Author Topic: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)  (Read 5059 times)

DaggerDoggie

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Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« on: June 08, 2008, 10:05:36 PM »
Basically, I got the recipe from here: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Blue_Cheese/Blue_Cheese.htm

For the basic cheese:

# 2 gallons pasteurized whole milk
# 1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic-A culture
# 2 teaspoons of 30% calcium chloride in 2 tablespoons of boiled water (cooled to room temperature)
# 3/4 rennet tablet (I used a 1/4 tablet more due to my problems with curd setting up, it worked) dissolved in 3 tablespoons of boiled water (cooled to room temperature), with a teaspoon of salt
# 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt

With the milk at 86F to 87F add the culture, mix well, wait one hour
Mix in the rennet mixture in well and hold for 90 minutes at 87 degrees F
Cut the curd in 1/2 inch cubes and let settle for 20 minutes
Slowly raise the temperature of the curds and whey to 90 degrees.  (I did not stir mine due to the problems I have had with my curds falling apart)
Let sit at 90 degrees F for 20 minutes
Pour off the excess whey and then pour the curds and whey in a cloth-lined colander.
I drained mine for over an hour until they were fairly dry, and cool.

Meanwhile I mixed a tablespoon (or more) of Rosenborg, Danish Blue Cheese in a 1/4 cup of water and let it sit at room temp for 1/2 hour.

After the curds were cool and well drained in the cheesecloth, the were put in a bowl, mixed well with the salt and then the Danish Blue Cheese mixture was added and mixed well.

The mixture is then placed in a cheesecloth lined press,  Since the curds are quite dry, I was careful to even out the curds in the press with a spoon.  Press with four pounds for an hour, then upped to ten pounds and leave in the press overnight.

I'll add more, when I get there.

DaggerDoggie

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2008, 08:46:49 PM »
Took the cheese out of the press at 5:30 this morning.  Opening up the press I could smell that distinct, Blue Cheese aroma.  It came out of the press fairly well.

I then poked several holes in it with a large phillips screw driver that I had sterilized in a bleach solution and rinsed off well the night before.  I would like to poke more holes in it but was afraid of the wheel falling apart.  I did turn the screwdriver to make sure the holes were clean and open.  It is now sitting in my cooler for a long ripening.

The first picture is the cheese right out of the press.  In the second picture the Blue is on the right.  Small surface cracks have formed, which I hope are good for better penetration of air so the mold will form better.  On the left, the wrapped English cheddar is just beginning to develop some surface mold (which is the plan) and a surface rind.

DaggerDoggie

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2008, 12:24:36 AM »
I'm not sure if this is good or not.  I flipped the cheese and it's turning blue, or is that just residual coloring from the inoculate?

Cheese Head

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2008, 12:36:16 AM »
DD, looks great, I think it's the residual color from the innoculant as way too fast for blue mold to multiply that fast, but strange that more blue in middle, time will tell. Did you salt bath or pat outside with salt?

I also had problem of cheese cracking apart from holes and I also had to rotate screwdriver as otherwise it pulled a bunch of cheese out at same time, I think need a smaller than medium screwdriver size and teflon coated to puncture the fresh cheese and enable mold to grow internally.

Looks like you are getting to stage of either needing a second level or a proper cheese cave ;D.

DaggerDoggie

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2008, 09:06:51 PM »
I need to do something about my "cheese cave."  I have a couple that need to go in there, but no room.  Working on solving this problem. ::)

DaggerDoggie

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2008, 09:13:21 PM »
Nine days old and it's getting a little furry.  Should I leave it?  Wash it with brine?  Hope for the best?


Cheese Head

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese (progressing)
« Reply #6 on: June 18, 2008, 11:16:09 PM »
Looks beautiful!

Your call, my vote is to brine wash it down like the video you found. With several different cheeses in the same cave, there's a good chance it will jump to another and thus need to keep it under control.

BoilerMaker

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Re: Danish Blue Cheese update?
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2008, 05:48:38 PM »
Hi DD. Just looking for an update on how your blue turned out. I'm thinking of doing one myself in the near future and was wondering how you handled all of the fur on your cheese. Did you leave it alone or wash your cheese down?