Ginger Stilton with Key Lime

[Brie]

Well, Sailor and Linux, I liked both of your ideas,  so made a Ginger Citrus Stilton last night. Put Chopped vanilla bean into the milk with starter. Found a salt-free key lime seasoning at Cost Plus, so added after milling and salting. Layered crystalized ginger and the curds while piling into the mold. This should be interesting!

[BigCheese]

Whoa. Thats all I can say.

Where does everyone here find time for all this cheese?!

[Sailor Con Queso]

Way to go Brie. A mad cheese scientist after my own heart. The vanilla bean was a really nice touch.

I am going to do a Ginger Stilton with carmelized lemon zest on Tuesday evening.

[Brie]

Are you going to candy your own zest? Kudos to you! I should be doing that here, as I do believe there's still some fresh lemons here to be had. The zest in store-bought lemons is waxed and there's a worlf of difference. BTW, I almost added a touch of P. Candidum to my stilton to replicate my last one and continue on with the hybrid I made (by mistake).

[Sailor Con Queso]

Yes, based on LB's suggestion I am going to TRY and candy my own zest. I have a Meyers lemon tree in bloom but won't have actual fruit for months. So all I have available is store bought lemons. They don't feel waxed, but I suppose they are. We have a couple of organic food stores. Maybe I'll check with them. Any suggestions as to how to get maximum potential from waxed lemons? Is there a way to remove the wax?

How big was your make? How much crystallized ginger did you use? I used 2 tablespoons in a 5 gallon make last time. It was really good, but I am going to double that this time in a plain Ginger Stilton. For the Ginger Zest I plan on using 3 tablespoons of ginger AND 3 tablespoons of candied zest. Have NO idea on amount, so it's a shot in the dark. I love it. Can't buy THESE in the grocery store.

[linuxboy]

Sailor, to get the wax off, you can rinse under cold water and scrub well with a veggie brush. It will come off and wash down the sink.

[Brie]

Yes, LB--but, unfortunately,  the flavor of the peel will be gone as well. Actually, it begins to dissipate several hours after falling from the tree. I've studied it, as I have made Limoncello for the last several years. I would imagine youo would get a better rind with freeze dried; but not so sure. Try your luck at it Sailor--I'm sure it will be wonderful!
I made a 2 gallon batch, and used about 2 tblsp. ginger--it does smell great. The key lime seasoning had some pepper and other herbs as well, so I'm not certain of all the ingredients working together. Like the idea of candied rind--wish I had thought of it while the lemons were still in bloom here.

[Sailor Con Queso]

The key lime "seasoning" sounds interesting. I thought you were talking about a key lime pie mix of some sort. I have homemade lemoncello in the freezer. Have thought about using that in a Gouda but decided that the alcohol was probably not a good idea. ...at least not in the cheese.

I am making the candied lemon peel tonight so it will be ready for the Stiltons tomorrow night. Most recipes I have seen call for dusting the finished rind with sugar or powdered sugar, but I am going to eliminate that step.

[Tom Turophile]

Cool!  Keep up the experimenting...man I need to get my extra fridge fixed.

[JMB]

I have heard that the cheese that surrounds the sugared ingredient turns sour and soft  because the cheese begins to use the sugar as a food source and changes structure and flavor.  I heard this from a professor at U-Wis who works in the cheese research dept.  I think it takes a little time to do it so perhaps it is only an issue with cheeses that are aged out.  Any experience with this?
Jen

[Tom Turophile]

From what I understand, the cheese would "eat" the -ose and create acid.  Too much sugar/food will probably lead to too much acid, which in turn could cause issues.

[linuxboy]

Normally, this would be true, but not the case for stilton when using a candied additive. You're already starting with a sour, soft cheese. Still not a good idea to have lots of sugar dust on the pieces, though.

[Sailor Con Queso]

JMB - You can not use sugary fruit, etc in a normal cheese. However it works really well with Stilton because it is salted (not brined), and very acidic. You should read the thread on Blueberry Stilton.

Brie - candied lemon peel is cooling now. Used "organic" lemons with no wax. I am NOT going to dust with added sugar.

[Brie]

I am thinking this will be a great cheese; if so we will need to add to our reperatoire during the citrus season. I have some limoncello in my cabinet, as well--fine stuff that is!

[Minamyna]

I really want to do this!

What recipe are you using for the stilton?