I started my second Stilton today and everything went exceptionally well until...
I milled and salted: I had the dried load of curd in the cloth, opened it, cut it into chunks with a knife, threw on the salt, then milled... and inside the ball was an obscene pocket of moisture at the center. I now understand why people dry in several chunks.
Anyway, the stuff is salted and milled, though it was wet. I re-wrapped, tightened the cheese cloth, put a 10 lb. weight on it, and it's been sitting in the sink on a draining mat.
Will salting at such a time change dynamic?
What is the point of the salting? (To cure the exterior of the chunks or something else aside from flavor?)
Any advice?
I'm not too worried about the final cheese at this time because when they hit the molds I'll drop them in a 60ºF cheese cave away from stray molds. Should I be worried?