Author Topic: Mark's Reblochon - 060510  (Read 10695 times)

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #15 on: June 11, 2010, 08:02:38 PM »
That would definitely be useful! I've thought about it with hard cheeses, maybe putting the little rubber stamp characters below the follower to impress the date and cheese type into the rind, but was a little put off by the thought of having a crater in the rind for molds to hide. Maybe if the base of the stamps were cut down a little. I'd love to see your stamp in action.

JohnnyBHammerer

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #16 on: June 11, 2010, 11:50:53 PM »
Would little plastic or wood stakes shallowly inserted into the cheese work?  I'm picturing sanitized, little, food grade stakes with "rare", "medium", or "well" on one side and identification marks on the other side.  ;D  It might be easier to make a few tags.

iratherfly

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #17 on: June 12, 2010, 03:35:00 PM »
that may pose a problem turning the cheese. It also may let air into the cheese and activate some mold bacteria where you don't want it (kind of like what you do on purpose in blue cheese). I think that marking the skin with indentation is better.
I realize now that better than the stamp is to get large numbers meant for door signs at the hardware store. I will add photos when the setup is good

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #18 on: June 12, 2010, 08:04:44 PM »
Traditionally, labels are applied directly to the cheese to indicate where a reblochon was made; green for a farmhouse, red for a factory. Something like that would work if you could find something like this and get the pertinent information on it.

I have also seen large cheddar drums that have a shipping tag on a wire that looks like they just stick the wire into the cheese to affix the tag.

iratherfly

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #19 on: June 13, 2010, 08:35:19 AM »
Well... on some cheeses like cheddar you can simply print because you are doing it on the cloth or the wax. Parmesan rind it too tough to eat so printing on it with food-safe die is OK. In Roblechons, the label goes in right out of the mold when the cheese is still wet. The label has no glue, it's a thin plastic leaf. The whey serves as the glue and the sticker is always on the side that goes down after the first flip (which is in seconds after molding the cheese). This way, the weight of the cheese presses it onto the surface. On Tomme de Savoie and Emmental etc, the label goes on the fully aged cheese as it is ready to leave the factory. On some wrapped cheeses, the label is the box or the sticker used to seal the cheese wrap shut.

Since I engage in trying all of these... I am looking for one or two simple universal ways of doing it, without buying equipment or print and die cut plastic labels... I think stamping can really work

clherestian

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #20 on: June 14, 2010, 05:00:03 PM »
How is your afiniage in the containers going? Is your geo under control? I found it was easy to get the humidity too high in the containers.

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #21 on: June 14, 2010, 08:03:10 PM »
They are all doing well. 2 of the 4 are looking really good; apparently there is a difference when you brine or dry rub with salt, but since they got all mixed up when I moved them around different fridges, I won't know what the best method is until I re-try the trial and error  :P

Geo is showing well, and I am brushing/brine scrubbing them every 2-3 days. The B. linens has not started to show yet, but I think soon. They are just a touch sticky when I handle them.

It is easy to get the humidity too high. I am finding moisture forming on the inside of the container tops. I will have to poke a few more holes to bring it down a little, or try to crack the lids a bit.

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #22 on: June 18, 2010, 12:22:27 AM »
It has now been 12 days, and I am starting to wonder about the progression of the b. linens. I know that the geo is working, it is clearly visible. I am washing every other day with my 3% brine with b. linens, but I don't think I can see a color change. I think I can smell the b. linens, but this is really my first try, and I don't really know what to expect from it.
I have the Dansico LR series culture, which I understand is not as bright as the SR3, but is should show up light orange, right? Does it gradually change colors, or is it spotty and spreading? I am not using any adjuncts with the b. linens; no K71 yeast or anything like that. Is it necessary? Does it have an effect on the color, or just health of the bacteria? Should I invest in some yeast or PLA for later batches, or a different strain of bacteria?

iratherfly

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #23 on: June 18, 2010, 03:31:56 AM »
Yes Mark, Reblochon is not very heavy on the B.Linen so you don't need the crazy stinky bright orange. In fact, it is usually just washed with salt water or salted whey, so not even a bacterial wash (though I must admit I cheat and put some B.Linen/Geo/KL71 in my wash anyway, I just like the qualities of it; it will give me a far stronger cheese).  Reblochon is actually more white than orange but you still need it for flavor and aroma and a slight color.

I too use SR3 in my current batch of Reblochons (which are the same age as yours).  I do however use Geo 15 and KL71 as they work together to prepare the surface pH for the growth of B.Linen and to spread the rind faster and stronger. Yes, B.Linen and Geo can work without the yeast but they will grow slower and thinner so you may end up with a cheese that is too dry and not open to absorb their unique characters by the time it is covered with a good protective rind. Surface-ripened cheese relies on having aging from the outside-in so the better rind you create, the better your cheese will age.

There is another side effect to the Yeast to consider: When inoculated into the milk it apparently feeds on the sugars in the milk. As it becomes trapped in the paste with no proper oxygen supply it dies off and in that process it releases gas that contributes much to the aroma (and possible eye development).

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #24 on: July 09, 2010, 08:05:14 PM »
35 days old.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #25 on: July 09, 2010, 08:47:41 PM »
I used SR3 as well. Man there is too much conincidence here lately! We must have all been hit with reblochon fairy dust!

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #26 on: July 09, 2010, 09:21:25 PM »
hahaha! well, mine's done with LR, not SR3. Now that I can see the color, I'm not sure I want the darker SR3. I may get some and try it anyways though.

What will happen if you mix the LR with the SR3? Will it be spotty with each strain, or will they kind of blend together? Maybe one will take over and not let the other flourish... would be interesting to see.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #27 on: July 09, 2010, 09:27:02 PM »
I imagine it would be like everything else and blend together with the strongest growth being most noticable. I find the SR3 sometimes looks very yellow when it blends with a very fluffy geo white mold. I had one cheese look like a bright yellow florecent marker once until the geo took over.

iratherfly

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #28 on: July 09, 2010, 10:47:07 PM »
This is turning into the Reblochon community college online.

Mark are you wrapping them with that cellophane? Is that part of your recipe? I think you are doing ok for your time frame. Is it soft yet?

MarkShelton

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Re: Mark's Reblochon - 060510
« Reply #29 on: July 09, 2010, 11:01:56 PM »
Yes, I'm using the cellophane to wrap them. I don't have any proper wrapping paper for them, but in his guide, Steve "thecheesemaker" says to wrap cam's with plain cellophane and nothing else (no stretchwrap, specifically). Apparently the cellophane is gas permeable; it allows for oxygen to pass through it, where the clingwrap does not. Apparently he wrote the guide before he started selling the wrapping papers.

It was neither in the recipe, nor originally part of my plan for them, but when I got impatient and discouraged by the slow b. linens growth, I wrapped them just to prevent them from drying out while I stored them in the fridge. Now I wonder if I can "prematurely" wrap my current batch and age them similarly without the muss and fuss of maintaining a proper ripening box.