This is my second make of Morbier, the first one while it was ok but too 'funky' for some people. This one, fortunately, is a better result taste and texture. Creamy, a little tangy and a friend said this was 'fruity' (?) with somewhat elastic texture.
I made this using Louella Hill's recipe with a little tweak to suit the milk I used.
30L (8 gal) cow's milk, I used raw
3/4 tsp meso, I used MM100
1/16 tsp B Linens
1/16 tsp geo
11/2 tsp cacl if needed diluted in 1/4 cup of water
11/2 tsp rennet diluted in 1/2 cup of water
1 tsp ash
Add cacl to cold milk if using, mix well.
Warm milk to 30C (86F). Mix in cultures and spores. Mix well. Ripen for 50 minutes.
Add rennet, mix. Flocc factor is 3.5. Target coag 35-40 minutes.
Cut curd into 1/2 inc cubes, heal 5 minutes.
Stir and heat to 38C (100F) over 25-30 minutes.
Rest for 5-10 minutes.
Washing process:
Remove 4L of whey and replace with 4L of 38C(100F) water over 6 minutes.
Stir gently 5 minutes.
Pitch and drain the whey up to curd level, gather the curd into a block. Drain the curd block into colander.
Drain 5-10 minutes.
Cut/divide curd into 2 part. Move 1 part into cloth lined form (I used wooden ring), press with hand and level it. Sprinkle ash over the curd, do not sprinkle it up to the edges, it will be difficult for the cheese to stick to the other half. Cover the ash with the other half of the curd.
Close the cloth, put the follower and press by hand for 2-3 minutes (more like 5 minutes for me).
Flip and redress, press with 10 kgs (22lbs) for 14 hrs. Flipping every 2 hrs for the first 6 hrs.
Brine 3 hrs/lbs.
After air dried for 3 days, I started my washing with light brine. Everyday for the first week. Then twice a week after until 8 weeks old. Then I aged for another 4 weeks.
