since we've heard from you. Excellent bleu effort, Herman.

A cheese for that.

-Boofer-

[jmason]

That is one seriously beautiful cheese.  Can I have a bite pleeeeeeeeze?
seriously nice job AC4U

John

[hoeklijn]

Thanks for all the cheeses guys!
@Boofer: Yes, I know. Been quite busy with other things, also with my Dutch forum and I don't find much time to make cheese. Not posting very much but still reading ;-)
And enyoing this blue one....

[Frodage]

Nice looking cheese, Herman. May I ask how you cultivated the mould from the Fourme d'Ambert?

[hoeklijn]

@Frodage: Put pieces of bread (about 1 slice) in a jar of about 1 liter. Put the jar with an open lid in an oven on 130C for half an hour to sterialize it. Meanwhile dissolve a small piece of blue cheese that you cut from somewhere in the middle of a cheese (to avoid pollution from the outside) in a little bit of warm water (about 30C).
When the jar has cooled down, poor the solution in the jar, close it and shake well. The bread needs to be damp, not soaked.
Put the jar on room temperature in the dark for about 2 weeks. Shake daily. After 2 weeks the bread should be covered with blue mold (only blue!).
Get fresh pasteurized low fat milk from the supermarket and poor about 300 ml in the jar. Shake well. Filter the milk with a cheese cloth and make ice cubes from the green/blue milk.
I learned this method from a MD/microbiologist/hobby cheesemaker...

[9mmruger]

Excellent.  A C4U

[John@PC]

Beautiful Blue d'Armand; darn near perfect .  Add another cheese to the stack.

[jmason]

Hoeklijn, thanks for describing you're blue mold cultivation method.  I am gonna give that or something similar a try, as well as streaking a couple of petri dishes.  Makes sense and it obviously works, has given me some ideas (oh no, run).  Thanks again!

John

[Frodage]

and make ice cubes from the green/blue milk.

I like it!

[bratrules1]

I got to give that blue cultivation method a try!!! Thanks for the explanation and great looking cheese also!! AC4U.

[jmason]

I did give a variation of this  and after a few days the P roqueforti is spreading like wildfire.  My method.

1.  in an 8 oz mason jar/jelly jar put a chunk of homemade bread, added maybe 1/4 tsp water, placed the lid on upside down (Yes upside down), covered top of jar with a piece of foil and pressure cooked at 15 psi or 20 minutes.
2. After cooling to room temp remove foil set aside, loosen and remove the ring while holding the inverted lid with one finger.
3. After dipping the blade of a paring knife in boiling water for 20 seconds, peel off a flake of the outside of the cheese and remove a piece of the interior which has a good colony of blue with the knife and transfer on the tip of the knife to the jelly jar using the other hand to slightly raise the lid on one side. 
4.  Replace the ring, replace the foil and give it a little shake to insure some contact with the bread.  Put into a dark room temp location and let it have it's way with the bread.

The inverted lid allows for a minimal amount of gas exchange, but keeps airborne contaminants out. 

After this is fully colonized you can do the milk thing and use fresh or freeze into ice cubes as your inoculant.  In addition to this I will probably streak this onto agar to keep as a stock culture.

John