My first blue

[jmason]

My first attempt at a blue cheese

April 26, 2015

3 gal milk
2 oz buttermilk starter culture
2 oz meso culture
blue cheese morge from danablue
1/2 tsp CaCl2
scant 1/4 tsp calf rennet
salt

Warmed milk to 86F, inoculated all cultures and morge, ripened 1 1/2 hours
added CaCl2 in 1/4 cup water and stirred in
added rennet in 1/4 cup water and stirred in, and left to rest 1 hour
Cut curd into 1", rested 10 minutes then briefly stirred (at this point it was obvious that I should have left it longer or used more rennet)
stirred briefly 3 more times over the next hour and a half and raised temp to 90 F
Ladled into 2 - 4 5/8" diam molds (my cam molds) topping up as whey drained until curd was all in the molds
turned 6 times over the next 4 hours, and let finish draining overnight
salt rubbed the 2 cheeses the next morning and left them in the room temp box, turning occasionally for 2 days.
Into the cave, turned daily for 4 days, then pierced and sprayed with morge, and back to the cave with daily turnings. repierced once a week in the same holes till now, and am continuing to age them.
the 2 cheese weights after dry salting and a few hours of draining
#1- 1lb 14 oz
#2- 1 lb 11.7 oz

Now before I made the blue cheese I was worried that it would infest every cheese in my cave and I would have nothing but camblues.  Oops was I wrong, it is in fact now showing PC which I have rubbed off by hand, but this probably just spreads the PC.
So, what is the best action?  Would a rub down with salt/vinegar help to keep the PC at bay for another couple weeks while this finishes ripening?

[Sailor Con Queso]

That is the problem with using a "morgue" from an existing cheese especially if spraying. You also add everything else that happens to be in and on the cheese.

What kind of blue were you trying to make? Salt rubbing can definitely inhibit PR.

[jmason]

just an everyday blue, my recipe is loosely based on coastal blue from " Artisan Cheese Making at Home".  Pretty sure the PC didn't some from my morge.  There have been several camemberts and neufchatels through the wine fridge while the blue has been in there, and with daily turning of everything it is also possible that I transfered it in spite of hand washing and vinegar sprays on my hands between cheese types.  And I always do the blue last because I was afraid of contaminating my cams with it.  The interior seems fine from tasting the bit of paste I extract while doing my perforating, in fact last week when I did it I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it was becoming.

John

[Frodage]

Hi John,
I was interested to read that you didn't put the blue cheese morge into the main make, but that you sprayed it on the outside of the finished product. Was that in the original receipe? I've been putting my version of a morge (just blue mould grown on sour dough bread) right into the make.

[jmason]

did I say that?  If I did oops.  No it was added to the original make.  I think I am gonna have to redose it though at least with a surface spray or rub.  If it never really blues up hard I think I'm alright with that.  I think it will be a good cheese.  Not sure what the extra beasties are that either came in with the morgue and just happened to find it, but it has quite an aroma.  I'm guessing there are some yeasts and linens of some description based on the smell.

John

[Frodage]

Sorry, it was me who misread your instructions. I saw that you were spraying it, and I just must have glossed over the morge getting put in with the make. By the way, could you describe how you made the morge?

[jmason]

probably 4 oz of water, aged and filtered, a little salt and a little sugar dissolved in it.  Then crush, smooch, pulverize a small piece of blue cheese into it, then cap the jar shake the hell out of it and let sit on the counter at room temp overnight.  Then when I used it I swirled gently and decanted off the big pieces at the bottom of the jar.

John

[jmason]

So last night I gave these guys a wash with water, salt, and vinegar.  Repierced and left out to dry for several hours, also gave their mini caves and mats a good wash.  Not sure if the blue it taking, it sure isn't on the outside of the cheese, the bit I taste from the inside does have some blue notes to it.  I am begining to wonder if the danablu I used as a morgue might have been treated with natamycin although it doesn't show on the label.  So I guess my plan at this point is to buy another blue cheese to make a morge with and hopefully give it a kick start (I shall be forced to eat what doesn't get used in the morge, darn).  I am showing some good yeast, geo (or maybe PC but I am leaning more to thinking it was geo on it at this point) and what I believe to be a tan linens on it judging by the smell.  If this new treatment doesn't turn it into a blue I am convinced it will still be a decent cheese but I'll be damned if I know what I would call it other than cheese.  If the blue takes I think it shall be named Deacon Blues, being that I am a long time Steely Dan fan.

John

[Stinky]

And you think water, salt and vinegar is going to make blue mold show on the outside of the cheese. It would probably discourage it.

[jmason]

Stinky,
no, actually I was trying to knock back either the PC or the geo that was running amuck on the outside

John

[Frodage]

They call Alabama the crimson tide, so why not call this deacon blues?

[LoftyNotions]

If you want to disturb the good stuff growing on the outside, some blue recipes just call for scraping it off. Reducing humidity might help slow the growth down. Using a brine wash can encourage B. linens, which is also ok if that's what you want.

And, there are those here who will wonder why you'd want to remove all that crusty goodness.

Larry

[jmason]

Well at the time I thought it was P candidum, I am more inclined now to believe it was/is geo.  The cheese is doing really well after the wash and a fresh morge rub.  It is definately showing some blue tinged bloom on the outside.  I probably left it out of the mini cave a bit too long as some tiny cracks developed but hey just another portal for the blue to infiltrate.  As I cleaned out the piecings I tasted the extracted paste and it is starting to have some nice roquish tawang to it so I have reason to believe the blue on the inside is/was well and kick'n even if it wasn't evident on the outside.  Probably I was just displaying noob anxiety.

John

Photos soon

[jmason]

1 of them is starting to show a bit of the blues.  Ya gotz ta suffa to sang da blues!

John

[H-K-J]

LOL