Author Topic: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)  (Read 5135 times)

Zoey

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #15 on: October 08, 2009, 11:26:05 AM »
This update comes in a bit late, but anyway:

Below some pictures of the situation on 30th september (in Flickr I labeled them 28th by mistake).

So I ditched C1 and C2 on 30th, after deciding the smell was unbearable (not the famous sweat socks smell, but really bad).

Now I have temperature 10C and humidity 80%. I'm pretty happy with that.

On monday this week (5th oct) I pierced A and B, using my thermometer stick as the piercing instrument. It worked pretty well. Cheese felt soft while piercing, even though it is solid to touch on the outside. I liked the soft perception, and am hoping for excellent texture.

A was markably softer than B, as it has been from the beginning.

Did I mention earlier, A bloomed a few days before B did, so I'm thinking the temperature might have slowed blue down. As you see from the pictures, C1 never bloomed, so at least 50C is too much for blue to survive (funny, since it seems to be so resistant to everything).

I'm getting RAW MILK on sunday! Whoohoo! So the experiment shall get follow-ups then (the long-promised comparison of cross contamination blue->gouda might be coming).


A, B, C1, C2 on 30th sept

A, B on 30th sept

A

B

Zoey

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #16 on: October 08, 2009, 11:28:02 AM »

And one more thing... after piercing on monday, I don't see any blue developing in the holes (now, on thursday the same week). I'll keep you updated if/when I see something in there.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #17 on: October 19, 2009, 06:22:45 AM »
Looks like I didn't miss to much on this thread while I was gone ...

So what's happened in the past week? What did you do with the raw milk? Has anything grown in the holes yet?

Zoey

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #18 on: October 20, 2009, 06:48:38 AM »

Nothing but turning done since my last post. The cheeses look really blue by now, I would be surprised if no blue on the inside, but the holes have now disappeared under the surface mold. I'm not sure if I find the smell pleasant or not... It's something between moldy and (very mildly) rotten, I'm hoping it's moldy. :)

Waiting 'till 21st november to cut them. Thursday this week they would be one month old, and 21st november 60 days.

The raw milk turned into a gouda-type cheese. I've been planning to post about that for a week now, but somehow I got distracted... (search for reasons of distraction in my following posts today)

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #19 on: October 21, 2009, 12:42:56 AM »
Maybe the holes just filled up with mold? Hang in there time is ticking by!

Zoey

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #20 on: October 23, 2009, 10:58:43 AM »

Debi, that's what I meant. The holes are also full of blue by now.

I have an issue however (no pics yet, sorry):

It seems like a light white mold has taken over the surface lately. It's a soft, hazy, outwards growing type like in brie etc. Does that always grow on blue? Somehow I think not... so what can I do to remove it? Salt?

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #21 on: October 23, 2009, 02:21:20 PM »
Blues will naturally start turning tan after aging for a while. If you had a good coat of blue, then it is going to outcompete everything else.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #22 on: October 24, 2009, 01:57:37 AM »
Re-stick the holes. Make more air flow for the mold to grow.

Likesspace

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #23 on: November 05, 2009, 02:21:47 AM »
I wouldn't worry much about not being able to see bluing within the holes. From looking at the exterior of your cheese I can almost guarantee that there are some good things happening within the interior.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you cut into one of these wheels. Blue is such a fun cheese to make but I know how stressful it can be while waiting to see the results of your efforts.
It looks to me like you have done a great job and I can't wait to see the final results.

Dave

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Blue #1 (I'm such a mess)
« Reply #24 on: November 05, 2009, 04:04:32 AM »
I agree. Poking more holes now would risk introducing unwanted molds into the interior. Blues are magical and it will turn out fine.