My first Blue - Question on mold

[Fatboydrunk]

Hi Guys

This is my first try at making cheese and I'm going for a blue Stilton.
In the picture it is 3 weeks old and the mold is a blue/green colour. Is this OK as it does look very green at times?
I have it in a container inside my cave (converted fridge) at 12c and humidity around 80%

Any help would be great, thanks

[Al Lewis]

How much PR did you put in there?

[Fatboydrunk]

The PR I received was a liquid (I was expecting it as a powder).
I added 5 drops to 8 litres of milk. Maybe it was too much you think?

[Al Lewis]

Never heard of liquid PR.  Can't help you with that one.  Seems like a lot for such a small cheese though.

[lycon]

Hey

I don't have a huge amount of experience but I'm currently making a blue as well and the mould on yours  looks fine to me (although there is allot of it!) I made a large (2kg) Stilton and 2 smaller ones and I have noticed that the 2 smaller ones have much more growth than the larger under the same conditions. I have also noticed that the same mould colonies seem to start off a light blue colour when they are young and get a dark green once it is older.

In my recipie I only added 1 'knife point' of mould and it was plenty for growth to happen after 4 days, perhaps you can try a bit less for your next make.

As to what to do about calming the growth down a bit I'm afraid that I am a bit out of my depth, perhaps some of the older members can help. How big is the cheese and how long were you planning on aging it by the way?

[john H]

Hey Fatboydrunk, this link is to my stilton make.
 
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,11445.30.html

 I used PRB6 liquid Penicillium roqueforti there are at least 5 liquid or powder. In this link scroll down to Ripening cultures from Danisco (France) and have a look at Penicillium roqueforti green or green \ blue is not uncommon.

http://www.glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/culture-recommendations.html

P.S. Penicillium roqueforti is very aggressive.

[Fatboydrunk]

Hey Guys
I decided to open my cheese at nearly 5 weeks old as I thought it would be very blue inside......... and I was right.
It tastes nice, slightly too salty and could of done with a few more weeks to make it more creamy.

[john H]

Nice job Fatboydrunk I like the blue veining. AC4U

[Al Lewis]

Beautiful job!  Did you pierce that? AC4U

[Fatboydrunk]

I did pierce it but only a week ago.
When I smoothed it, it was very dry and I didn't do a good job. So I guess there were some cracks allowing the mold to grow too soon.
Also because the surface wasn't very flat, the rind hasn't developed as I would of liked.

Anyway I'm happy with my first attempt, it has been a great learning experience and I hope to improve with my next one.

[lycon]

Looks delicious AC4U!

I hope mine turns out as nicely 

Good luck with the next one, don't keep us waiting too long!

[Al Lewis]

It looks amazing.  Great job!!

[Boofer]

Never heard of liquid PR.

I've been using this for several years...you can see the pull-date is 2011. I used it recently in my Castle Blue.

-Boofer-

[Stinky]

Never heard of liquid PR.  Can't help you with that one.  Seems like a lot for such a small cheese though.

It's the same general concept as a hydrated PC solution.

[Kern]

Interesting that the liquid PR recommendation for storage is -18C or about 3F, well below the freezing point of water.  This tells me that the liquid PR would have to be thawed each time it is used and then refrozen.  I should think that such treatment would cause ice crystals to pierce the PR cell walls greatly shortening the shelf life of such a product.  Maybe the liquid has enough polypropylene glycol in it to prevent freezing.  PG is edible in in many food products and such a small addition would not affect the resulting cheese.  I've not seen a data sheet on this so perhaps Boofer has one and can comment on this.