Set to Start first Camembert & Petit Brie this weekend?

[Mondequay]

Mine are the 4-1/2 in. from http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/p/45-Hard-Cheese-Mold-Small-1.html
I love this size mold for 1 and 2 gallon cheeses.

What recipe did you end up using? Please post more pictures as you go along. I hope to make my first cams in the next week or so.

[Melle12]

Hi!
I used a mix of what I read on the boards, Ricki's recipe, and the cheeseforum.com recipe- 1 gallon raw cows milk up to 90 degrees, added 1/2 packet mesophilic starter, 1/4 t flora danica, & 1/32 t pencillium candidum- let stand for 90 minutes; added 1/8 tablet veg rennet diluted in 1/4 c spring water; stood for 1.5 hours before it set; cut and stirred for 15 minutes; stood for 15 minutes; drained whey off to curd level; ladled into 2 molds on mats on boards; flipped about once an hour for 6 hours; removed from mold & salted; let stand for 15 minutes; added to fridge (currently at 85% humidity and 50 degrees).
Again, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, and I'll probably order the geotrichum candidum and maybe liquid rennet (to make measuring easier) for next weekend.  Here is what it looked like headed for the fridge.

[Mondequay]

Hard to tell from the picture but are they 1 to 1-1/4 inches high? Looks good to me. I'll need to order some supplies to make them next weekend too. I think you will make your grandmother very happy!

[Melle12]

Yes, they are right in that measurement- a lot of draining while in the molds.  I flipped them this morning, and I am glad to see they aren't sticking.  I am thinking I'll do Brie today, though the differences seems to subtle.

[Melle12]

Now, I am hesitating on the Brie- should I have added both the mesophilic starter and the flora danica?  If not, is my camembert ruined?

[linuxboy]

Now, I am hesitating on the Brie- should I have added both the mesophilic starter and the flora danica?  If not, is my camembert ruined?

You can preripen with FD by using a minute amount and leaving it overnight. The point of preripening with cam is to achieve the initial pH drop, and also introduce diacetyl into the milk. the point at which you start ladling cam/brie curd is absolutely crucial to the final consistency, as I mentioned before. A gentler, slower, overnight preripening produces a better cheese. If you're making it just in one day, there's no real reason to add FD, regular meso culture is fine. You used too much culture in your make. I don' know what your pH points were at ladling and at rennetting so I can't say what the consequences will be, good or bad.

Your cam is not ruined, culture selection is somewhat irrelevant with the make process you used. Candidum strain makes a bigger difference to the final flavor and texture.

[Melle12]

Thanks Linuxboy- the process is very enjoyable and very overwhelming.  I guess I will need more recipe resources, including a pH monitor before I return to making camemberts.  For now they are resting in a humid fridge, and after losing my confidence today, I settled on making a batch of jalapeno cheddar.  So I know, when I you say I used too much culture- you mean adding both the 1/2 packet of mesophilic and the 1/4 t DF or was that just too much mesophilic even without the DF? 

[linuxboy]

Thanks Linuxboy- the process is very enjoyable and very overwhelming.  I guess I will need more recipe resources, including a pH monitor before I return to making camemberts.

I'll write mine up for you. I make a good cam.

For now they are resting in a humid fridge, and after losing my confidence today, I settled on making a batch of jalapeno cheddar.  So I know, when I you say I used too much culture- you mean adding both the 1/2 packet of mesophilic and the 1/4 t DF or was that just too much mesophilic even without the DF? 

Should be 1 DCU per 50 lbs milk for cam when using Danisco, or bulk equivalent or whatever the equivalency is for other manufacturers. That's usually a little more than 1/8 tsp per gallon. Making one gallon batches is tough for cam. All the measurements are so minute. I like making lactic curd bloomy rinds better when dealing with such small quantities of milk. Don't give up; It'll probably be fine

Takes people years to learn how to do cam right, so you're not alone. It gets easier

[Melle12]

Thanks Linuxboy- that would be wonderful!
It's funny, I am only in the worry stage now as none of my cheeses (besides Mozzarella & Paneer) are really edible, so hopefully by the time I taste my Camembert or Cheddar- even if they are bad, they will be earlier on in my attempts so I'll be a little more confident and have more aging and on the way.  For pH- do you the Extech110?  It seems like a reasonably priced yet trusted model.

[linuxboy]

For pH- do you the Extech110?  It seems like a reasonably priced yet trusted model.

No, I have an Oakton lab meter with BNC connector and both ISFET and regular bulb probes.

[TroyG]

Here is what I follow when making my Cam.

Goat Milk Camembert

Batch #: Cam_________ Start date: ___________Batch Size___________
Record Milk PH  __________
Goat Milk 85 degrees 
Culture MA4001 0.05gg x Gallons _______ = ________ (This will change with new culture package)
Pcandidum 0.118 x Gallons _______ = ________
Geotricbum 0.0238g x Gallons _______ = ________
Rennet 0.28ml x Gallons _______ = ________
Let rehydrate for 5min
Stir well
Ripen for 60min
Cut curds 1”
Settle 5 min
Stir 10 min
Settle 5 min
Drain off whey to curd level
Fill molds half way
Drain 24 hours flipping at 4-6 hours
Salt 1/4 tsp per surface
Place in ripening box and flip each day for 5-7 days until completely covered in mol

[Melle12]

Hi TroyG,

First dumb question- is gg grams?  If so, what kind of scale are you using because my digital kitchen scale doesn't register my culture amounts (they are too small- less than a gram)- part of the problem could be I only do a gallon at a time?  Second dumb question- are you using liquid rennet (ml?)- if so how are you measuring that?  I also see you are using goat milk- I haven't found a fresh goat source yet (and I haven't been able to talk my husband into raising them), so I am using raw cows milk.  Do you find goats milk is better suited to camembert?  I made my first pair of camemberts on 8/21, and here is picture from a couple of nights ago- as you can see I made the mistake of starting with bamboo mats and I had some sticking/tearing, but I am hoping it won't effect the finished product too badly.
:-) Thanks for your help

[TroyG]

Sorry gg should be g for Gram. I have a drug dealer scale I bought of the net. Will do .00g and cost me like 5 bucks plus shipping.

Yes single strength calf rennet.I raise animals so I have tons of syringes on had and I use those for my rennet.

Not sure which is better milk, but I am all goat all the time.  I also pasteurize my goat milk so I can sell these to the public. We have a small commercial operation.

You have those in a ripening box? Like a Rubbermaid container to keep the humidity high?

[Melle12]

Hi Troy
Thanks for the information- need to get myself a scale like that ;-).  My cams are sitting on a plastic mat on a wooden cutting board in a mini-fridge with a mini-humidifier.  The conditions hover around 45-50 degrees with 90-95% humidity- how does that sound?  I am now wondering what I should do with them after 2 weeks- do I wrap them and keep the humidifier going or shut it off and what's the best way to store them either way...in a rubbermaid container or just on a mat?

[ConnieG]

This post is really timely for me.  I had all the same questions!  Linuxboy, thanks for the reminder to let the milks mingle for a while.  I do that with butter but hadn't really made the connection for cheeses.

Melle12 when do you plan on tasting this cheese?