Author Topic: Buttermilk Blue  (Read 2455 times)

Duntov

  • Guest
Buttermilk Blue
« on: April 25, 2017, 11:29:19 PM »
I saw in my book by Karlin a recipe for Buttermilk Blue.  However it uses a ratio of 1/3rd buttermilk to 2/3rds milk along with MM 100 meso starter.  I felt that Karlin's recipe might be a bit too bold for me so I decided to do my own recipe with way less buttermilk.  In fact, I don't know if mine would be considered a true Buttermilk Blue or just a blue using buttermilk as a starter.

The planned recipe is below and has some steps borrowed from my Stilton recipe.  I ran into a problem in timing however because I had to pick my daughter up from school that is a 1-1/2 hour round trip.  So I had to cut my time after adding the rennet from 3 hours to 2 hours.  This left me with a very soft curd but I was hoping that they would firm up well during the cooking process.  Instead of cooking longer I decided to hang for draining instead of setting in a colander like I normally do.  The mass seemed firm until I started to break it up and realized it was still quite moist.  I let it sit more than normal during the salting process and that helped expel more whey before hooping.

I need to figure out how to do my makes without the regular daily interruptions.  My raw milk is delivered on Wednesdays and I don't want it to sit until Saturdays when I am totally free.  So I guess I need to get up at about  3 a.m. on Thursdays to do my makes. 

Ingredients:
•   4 U.S. Gallons Raw Milk
•   2 Cups Cultured Buttermilk
•   Pinch Mesophile Aroma Type B (Biena C64)
•   ¼ Teaspoon liquid Penicillium Roqueforti PRB6 HYP 5D (Danisco) in ¼ cup purified water
•   ½ Teaspoon single strength liquid animal rennet in ¼ cup purified water
•   3 Tablespoons cheese salt
Steps:
1.   Add milk to pot and slowly bring up temperature to 86° F (30° C).
2.   Add cultured buttermilk and stir well.
3.   Sprinkle in Mesophile Aroma Type B starter cultures, cover with lid and wait ten minutes.
4.   Add Penicillium Roqueforti/water solution.
5.   Stir well, cover with lid and let mature for 90 minutes holding at 86° F (30° C).
6.   Add animal rennet, stir well, cover with lid and wait 3 hours (did 2 hours) undisturbed holding at 86° F (30° C). 
7.   Cut curds into one-inch size and let rest for 90 minutes holding at 86° (30° C).  Do not stir.
8.   Ladle curds into cheese cloth lined colander, tie cloth, hang and let drain for 8 hours at room temperature.
9.   Break up curd mass into thumb size pieces.
10.   Add 1-1/2 tablespoon cheese salt, mix and wait 15 minutes.  Add final 1-1/2 tablespoon salt, mix well and let sit for another 15 minutes.
11.   Ladle curds into a 5-1/8” diameter x 11-3/4” open top and bottom mold.
12.   Flip mold once every hour for four hours, then once every 24 hours for five days at 65° F, 90% humidity.
13.   Rub up curd mass on day five or when whey is no longer expelling.
14.   Place in cheese cave set at 85-90% humidity and 50-55° F (10-13° C).
15.   After four weeks in cave, pierce holes with about ¾” spacing.
16.   Age an additional three weeks or until the blue veining runs all the way through using a cheese tier.

PH Tracking:
6.65 starting with fresh raw milk.
6.30 just after adding buttermilk and cultures
6.42 after 3 hours of cultures maturing.
6.42 after 2 hours of rennet being added.
6.15 when whey drained
5.62 curds after 1-1/2 hours of sitting
4.45 after five days at rubbing up stage

The photos below are after five days and the rubbing up.



Dorchestercheese

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2017, 12:41:06 AM »
You do not salt rub the cheese for three days after the formation?

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2017, 12:46:21 AM »
You do not salt rub the cheese for three days after the formation?

No, I use the Stilton method of salting the curds.

lovinglife

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2017, 01:36:54 PM »
ohhhh nice looking cheese!  Hmmm maybe a cheese like this with goat milk.  Think maybe the blue would mask the goat a little?? I should try something like this, thank you for the detailed recipe.  If I have time this weekend this could possibly be on my to do list!  I don't have any PRB6 is there anyway to inoculate with blue without it?  Maybe from a store bought blue cheese?

5ittingduck

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2017, 09:56:22 PM »
I have used gorgonzola mashed up to inoculate blues several times with great success.

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2017, 01:30:42 PM »
Here is a three week update photo.  The rind is developing nicely with patches of light orange like some of the Stiltons I have seen.  I plan on piercing in another week.


Dorchestercheese

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2017, 07:42:40 PM »
Nice looking cheese..
May I ask how you tend your rind specifically..
From the point you remove it from the mold
Do you dry it at room temperature for days? Salt? brine it?  rub it? brush it? smack it up? (was that a song in the 90s?)

I'm trying to understand the blue cheese rind...

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2017, 11:09:08 PM »
Nice looking cheese..
May I ask how you tend your rind specifically..
From the point you remove it from the mold
Do you dry it at room temperature for days? Salt? brine it?  rub it? brush it? smack it up? (was that a song in the 90s?)

I'm trying to understand the blue cheese rind...

Salt is added to the curds before molding so no salting of the rind or brine is required.  The cheese is left in the mold and flipped every day for a about five days in the cave.  After five days it is removed from the mold and kept in the cave flipping daily.  There is absolutely no maintenance of the rind at all.  Some people do wrap in foil about four weeks after piercing to stop the blue from further development.  I like my blues strong so I just let the cheese age naturally.

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2017, 01:30:04 PM »
I pierced at four weeks.  This is now day 44.


Dorchestercheese

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #9 on: June 08, 2017, 11:41:57 AM »
Hi Any idea why sometimes people show pictures of blue cheese hugely covered in blue and white mold? I mean like a furry animal?

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
  • Posts: 5,015
  • Cheeses: 344
  • Contemplating cheese
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2017, 05:46:08 PM »
Beautiful cheese, John. Looking forward to the opening.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2017, 03:18:41 PM »
This is an eight week update.  The blue is developing from the in to out but has more to go.  I suspect it is because the curd was not as-dry-as I usually get when I don't use buttermilk, thus less crags/gaps in the curd.  So I peirced again and will let go for another four weeks.  Next time I will cook the curds longer before hooping.


John@PC

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2017, 09:18:16 PM »
You have more willpower than me as half of that trier sample would have been "sampled"  ;).  Nice piercing pattern.  Like Boofer looking forward to the grand opening in July.

Col68

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2017, 12:40:10 AM »
Excellent manufacture, its give envy, you are a master of manufacture, thank you for sharing, good cheese.

Duntov

  • Guest
Re: Buttermilk Blue
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2017, 03:29:28 AM »
Hi Any idea why sometimes people show pictures of blue cheese hugely covered in blue and white mold? I mean like a furry animal?

I have found that if the humidity is too high in the cave the rind goes a bit crazy.  When I lowered mine to between 80 & 85%, the growth on the rind was better.