Author Topic: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)  (Read 921 times)

Offline Rain Frances

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My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« on: September 19, 2017, 07:05:30 PM »
Hi Everyone! :)

I started my very first Camembert this morning. I used Mal's recipe for Malembert! :) Thank you Mal!!



This is a fun cheese to make. I have honestly never added cream to my milk but I have to say that my curds were so much better formed than in any other of my cheeses...I might add cream to all of my cheeses from now on, what do you guys think? I only have access to 3.25% homogenized milk here so I thought it might make all of the cheeses more creamy.



At this point I'm at the draining and flipping stage. I adjusted the recipe so that it would fit in my only 2 hoops. This cheese smells awesome and I can't wait to see how it progresses! I'll keep you all informed! :)

Oh and Mal, I asked my bf to make me the same rig you made so you can flip all 6 of your hoops at the same time, I think that's brilliant, but I need to get 4 more hoops! :)

Offline Fritz

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2017, 08:01:04 PM »
Congrats on your first cams... your next giant step towards cheese greatness!
If I may share with you my first observation from your pictures, (and I hope you take suggestions well) your curds look a bit small (compare yours to Mal's). Don't worry, your cams will turn out fine...
Cams like to keep as much moisture in the curds as possible to make the cheese as creamy as possible... some cam recipes even call for gently horizontally slicing (scooping) the curd mass with the ladel, and scoop it directly into the molds without any cutting (or stiring) at all! It just takes a bit longer to drain and the curd mass is as unmolested as possible.
Just to compare other cam making techniques, my method includes gently horizontal scooping the uncut and uncooked curds to a colander lined with warm whey moistened cheese cloth and drain for 5 min, then gently transfer the semi drained curds, using a ladel, to the cam molds. Granted, I probably had a firm curd mass to do this without cutting/ stiring the curd mass to heal. If I did cut the curds it would be 1" cubes.
Welcome to the world of cheese making options and choices:)
Mal's recipe is awesome, so your make will be great too.
I know you like following recipes, but try to experiment with these methods some time for experience sake. You are sure to see them in other published cam recipes.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2017, 08:25:01 PM by Fritz »

Offline awakephd

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2017, 01:46:32 PM »
Good work, and look forward to the results in a few weeks!

As for adding cream - definitely add cream to cheddar makes (oh so good!!!), but don't add it to swiss or parmesan or so on; these makes benefit from a somewhat lower fat content.
-- Andy

Offline Rain Frances

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2017, 04:48:15 PM »
Hi Fritz :) I WANT to achieve cheese greatness! lol...Oh the curds...I took a photo after I stirred them for 15 minutes, but when I cut them up, they were nicely formed. I did however, cut them in about 1/2 inch cubes initially. Thanks for your comment about your method...I do admit I'm a recipe follower (probably just lack of confidence)...but as I make more and more cheese, I think I want to experiment a little more. Your method is interesting though, and this won't be my last CAM!!!

I made a critical error overnight, I forgot to put up the "cat barricade"...as it drained...as very good luck would have it, the cats didn't touch it, now that is good Karma on my part I think lol! :)

Offline Rain Frances

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2017, 04:52:11 PM »
Thanks Andy!! :)

My next Cheddar will be creamier for sure. But I understand, the drier cheeses need less fat content correct? So thanks for that advice. I do plan on making a Swiss-style this month too.

By the way, I'm just about at the salting stage, they turned out pretty well. I was actually worried they wouldn't keep their shape! I can't wait to start seeing white mold!! :)


Offline awakephd

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2017, 06:21:01 PM »
Looking good!
-- Andy

Offline Fritz

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2017, 06:43:31 PM »
Hey Rain' ... ya... they look awesome, nice height to width ratio.. cat hair free... lol
After salting, you may see a little bit of new release of whey, so manage the extra moisture well. Have a good buffer from the bottom. Cams don't like sitting in wetness. As the fuzz builds on your cams, in a few days, you now also have to manage the condensation dripping from the lid too! The RH in there should be 85-95 so pretty hi humidity. I lightly lay a paper towel across the top of the cams to catch the drips, replace as needed. Flip everyday especially as the PC grows fast. They tend to stick to the mat if you skip a day, risking the PC fuzz pulled off the cheese. A little read tip is to pat down the white fuzz as it grows daily, with very clean hands or fresh food server gloves. I buy a box of cheap food server gloves from the dollar store just for this. (Don't forget what side goes down next for flipping after handling them). We'll talk about wrapping em when the time is closer. :)

Offline OzzieCheese

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Re: My First Camembert (Malembert!!)
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2017, 05:05:52 AM »
A cheese for your first Cam's - well done. Now the fun starts.  For future makes, if I could offer - and this is only from the pictures: When you stir the curds, especially for these, treat them like soap bubbles that you don't want to break.  The smaller the curds the more 'fat' you lose from them and the less luscious the end result will be.  Cream will add to the firmness of the curds overall but if you stir too vigorously, you will just lose part of it in draining.

Flipping 6 at once is a bit of a leap of faith - so as long as you have even pressure sandwiching down on the forms, and a quick definite flipping action. you should be fine.

On Fitz's suggestion of not cutting the curd - it is more the way they do in France though they still do it in several stages. They do leave the curds uncut but they scoop the curds into forms five or 6 times over the course of a couple of hours, letting it drain between scoops. In the AOP cheeses in France you can even still see the layers !  It's really cool.  The reason I cut the curds and have a small stir is to help the draining process and fill the forms - one ladle at a time.  The curds do settle and then I flip them every hour for 4-5 hours.  Effectively getting the same result as the traditional method.  There are many ways to great cheese !

Will be very interested in seeing how these ripen.

-- Mal
 
 
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