Author Topic: crottin help on the color of the mold  (Read 6292 times)

peri7132

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #15 on: October 07, 2010, 03:34:09 PM »
Thanks for your comments, my second and third batches of crottins are turning out different they seem moister but I was so worried about slip skin on the first ones and after reading feed back on slip skin it is when they lose moisture that slip skin occurs right? These just don't feel right. Good news I just turned the new batch and they have more mold and feel not so slippery. I am enetering these in the ADGA convention cheese competiton in Colorado  and shipping them next week. Hope these are as good as my first ones which were as good as any I have bought I feel.I haven't launched my web site yet, I have been working on it and i am close. The pottery studio I worked out moved so i ahven't been able to throw and work for the past year since i don't have my own wheel or kiln. but that is an interesting idea and if I ever find another owrkshop i will try making some.

linuxboy

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #16 on: October 07, 2010, 03:41:47 PM »
Quote
it is when they lose moisture that slip skin occurs right?

Most of the time, it is because too much Geo or the wrong kind of Geo is used. Also, if the surface has not dried enough by the time the Geo starts to bloom, the skin will slip. Or of the temp is too high during early ripening and the geo is too fast.

My crottins go back in forth in style between using PC and not, depending what I feel like. Regardless, I always brine and put a fan on them to dry up after they're out of the brine. I don't like dry salting so much, it's too easy to get uneven spots.

Chris_Abrahamson

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #17 on: October 07, 2010, 03:54:17 PM »
enetering these in the ADGA convention cheese competiton in Colorado  and shipping them next week.

In Colorado? Do you have more details on dates and location?

Thanks

Chris

peri7132

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #18 on: October 07, 2010, 04:08:54 PM »
is it late to dry them with a fan?  if one dries them after the white mold starts appearing will they get slip skin. the one batch is on day 4 and were salted yesterday morning 24 hours ago. they have some white mold and feel wetter than I remember the other ones. also exactly how do i make a brine solution for crottins water to salt percentage and how long do i brine them? I read some on brining but don't fully grasp the whole picture yet . any help would be appreciated. funny when I look at the pictures it looks like there is some GC growth. I have posted pictures. also the cheese competition  at the ADGA Conv is Oct 20/21  in Tuscan AZ  thought it was CO. at the holiday Inn and suites tuscan airport North. It runs from the 15-23. you can check out more at www.adga.org

linuxboy

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #19 on: October 07, 2010, 05:54:16 PM »
is it late to dry them with a fan?


No, but getting there

Quote
if one dries them after the white mold starts appearing will they get slip skin.


Hard to tell. Usually, it's still somewhat salvageable, especially if you keep the temp cool and humidity on the lower end. For crottins, I start my humidity at 90% for the first 3 days, then move up to 95% for 3 days, then 98% for 6-10 days or until the mold has bloomed, then I take humidity back down for longer aging, or eat right away. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is cutting a crottin in half and getting a glass of white wine and stuffing the half in my mouth and chewing happily. The higher humidity helps the mold bloom, and the lower humidity at first helps to prevent slip skin. But this is not mandatory, just my approach.

Quote
the one batch is on day 4 and were salted yesterday morning 24 hours ago. they have some white mold and feel wetter than I remember the other ones. also exactly how do i make a brine solution for crottins water to salt percentage and how long do i brine them?


See my brine table for the amounts. I use a 20-22% brine, 12-15 minutes per side. http://www.wacheese.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65
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I read some on brining but don't fully grasp the whole picture yet .


You make up a brine and adjust the acidity and calcium to match the cheese (add a few tablespoons vinegar and CaCl2 per gallon of brine). I don't like dry salting fresh cheese because personally I'm no good at it. I can never get all the salt even and often have these uneven patches of mold growth. I do OK on dry salting blues and hard cheeses. That's why I brine crottins, camemberts, etc. But if you are good at dry salting, please do that. With brining, there's a higher chance of slip skin because the cheeses come out wet.
Quote
any help would be appreciated. funny when I look at the pictures it looks like there is some GC growth. I have posted pictures. also the cheese competition  at the ADGA Conv is Oct 20/21  in Tuscan AZ  thought it was CO. at the holiday Inn and suites tuscan airport North. It runs from the 15-23. you can check out more at www.adga.org


Hey, that's great that you're entering. I can't go this year,  but I know a bunch of people are going, including some commercial cheesemakers from the NW. I know Rhonda Gothberg (Gotherg Farms) and Gianaclis Caldwell (Pholia) are going. I'm sure you'll have a great time :)

Those look a little wet to me; I would put a fan on them and dry them out a little.

peri7132

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #20 on: October 07, 2010, 10:22:14 PM »
thanks for the help i jsut checked them they were in the fridge since this morning when I wrote this they feel a tad but drier maybe because they are firmer and colder but i have put the fan on them for an hour and see how that goes.
 
I won't be able to go between work and the cost it isn't attainable this year, but next years the nationals are supposed to be in PA and they have a cheese competition and I don't know where the convention is yet but looking forward to competing some more and will have more cheesemaking under my belt by then. I am sending my cheese, 2 flavored chevres a sweet and a savory and hopefully a a mold ripened aged cheese, aka : crottin. looking forward to see what they say about them. Have you entered and if so what has your experience been?

linuxboy

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #21 on: October 07, 2010, 10:41:41 PM »
Oh, I see; I thought you were going. Hope you win something :)

I don't like to compete; I do more than enough of that in the real world. Cheesemaking to me is about everyone working hard, loving on animals, feeding people, and sharing adventures and life together. Nothing wrong with competition, just not really my thing.

I think your crottins should be fine, the fan is just a precaution. With dry salting and a short maturation period, they're usually okay.

peri7132

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Re: crottin help on the color of the mold
« Reply #22 on: October 07, 2010, 11:35:07 PM »
I have the goats and I love them and they fill my world. To be honest I am not sure why I decided to enter the cheese competition. Partly I wanted to connect with people like me that love making cheese and I would get hopefully honest feed back. I haven't connected with local people who are pasionate about making cheese and want to talk about it. This forum has opened up a new world for me. Thanks for all your input. I look foprward to brining my next batch with out the forum I might never have tried brining, hopefully I will get enough milk since I am down to one goat and one quart a day.