French video-comercial camembert production

[vogironface]

These guys got it figured out. 

Debi, you thought you had a lot of molds?  What about these folks?   

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

[vogironface]

points of interest
- They seem to cut the curd instead of just spooning it out uncut.
- They use some small weight near the end of pressing.  To flatten the top?
- Not real sure what they are doing with that tool they force into the molds but it pears to press by hand and prepare them for flipping?  To expel air from within the cheese?
- Spores appear to be sprayed on and then immediately thereafter salted.

[DeejayDebi]

Gosh those guys were so fast I was getting dizzy watching! Great video Ben thanks. I noticed those curds were square not just blobs. That thing with the handle I'll bet that helps move the whey so it drains better too. They looks much firmer than I would have expected too. Very informative. Everything that Tim Smith left out in his instructions.

[Baby Chee]

Fascinating process!  No wonder camembert is so expensive in stores: it's labor intensive.

Someone posted another place's video and they used a flipping platform.  This maker doesn't seem to flip until after it is ready to spray and salt.  Or so it seems.  I'm curious how they clean those bamboo mats.

[Cheese Head]

Thanks Ben for posting! I also found some interesting learning's:

• 1:52-2:07: Looks like a fast summary of the whole make which after 2:07 they go into in more detail.
• 1:55: Appear to be adding liquid rennet before filling the large plastic vats with milk, then presumably the swirl from pouring in milk evenly distributes the rennet. If this is rennet, then from the amount, it is not pre-diluted in water.
• 2:33: Ladled curd appears to have been freshly coarsely ie 1-2 in cut and appears to be ladlied curds and whey, albeit minimal whey as freshly cut.
• 2:48: Mat is ridged and woven, I don't think it's bamboo as it looks long and somehow underneath it allows free flow of whey out side of table into trough.
• 2:51: By hand they are appear to be tamping down middle and then the periphery of the top of the curds with fingers. Don't know why, to get even top as not yet turned the cheeses?
• 3:00: Manually use a large "Espresso Tamper" to further pack down the curds after much of the whey has drained and still before turning the cheeses. As Ben suggests, maybe to remove any air bubbles, but I never get air but do get small hole around sides of my cams, think from pockets of whey. Maybe this step is to ensure even distribution of curds and to help remove any pockets of whey?
• 3:10: Appears to be first and only turn and cheese seems to come off of mat very easily. If I didn't turn my cheeses early they would stick to my plastic initially fine weave mat. I'd really like some of their mat and like to know how they avoid sticking.
• 3:30: Place metal disks on top of freshly turned cheeses. Disks have small hole in center, no idea why, for whey expulsion? Agree with Ben that flattens top, and added weight would also provide additional expulsion of whey.
• 3:35: Image of slower draining whey.
• 3:40: Removal of metal (aluminum?!) hoops. Note hoops have way less holes than my "regulation" polyethylene bought ones.
• 3:46: Removal of metal disks.
• 3:49: Manually trimming off top extruded periphery ridge of curds outside metal disk which if left on would result in a dried out unappealing "tin can rim", so metal disks must act as weights. I get the same thing on pressed cheeses if my follower is slightly smaller than hoop.
• 4:00: Agree with Ben, application of spores, P candidum & G candidum maybe?
• 4:05: Cheeses on conveyor belt go through a shower of dry salt (top right of picture) and are subsequently turned, maybe to go through another shower of salt on other side that is not shown in video?
• 4:11: Cheese being manually turned on racks while blooming and to maintain even shape, (no slouching).
• 4:18: Placing bloomed cheeses on end in I think a conveyor belt to be wrapped by machine.
• 4:46: Trays of packaged cheeses, presumably ripening post blooming, interestingly upside down in yellow plastic trays, presumably so that the cheese glues itself less to the folded side of the wrapping?

Wish I spoke French!