Author Topic: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom  (Read 25616 times)

iratherfly

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #60 on: September 28, 2010, 06:17:38 AM »
Great rind, reminds me of Tomme Crayeuse

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #61 on: January 03, 2011, 07:05:24 AM »
Here's an extracted page from a book I received for Christmas, The Cheese Bible by Christian Teubner. Short dialogue about Esrom.

I just did my second Tomme today, but I'm determined to use my new "brick" mold and re-engineer my Esrom. I need to build a follower for it (5 inch by 10 inch).

That caraway version looks pretty good to me. Mmmm!!

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« Last Edit: January 03, 2011, 03:12:39 PM by Boofer »
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smilingcalico

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #62 on: January 05, 2011, 07:23:42 AM »
As for the pic of rackfulls of esrom that didn't look scrubbed, that could be true. Keep in mind where they are produced is likely teeming with b linens that overtakes any other competing molds or bacteria. The flaky rind you had looks like geo or p candidum spores that caked on, which also caused the wrinkled rind (proteolysis). The best defense IMO is frequent cleaning, allowing the surface to dry well. You might even consider a saltier brine wash, or rubbing with salt after washing, but before cheese is completely dry.

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #63 on: January 05, 2011, 03:36:28 PM »
Good tips for cleaning my next effort.

I just can't see all of those cheeses on the racks being individually tended to. Perhaps there is something that the cheese maker does to inhibit surface growth. If the cheese room were teeming with b. linens then there would be a significant red rind on all the cheeses. I don't see that either. They look pristine.

As for the wrinkled rind in my first washed-rind cheese, that was a good learning experience, having never encountered any of the stuff I saw. I am working on a Beaufort now, developing a natural rind in my cave. It didn't get any added rind treatments such as b. linens, yeast, etc. I'm just washing with brine and keeping the low white growth down. However, a Tomme I started this past weekend did get b. linens, geo, and yeast. It should be an interesting exercise, having never used the geo or KL71. Not sure what to expect. I rather anticipate something similar to the rind on the Esrom, which I will try to control better.

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #64 on: January 30, 2011, 12:55:32 AM »
 :'(  Today is a sad day.  :'(

This commemorates my consumption of the last remaining morsel of my Esrom. Alas, I wasn't entirely sure I would like it. Its faint background bitterness put me off from the start, but I grew to accept it as yet another part of the character of this cheese. The rind development was a mystery to me, and I'm sure the experts here will tell me in detail what I did wrong. Indeed, some of the guidance I have taken to heart and applied to subsequent cheese makes.

One of the things that is amazing to me is the durability of cheese. I started to make this cheese last summer and here I am still eating it so many months later...and it still looks and tastes good (despite the faint bitterness). A great deal of credit for that has to go to vacuum-sealing. When I wasn't eating it, it was vacuum-sealed and stored in my real refrigerator. Periodically I would unseal it and slice off a portion, rebagging it and preserving it.

I will make this cheese again. The next effort will benefit from my acquired knowledge and the use of the brick mold I purchased. Hopefully that will be very soon. The previous 6 cheeses need time to mature and won't be available until July at the earliest. I need an early-maturing cheese to carry me through until then.

It has been an inspiring journey.

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« Last Edit: January 30, 2011, 01:04:14 AM by Boofer »
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iratherfly

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #65 on: January 30, 2011, 09:29:51 AM »
Like everything good, this too had to come to an end Boofer...

The rind looks a bit ammoniated. It's time to let go.  Make a fresh batch.

I have Esrom in the fridge right now. The real Scandinavian stuff. It really feels a lot like a Port Salut. It's sweet and very smelly. I can detect tons of late geo spotting on the rind. Just seems like a proper one.  Get yourself a piece in the store and examine it well before doing it again. Your cheese by the way looks great. A bit like Tomme Crayeuse which is my favorite cheese. Would love to try to achieve that actually!

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #66 on: January 30, 2011, 03:21:42 PM »
Thanks for your comments, iratherfly.

Just for the record, what do you mean when you say the rind looks "ammoniated"?

I think there is a cheese shop in town that may just have some Esrom. I will look.

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iratherfly

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #67 on: January 31, 2011, 09:11:14 PM »
In some surface ripened cheese such as Camembert, as the cheese becomes old the white rind becomes spotted yellow and the paste under the rind liquidate from the outside towards the center until eventually the entire cheese becomes runny liquid. The rind smell and flavor become quite sharp, pungent and very undesirable.  That's because it becomes saturated with naturally-occurring ammonia = ammoniated.

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #68 on: February 01, 2011, 01:15:52 AM »
Good to know. I cut off the rind. I don't think the Esrom paste was at that point. It was actually quite tasty.

Thanks for the clarification.

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iratherfly

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Re: My first washed-rind cheese . . . Esrom
« Reply #69 on: February 01, 2011, 03:43:57 AM »
Well, ammoniation begins when the smell is felt and the taste becomes sharper than desired. From there to total ammoniation could take a month