Two days ago I started an approximation of Valençay cheese. It is surely not Valençay, because the goat's milk is very rare here and very expensive, so I used raw cow's milk to simulate the process first. I like very much the idea of traditional lactic coagulation (with the addition of 4 drops of rennet) and the ash on the cheese, although I have only seen this cheese on the photos and have no idea of its taste... This is an experiment and the only purpose is to understand the basics of lactic set cheese and the ashing process. I'm still learning and need some assistance from the experts (please don't be humble, many of you have the knowledge that allows you to call yourself that).
Today is the third day of make and I want to clarify some points of the process.
Here's my make notes:
Day 1.
At 13:40 added cultures to 3l of raw fresh cow's milk (MM101, P.C. from a piece of frozen Camembert rind, 4 drops of rennet). The ambient temperature was perfect, so the milk was 22 degrees Celsius.
Day 2.
At 12:30 the curd was formed. It was softer than the rennet coagulated curd, but still workable. Decided to pre-drain. I put it in a big ricotta basket, lined with two layers of cheesecloth, to allow it to drain very slowly.
Question 1. On every picture of lactic coagulated cheese, the whey surface was very clear, mine was full of cream (I skimmed it to use later, it has a very nice taste and it was a shame to drain it in the sink). Am I doing something wrong or it is supposed to rise on top? Is there a possibility to incorporate the fat into the curds?
After 3h of pre-draining, I ladled the curds into two molds (one pyramid and one small mold for pressed cheeses).
Day 3 (today).
The cheeses drain nicely. They lost some height, but only a little. The drained whey is clear. Before I left home for work the paste was still moist and soft. I was planning to salt and ash them today, but wanted to be sure that it's the right thing to do. The timings in the recipes are very liberal (24-48 hours) and it's very hard to tell when it's the right time to do the next step.
Question 2. After salting and "ashing", should I put the cheese in the fridge (at 10-12 degrees Celsius) or keep them at room temp? Room temperature is between 20 and 23 degrees C (19 in the night), the recipe calls for 15 degrees, but it's impossible for me to reach it.
Question 3. I suppose MM101 is not the perfect culture for this cheese (I don't have any other culture) and I was wandering, is it possible to ripen the milk without any bought culture? Here where I live, it seems that there's a lot of "wild" culture in the air, my grandma used to make Kefir and cottage cheese only by letting the milk at room temperature and it coagulated without help or any additions. Last week I bought some raw milk and had some problems with the car on the way home. I got home some hours later than planned and the milk was sour. It gave me the hint and I thought: what if I don't add any culture at all and only help the coagulation with a few drops of rennet? It would be a nice experiment.
Photos will follow, didn't take any yesterday so I have nothing to share, but this evening I will add some pics of the unmolding.
Sorry for the long post.
Here's a picture from my trip to France that will soften your hearts (I called it "Heaven on Earth"):
