Another attempt at cheese after 2 years. Camembert.

[Bantams]

If it makes you feel any better... I've made several hundred batches of camembert at a local farmstead creamery.  They're awesome. 
I still haven't made a perfect camembert at home!
The main difference is that I'm working with low-temp pasteurized milk at the dairy, and raw milk here.  Same breed of cows.  Even after making adjustments to culture amount, I still haven't achieved the same results following the original recipe. 
Little things that you wouldn't normally think about can have a huge affect.  Sometimes I wonder if a lot of these home-cheese making recipes weren't meant for large batches instead.  For example, when working with a 35 gallon batch of cam, there is an incredible amount of pressure on all but the top couple inches of curd.  There is no need to rest or stir the curd beyond a 10 minute rest after cutting. 
The official camembert molds are designed to drain very effectively.  Using the molds I have at home, the same curd never drains properly.
I have to cut the curd smaller and rest/stir/rest for quite a bit to achieve the same final cheese texture.
And that's why every recipe is different....

[Stinky]

Also, the idea that you can have a one-size-fits-all recipe for cheese becomes more and more ludicrous the more you learn about it. Just to take an example...

Raw milk does not need lipase added. It has it. Low-temp pasteurized non-homogenized could use some lipase. P/H milk shouldn't really have lipase added, because it can tear into the exposed fatty acids like nobody's business, since the coating was destroyed by homogenization. And the lipase powder commonly marketed is not a great idea to use on anything except hard italian cheeses because it's much more potent than the natural lipases. Adding it to blue cheese is also somewhat unnecessary because, like linens and geo, PR naturally produces a certain amount of lipase.

[awakephd]

I'm only on my fourth set of cams, so I am still relatively inexperienced, but I am thinking that you are using too much salt.

For a two-gallon make, made into four camemberts, 1 tsp of salt per side (if I understood you correctly), gives a total of 8 tsps of salt, or 4 tsp / gallon. I make a 2.25 gallon make, made into 3 camemberts, and I salt 3/4 tsp per side, for a total of 4.5 tsp., or 2 tsp / gallon -- and I have felt that that was at the upper end of the range.

Keep in mind not only that I am still very much learning, but also that the only way to really be accurate with the amount of salt is to measure by weight--both of salt and of curds--rather than by volume. Thus, if you are using a coarse salt, your tsp of salt may actually be less than my tsp of "pickling salt." But still ... I doubt that would make up for the 2:1 difference in the volumes we are using.

Of course, if your cams turn out super well, maybe I'll need to start doubling the amount of salt I use ...

[Shalloy]

Well after 7 days they have a nice coating of white mould except for some areas around the edges etc. These areas feel wet to touch so Ive left the lid off the maturation box so they can dry out a bit more.

is this why the mould wont grow on these areas?

[OzzieCheese]

@ Shalloy.  Just a quick one from the sideline - I would like to suggest that you move these to a lower temperature now that they have a nice covering. If the 15.6 number on the photo is Degrees C I would put them into a fridge at 4-5 Degrees C.

Check this out
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13412.0.html

-- Mal

[Shalloy]

Hi Ozzie,  They are in the fridge at 11C. I moved them into the kitchen to turn them and it rose to 15C whilst doing so.  So I can move them to a cooler temp now? i thought a week was too soon?

[OzzieCheese]

I would move them now if that's possible - it will slow the ripening down but it will prevent 'skin slip' - which is the ripening of the outside (and turning runny) and the inside being hard.  Lowering the temperature will add a couple of week to the ripening period though will produce a better and more uniform soft cheese.  I'll be interested to see the results as they progress.

-- Mal

[Shalloy]

I just read your post on the malamberts. Very good and detailed post with lots of information. I can drop the fridge they are in to 4C so will do so tonight.

I was going to put my blues in there though at 10C once Ive salted them for a few days but will have to come up with another solution.  My other fridge is still full of salami and cured meats so I cant use that.

Or they may even fit on top of my kegs in the kegerator which is set at 4C.  So many fridges..But not enough room...

[Shalloy]

So should I be concerned about the edges that aren't getting covered in PC?  I had this with some cams I made two years ago and they were too dry in the end. But these areas  feel wet.

My RH is around 95% and I get a fine mist of condensation on the lid that I wipe out daily. 

I've dropped them to 4C but not sure what RH to keep them at?

[awakephd]

Shalloy, my cams are never completely covered in white -- especially around the edges/corners. However, the geo seems to form a complete undercovering, and that too helps with the ripening.

I am a disciple of Mal when it comes to this style of cheese -- following his Malembert make has given me out-of-this-world results. However, I have done one thing differently than Mal for the last two makes -- once I move the cheese to the cold fridge, rather than continuing to use ripening containers, I have used the special cheese ripening paper (I got mine from artisangeek.com).

The primary reason I did this the first time was to save space -- since the cold fridge is the primary refrigerator for the house, my wife insists on putting groceries in it. As discussed in another thread, with the cheeses wrapped in the paper, I have been able to stack them when space was tight, spreading them out when space was available. (Often I arrange them with one cheese propped up on the next -- still saves space, but lets air circulate better.)

Having done this twice now, I can say that I think I like this method better: 1) I think the cheese ripens a bit faster -- 5 weeks rather than 6; 2) the cheese does not require as much attention (to wipe out the moisture from the ripening container, air out the ammonia, etc.); this has meant that I have been able to leave the cheese for a week of vacation, with no harm; 3) in connection with #2, the ammonia seems to be controlled better -- perhaps simply because I don't always remember to attend to the cheese at the right time when it is in the ripening container!

All that said, I don't think the cheese has turned out any better in taste or texture -- whether using the ripening containers or the paper, "Malemberts" have been consistently delicious, and it is ridiculously hard not to eat a whole wheel at one sitting.

[OzzieCheese]

And mine as well - sometimes are a bit patchy as well.  I wouldn't worry.  My lovely wife allows me a shelf for my Cams - I'm Blessed !!  BTW if you are using containers to ripen them in then getting a little moisture is a good sign as it means the process is still progressing.  I haven't done a volumetric analysis though, it might be worth doing, on the amount of liquid in the container but I'm sure it decreases every time I open the containers (every Second Day).  Maybe the decrease is a sign of ripening progression and when it stops - time to eat! Just feeling on this I have no evidence.

-- Mal

[Shalloy]

Well I'm lucky enough to have 2 fridges in the garage that I use for fermenting beer in and making salami which is another new hobby the wife and I started this year.

I also have a kegerator in the dining room and our standard food fridge.  So plenty of fridge space. 

So Ive dropped them to 4C how often should I flip them over?  Also can you use a weight loss method to tell you when they are ready? I weighed them at the start. I've searched but found nothing on using weight loss to tell you how dry etc they are getting. 

[Shalloy]

Here's an updated photo.  I find this is a good place to have a photo log of how they're progressing.

They do feel a bit hard and dry though. 

[awakephd]

I have no idea on weight loss as a guide to readiness. I just squeeze them gently; they start feeling a bit squishy on the outside ... when they start feeling that way in the middle, it is about time. Keep in mind that readiness is a matter of preference -- I like mine not quite gooey all the way through; others may prefer gooey-er ...

[Shalloy]

Well they are looking awesome now. Almost completely covered n white mould. Humidity is around 95% temp is 4.5C and I wipe the lid and let them air out and flip them every two days. 

Just wondering when I should wrap them?