My Manchego Sick !

[Col68]

Hello, small adventure, Manchego made with 6 liters of fresh milk, 200 ml liquid cream, 1.5 ml Calcium, 180 ml Thermo - Meso (50/50) I started the cheese in a plastic box and after 3 days a bad odor took over, I washed with vinegar, but the smell did not disappear, finally at 2 Weeks of aging deciding the coupé, tail or face, its pass or its break :-) as we say in France, after cutting, the taste and texture was very good, I wanted to throw it, luckily I have tried , This cheese exists more :-) voila, wanted to share my experience, good and nice cheese to you, my respects.

[smcaro@gmail.com]

Good looking cheese, just be patient......

[awakephd]

AC4U for your success. Two weeks is very short aging time, so you should see much more development of taste with longer aging.

When you say that it had a bad odor - what did it smell like? Some possibilities common in cheesemaking:

• Musty (like old books) - might indicate some geotrichium; "wild" (uncultivated) strains are common and you often see it as a white mold on a hard cheese that has been in the refrigerator for a long time, but on a fresh or recently made cheese it starts out usually as a tan or off-white color along with a "slimy" feeling. Cultivated types of geo are used on purpose for cheeses such as camembert or brie.
• Moldy (like bread that has been left out too long) - a similar but slightly different smell that might indicate some wild blue mold. Obviously there are types of blue mold (P. Roqueforti) that are used intentionally for cheese, but there is an abundance of wild strains of blue mold which do not taste very good.
• "Smelly feet" (like sweaty, unwashed socks) - the odor that comes with a "stinky" cheese such as Limburger or Tallegio. This indicates B. Linens, which often shows up as a red or orange bacteria, but sometimes is present with very little color. The wild strains are present everywhere, and they can be used for adding flavor to cheese, but you can also buy cultivated strains to add it intentionally.
• Sharp, picquant smell like you have with a parmesan or romano - this might indicate lipase, either naturally present in raw milk, or added intentionally. Lipase is an enzyme that breaks down the fat in the milk, and it takes some time, so I wouldn't expect it to be a strong smell after just too weeks. Too much lipase can make a cheese extremely "strong" in taste.
  

These are the ones I can think of at the moment - maybe someone else can add more to the list. If you have one of these, you may not get the flavor you want, but they will not indicate anything dangerous.

The smells I would be most concerned about are a sour smell like vomit or a sewer gas smell. (I hope you were not eating breakfast as you are reading this!) These could indicate contamination by Clostridium or E. Coli or some other bacteria, which would both taste bad and be potentially dangerous for your health. My understanding is that these are often (or perhaps always?) accompanied by "blowing" - a swelling of the cheese due to gas built up by the action of the bacteria. The cheese in your picture does not show any sign of that, so I don't think this is a concern for this cheese.

[Duntov]

Make sure you dilute the vinegar in purified water.  Another choice would be to wash with white wine.  AC4U for a nice looking cheese!

[Col68]

Good looking cheese, just be patient......

Hi Smcaro, thank you for the advice, I am learning, the art of making cheese, you are artists, good weekend.

[Col68]

AC4U for your success. Two weeks is very short aging time, so you should see much more development of taste with longer aging.

When you say that it had a bad odor - what did it smell like? Some possibilities common in cheesemaking:

• Musty (like old books) - might indicate some geotrichium; "wild" (uncultivated) strains are common and you often see it as a white mold on a hard cheese that has been in the refrigerator for a long time, but on a fresh or recently made cheese it starts out usually as a tan or off-white color along with a "slimy" feeling. Cultivated types of geo are used on purpose for cheeses such as camembert or brie.
• Moldy (like bread that has been left out too long) - a similar but slightly different smell that might indicate some wild blue mold. Obviously there are types of blue mold (P. Roqueforti) that are used intentionally for cheese, but there is an abundance of wild strains of blue mold which do not taste very good.
• "Smelly feet" (like sweaty, unwashed socks) - the odor that comes with a "stinky" cheese such as Limburger or Tallegio. This indicates B. Linens, which often shows up as a red or orange bacteria, but sometimes is present with very little color. The wild strains are present everywhere, and they can be used for adding flavor to cheese, but you can also buy cultivated strains to add it intentionally.
• Sharp, picquant smell like you have with a parmesan or romano - this might indicate lipase, either naturally present in raw milk, or added intentionally. Lipase is an enzyme that breaks down the fat in the milk, and it takes some time, so I wouldn't expect it to be a strong smell after just too weeks. Too much lipase can make a cheese extremely "strong" in taste.
  

These are the ones I can think of at the moment - maybe someone else can add more to the list. If you have one of these, you may not get the flavor you want, but they will not indicate anything dangerous.

The smells I would be most concerned about are a sour smell like vomit or a sewer gas smell. (I hope you were not eating breakfast as you are reading this!) These could indicate contamination by Clostridium or E. Coli or some other bacteria, which would both taste bad and be potentially dangerous for your health. My understanding is that these are often (or perhaps always?) accompanied by "blowing" - a swelling of the cheese due to gas built up by the action of the bacteria. The cheese in your picture does not show any sign of that, so I don't think this is a concern for this cheese.

Hello Awakephd, i am happy for your information, you have found, my problem was blue (Moldy), thanks for my heart for advice, i will wash well next time before use, you offered me a book Information, very nice, you are a genius, my respect for you, thank you again and good weekend.

[Col68]

Make sure you dilute the vinegar in purified water.  Another choice would be to wash with white wine.  AC4U for a nice looking cheese!

Hello Duntov, I do not dilute the vinegar with clean water, I did not know, thank you for this very useful advice, Duntov always there for a small service :-) I respect you and wish you happiness, Thanks, Have a nice week end.