post hoop options for my blue?

[Groves]

Alright, I'm living on the edge, which means I don't know what I'll do next in this case.

I have curds that are almost set to drain. I mixed the p.r. in with the milk beforehand, so after the curds are dry, I'll mix salt in and load in a hoop, but not press, or press very lightly.

So.....

I'm not sure what I'll do next.

Do I pierce before it blues on the outside? only after?

wrap with foil, and then pierce?

smooth, then wait for outer bloom, then pierce?

So many options.

I think I'll need to protect the other cheeses in the "cave", too.

Do I protect the blue, or protect the others from the blue?

I know there's lots of different ways of doing it, how did you all decide on your way?

[Sailor Con Queso]

What kind of blue are you trying to make?

Wait for a good solid mold bloom and then pierce. Re-pierce in about 10 days. You can also wait 3-5 weeks before piercing. A matter of style and preference.

[Groves]

What kind of blue, indeed. Great question.

I'm trying to figure them all out first.

At this point, Stilton official is from those three counties in England, and is characterized by no pressing, smoothing after the mold, piercing horizontally, and no waxing or salting or bandaging, right?

I have no idea what characterizes the other blues, or what the others even are. Danish? Castello? Roquefort?

In the 3-5 weeks before peircing option, is that sooner or later than the wait for solid mold bloom option?

I assume the reason to not pierce immediately is not to push contaminants in, but some do pierce right away, correct?

What about the other handling aspects. Do I let it air dry out of the cave for X days? or right into the cave? I assume brine washes are to retard the mold growth on the outside. Do some blues try to keep their outsides clean and make conditions favorable for mold growth (i.e. oxygen) only on the inside?

[Groves]

Here's some pics. I couldn't fit all the curds into one hoop, so I have a 7inch and a 4 inch.

[Sailor Con Queso]

If you don't know what kind of blue that you're making, how do you know what to do??? From your descriptions, you are making a blue but not one that I am familiar with. So I don't know how to advise you.

I'm not sure what you mean by "after the curds are dry", but that doesn't sound like proper technique. Your cheeses look nice, but the structure is way too open. To me that indicates that the curds were in fact too dry before salting and hooping.

I really suggest that you pick a recipe, study it, ask lots of questions and then try to follow the recipe exactly before you start winging it. Nice first effort, but you need a better game plan.

[Groves]

You're of course correct. I'm not looking for specific advisement because I'm not headed a specific direction.

I guess I was asking about the span of treatments that different blues get.

I was afraid of closing the structure with too much pressing, so I went very light. At least I achieved my goal of leaving plenty of openness, ha.

I put them in containers and will await the growth of the mold. I think I'll pierce one of them and leave the other one to be pierced after the mold takes hold.

I should have said "after the curds are drained" instead of "after the curds are dry".

[Sailor Con Queso]

Every blue has it's own techniques. Stilton for example DOES get lightly pressed overnight. This expels some of the excess whey AND allows the cheese to develop proper acidity. Then the curds get milled and salted and placed into the hoop. The cheese gets flipped frequently over the next few days to expel more liquid and develop a firmer structure. If the curds weren't too dry at hooping, the curds will meld together well and will require very little smoothing. During this time, you need to keep the humidity up or the mold won't develop quickly enough. You never pierce before the mold really kicks in.

Many, many other tips and techniques, but you have to know what kind of cheese you are trying to make.

[Groves]

I can see how it really puts you in a bind if I'm asking specific questions about a general cheese. Didn't mean to do that.

I had gotten the "no pressing" from that Stilton youtube video that was posted. They were crowing about how no pressing was a hallmark of stiltons.

So, what would happen if I remilled the curds at this point and re-hooped them? I could get my structure tighter I'll bet, but have they dried too much? perhaps so.

[Sailor Con Queso]

In the final phase, Stiltons are not pressed.

Too late to mill. Has to happen before salting.

[Groves]

Here's the larger blue, day 5.

Blue gaining ground. The cheese rind darkened somewhat, presumably because I left it in the open for 3 days before putting it into the cave.

[Sailor Con Queso]

It looks like your cheese has flattened out so I would say that you removed it from the hoop too early. Blues are really soft and can't hold their shape, so you want to keep them in the hoop for a few days until they drain and dry a little. I usually keep mine in the hoop for 5 days or uintil they quit draining.

[Groves]

That's great advice. Thanks. What a group!

[Groves]

Day 7 (pierce in a few days?)

[Sailor Con Queso]

Wait at least until the cheese is almost covered in blue. There's no rush.

[Gina]

What kind of blue, indeed. Great question.
I'm trying to figure them all out first.

Nice mold. If you like how it turns out, perhaps you can call it Bleu d'Groves.