Author Topic: My Camembert "Disaster"...  (Read 13536 times)

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #15 on: September 09, 2009, 01:30:51 AM »
Wow!  Quite a spread.  I did Weißen as well (forgot about that).

...wait a minute.  This hi-jacking is verboten.
 :o

... I like Camembert.  ;)

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #16 on: September 09, 2009, 01:41:37 AM »
 :D Opps! Sorry! I will get spacey if you let me! I am easily side tracked.

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #17 on: September 09, 2009, 12:52:19 PM »
Well....  it was stiff enough this morning.

So I salted it, got it on a drying mat on a drying rack and put it in the cheese cave under a dome.  The rack sits maybe 1/2" off the floor surface of the fridge.  And there is a bowl of water in there with a cloth hanging.  It's sweaty all over the inside of the cheesecave, so the humidity shouldn't be a big issue.

Cave @ 59ºF presently.
(Though controlled, it's hard to get precise temps.)

I'll flip it daily and look at how the molds are progressing.  This morning it already had a nice mild acidic type smell reminiscent of sour cream and a mild yellowing was appearing in the recesses of curd.  Not sure if that is normal, but it seemed cheese-like and not like a wild mold.

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #18 on: September 18, 2009, 03:48:35 PM »
This darned cheese is now 10 days old and no white has grown.

I put it in a cave which was cleaned with bleach.  Is it possible the bleach residue is circulating in the air moisture and killing the exterior growth??  That's the only thing I can think is happening in there: perhaps I didn't clean out enough bleach when I killed the old molds from beermaking a few weeks back.

Help?
Experience?
Advice?

My other cheeses are going very well.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #19 on: September 19, 2009, 12:47:20 AM »
I have no experience in soft cheeses hon only in the process of my first two as we speak. Maybe some one with experinece will see this thread.

FRANCOIS

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #20 on: September 19, 2009, 03:14:17 AM »
Chlorine disapates very fast, I doubt that is your issue.  When working with white mold cheese, it's best to think of it as a process of creating environments at the right times to select out what you want to grow.  The environment you have the cheese in now is, for some reason, not conducive to p. cand.  I used to have some great charts for brie that showed temp/humidity versus days, but lost it in my move.  The mold should be fully developed and thick by day 10.  I'm guessing that the rind probably can't grow it at this point.  Something with the surface pH, salt, moisture or colonized organisms is off.  I'd need a good photo to give you a better diagnosis.

Tea

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #21 on: September 19, 2009, 07:30:28 PM »
To get the mould growing when I make them, I put the cheese into a sealed container.  Raise the cheese up a few inches on a bowl, and put about 1/2 an inch of water on the bottom.  There it stays, with regular turning, until the mould has developed.  Then I take it out and age.

FRANCOIS

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #22 on: September 20, 2009, 11:24:16 PM »
I couldn't find the charts I used to have so I spent some time and started making them again.  Here is the mold ripened (i.e. Brie) chart.  This should answer this recurring question.

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #23 on: September 21, 2009, 12:11:41 AM »
Thanks for the chart.

It's in a fridge at 58-60ºF, with a big bowl of water with it.  Alone.  The walls are dripping moisture.  The Camembert sits on a drying mat on a drying rack 1" off the floor. 

--PAUSE--

OK!  I refused to look for the past 2 days because it looked like a cheese without any growth.  Today is day 12 and it is half formed with white.

HOWEVER, I cringe to say... I tore off the under mold when turning.  The mold was layered into the drying mat (sushi mat).  Is that ok?  Will it recover in a few days?

I think it's just far behind schedule, but the top and sides are easily 75% covered with the white fuzz now.  -_-; phew.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #24 on: September 21, 2009, 12:20:00 AM »
That's a good question I just did the same thing with my crottins. oops!

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #25 on: September 21, 2009, 12:22:11 AM »
º-º;  I am so hoping it will regrow with a few extra days at the proper temps.  The rest of that disaster Camembert wheel looks in really good shape, but a little late.

Not sure about crottins, but I would assume it is the same basic problem.

Tea

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #26 on: September 21, 2009, 07:51:28 PM »
Which is why I hate using bamboo mats.  I never seem to be able to turn them without ripping all or some of the surface.  It does how ever regrow.  I prefer to try and move/lift them each day as it seems to lessen the chance of it sticking.

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #27 on: September 21, 2009, 08:03:31 PM »
Thanks.  I'll place it on a tin foil level for the next week until wrapping and fridging.

Recently I purchased some of those plastic knitting grids.  Next time I'll use those.  I'm not wild about the bamboo either.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #28 on: September 22, 2009, 01:49:25 AM »
The insides are soooo white!

Do yours have very fine fuzzy stuff that feels almost silky on it? Kind of gross like touching a spider web? I tried to get a picture but I can't get the darn thing to focus on it. I just looks like a marshmellow.

Baby Chee

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Re: My Camembert "Disaster"...
« Reply #29 on: September 22, 2009, 12:38:14 PM »
Yep.  Actually, I like that white fuzzy outside.  It's neeto.  I'm just sad I ripped off about 30% of that mold, but it appears to be slowly regrowing.

These mold growing cheeses are tricky.  The washed curds are so simple!