washrinds

[Threemillswhey]

Haven't posted in a while so here a a couple cheese that im working on.
 Vacherins and Morbier washed in a locally made Saison.

[Threemillswhey]

 no filter.Morbier saison wash style cheese at 17 days.

[Danbo]

Nice work.

[smcaro@gmail.com]

Excellent looking cheeses, I really envy you. In my case I have 3 " reblochon" which after 10 days are still hard as a rock, and no trace of any mould, neither b.linens nor PC. I also have some Limburger portions, which have been going for more than a month. I have tried everything, from wrapping them and putting them in the fridge for 2 weeks, then unwrapped and out them back in a box in the cheese cave. And I wash all of them every other day, and leave them out to breath. They are washed with light brine with whey and a good pinch of b. linens. I use the same brine for a week old Bel Paese which is in its own box, but in the fridge. It has started to feel a bit softer, but also no b.linens at all...

So, there you, I am really feeling envious and jealous, because your cheeses look so nice and " professional" !!

[Threemillswhey]

Excellent looking cheeses, I really envy you. In my case I have 3 " reblochon" which after 10 days are still hard as a rock, and no trace of any mould, neither b.linens nor PC. I also have some Limburger portions, which have been going for more than a month. I have tried everything, from wrapping them and putting them in the fridge for 2 weeks, then unwrapped and out them back in a box in the cheese cave. And I wash all of them every other day, and leave them out to breath. They are washed with light brine with whey and a good pinch of b. linens. I use the same brine for a week old Bel Paese which is in its own box, but in the fridge. It has started to feel a bit softer, but also no b.linens at all...

So, there you, I am really feeling envious and jealous, because your cheeses look so nice and " professional" !!

What is your temperature and rh% ?

[smcaro@gmail.com]

10-13 centigrade according to a couple of cheepo meters. But to the touch when I work them seems a bit cooler.

RH according to the same meters ranges from 75% to 85%and I cannot get any better. When I need to increase the humidity of my wine fridge I simply open the door for a few minutes. Outside is 95% -100%

The cheeses I mentioned are all in plastic boxes, loosely closed. The exception is the Bel Paese. It is, as per recipe followed, in its own box, but closed and the normal fridge, at 4°C

Thanks for the trouble.

[Gregore]

Smcaro

There is always the possibility that your B linens is a very light colored one  , mine tend to be on the light side in color .

Did you buy a pla blend ? If so you might want to get a stronger B linens and use it in the wash 

Dont rely on a cheap temp meter if it is too cold it will really slow your geo and B linens down , geo likes it a little warmer than B linens

[Threemillswhey]

9
10-13 centigrade according to a couple of cheepo meters. But to the touch when I work them seems a bit cooler.

RH according to the same meters ranges from 75% to 85%and I cannot get any better. When I need to increase the humidity of my wine fridge I simply open the door for a few minutes. Outside is 95% -100%

The cheeses I mentioned are all in plastic boxes, loosely closed. The exception is the Bel Paese. It is, as per recipe followed, in its own box, but closed and the normal fridge, at 4°C

Thanks for the trouble.

Need to get your rh% up to 90 to 95 rh and your temperature 10 to 13 should be ok . if your not reaching your rh in the container put a damp piece cheesecloth inside and that should do it .also try to  focus on one type of washrind at a time i works lots and find it overwhelming .

[smcaro@gmail.com]

Thank you Gregore and Threemillswhey,

The temperature I have put it higher. It really, in Hong Kong, is simply a question of opening the door of the wine fridge. In 2 minutes, RH goes up to 100% and temp to, according to cheap hygrometers, to 15-17 ºC.

I just now finished washing the cheeses so can report:

Limburger, made 7/11, wrapped in wax paper 3 weeks later, unwrapped and put back in box in cave at high humidity, judging by condensation, 8 days ago, washed daily and left out to breath for 1-2 hours. Timid red dots, perfect surface apparently, maybe a hint of red colour.

Reblochon, made 2 weeks ago, are in cave in box ajar, hard, dry on the outside. Today a couple of blue dots dealt with a knife. Washed. A bit slushy feeling. Not a trace of b.linens, but maybe, just maybe, a hint of getting to yellowish....

Bel Paese, made two weeks ago. As per recipe ( Gavin Webber) in tight box in the normal fridge. Out to breath and wash every day. It is beginning to soften in the middle, so it must be ripening. Not a hint, nothing of b.linens. Very high RH in box. Always some liquid and condensation.

Washing is with whey brine, lightly salted, drop of white vinegar and a good pinch of the B.linens I got from Goat Supplies ion the UK.

I enclose photos of the 3 cheeses.

[Threemillswhey]

Thank you Gregore and Threemillswhey,

The temperature I have put it higher. It really, in Hong Kong, is simply a question of opening the door of the wine fridge. In 2 minutes, RH goes up to 100% and temp to, according to cheap hygrometers, to 15-17 ºC.

I just now finished washing the cheeses so can report:

Limburger, made 7/11, wrapped in wax paper 3 weeks later, unwrapped and put back in box in cave at high humidity, judging by condensation, 8 days ago, washed daily and left out to breath for 1-2 hours. Timid red dots, perfect surface apparently, maybe a hint of red colour.

Reblochon, made 2 weeks ago, are in cave in box ajar, hard, dry on the outside. Today a couple of blue dots dealt with a knife. Washed. A bit slushy feeling. Not a trace of b.linens, but maybe, just maybe, a hint of getting to yellowish....

Bel Paese, made two weeks ago. As per recipe ( Gavin Webber) in tight box in the normal fridge. Out to breath and wash every day. It is beginning to soften in the middle, so it must be ripening. Not a hint, nothing of b.linens. Very high RH in box. Always some liquid and condensation.

Washing is with whey brine, lightly salted, drop of white vinegar and a good pinch of the B.linens I got from Goat Supplies ion the UK.

I enclose photos of the 3 cheeses.

thats alot of cheese . think you need to do more research before being so adventurous with your cheesemaking . read read and read some more.

[smcaro@gmail.com]

Thanks for the advice Threemillswhey!

Yes, it is a lot of cheese, and I have many more ripening. Believe me, I dedicate 4-5 hours daily to reading and research. I bought all the 6 books everybody mentions, and have read all the boards here twice, apart from keeping PDF copies of the screenshots I take along the way.

As of late, I am experimenting with decreasing substantially the amount of culture and rennet, and have started adding Lisozima to all my cheeses. Am also experimenting with mixing 25% of goat milk in my cheeses. I hope that this will help me with my main problem: Curds and resulting cheese is far too dry. Since I use mainly milk powder, adjustments have to be done.

I will keep at it.

[Gregore]

Just from the pics I would say your cheeses are too wet  way too wet , and they should not be on top of each other they need air all around  via mesh or wood contact on one side .

And no vinegar in your wash  and use regular tap water for you wash ( I do not know if  the whey as a wash is an issue  , but I do not recall any recipes using it)

The cheese should almost be dry between washes  , maybe try using less wash per cheese . And how accurate is you humidity gage?

Hope some of that gets you on track