I was going for my first blue, using the John(CH)/DaggerDoggie/Fankhauser recipe.
- Warmed 10l whole pasteurized milk to 28C, added buttermilk 0,5% and diluted blue cheese (Finnish Aurajuusto 1 spoonful)
- 2hrs and I had a very nice clean break
- cut, let sit for 10min, mixed, started warming
- here I got distracted, and the next thing I know is the whey temperature was 50C! Oh no!
- Quickly turned off heat, took out much of the whey to accelerate cooling, added 0,5dl buttermilk in case my culture died, drained curds, let drained curds drip for 15mins in colander
- texture was pretty nice, a bit rubbery though. Not surprised...
- mixed in dry salt (about 3 heaping spoonfuls, to taste)
- placed in cheese form
- flipped without weight a couple of times in the evening and left over night
- in the morning, cut the cheese in half (it was too high for my fridge-cave)
- placed the halfs in 12C 70% fridge-cave
In the picture you can see my new cheese mold. Made from a plastic 1½ liter juice jug. My better half was kind enough to drill the holes for me.
So, is this a total loss? Did I kill the started with 50C, or the blue? Should I re-inocculate it with either or both? Should I just toss it? Since it's in two parts, I was thinking maybe I could just re-inocculate one and see the difference?