Blues - Aging Discussion

[ashummel]

I made a Roquefort style blue, and had it in the cave and it wasn't until i took it out of the cave over night that it started to show signs of blue. This was at day seven. I returned it to the cave and not much growth at all. I used the recipe from the RC book. The only step i didn't follow was that i bought store bought cheese and let it set with the curds before i put them into the mold.The second time i took the cheese out all i got was brown smear. I scraped that off on replaced drain mat and then put in containers. I recently made a recipe out of the 200 recipes book, and used store bought cheese and put in with the milk. and left in mold for four days. Well that turned out great I'm just waiting for the holes to fill with mold. I'm wondering if i should wipe the first cheese down with a salt brine soaked rag and spray the cheese with an atomizer filled with a P. Roqueforti mixture. Any suggestions.

[ashummel]

The first blue is the one that i did the second time around. I am still getting the white mold on both. The second one is sticky as u can see from my thumb. And Still not a lot of mold growth on the bigger one. i want to get rid of the white mold and promote blue mold. I would also like to get rid of the stickiness on the outside.
What should i do?

[mtncheesemaker]

I haven't made a Roquefort style cheese per se, but I make a lot of blues. I always seem to get the white mold, but just rub it off with my hand occasionally. I also get that brown smear thing, too. I don't worry about it too much, just rub the cheeses.
I inoculate the milk with P. roqueforti; have never tried using blue cheese but others on the forum have. You might want to check out their methods.
I think your cheeses look pretty good.
Pam

[ashummel]

Thank you Pam,

I am just worried that the smell of the bigger one and the absence of blue could pose an issue with the flavor later on. I am starting to see blue mold in the holes of smaller of the two. There is a hint of ammonia but I'm thinking this is fine.

 This is a fun yet nerve racking cheese,because from the start you may think that everything is going well and then you start to see some of the things that other people are having problems with. Then you second guess your previous methods. All i want is for the cheese to come out perfectly, just like when you buy them in the store.  Being that cooking is my profession also holds me in discontent because I can mess up a dish, and from at first glance, smell and flavor, I can pretty much tell what went wrong and know what to do to fix it. Yet this is food as well, but when i see that something has gone wrong i am scratching my head thinking of a highschool science experiment, wondering what the heck is going on.  Never did i imagine cheese being this in depth and tempermental. I guess this is also lack of experience. Thanks again Pam

[Sailor Con Queso]

Blue mold really doesn't like to get it's feet wet. I know what the recipes say about high humidity, but your container looks closed up and you may have a little too much moisture. Look how easily bread gets moldy without a lot of additional moisture. Open up your container a little and let it get some fresh air. If you are using a ripening container, it's not the humidity in your cave that counts. It's the humidity in the box.

[ashummel]

Hello Sailor,
I've been waiting to hear from you. As you are the resident Blue Guru. Thank you for your response. I have a draining mat between the lid and container of the one I'm really worried about. I will definitely crack the other one. Would u recommend taking them out for a day at room temp every once in a while or just leave them be?

[Sailor Con Queso]

I personally keep mine at room temp in a ripening box (sort of) until the blue really kicks in. However, you have already been at 55F for several days so I don't know if I would pull it out or not. Probably. Sure. For a couple of days anyway to see what happens. Blue kicks in from 7 to 14 days. It should go gangbusters. If not, then it doesn't like the environment. But that could also be in the make - too much salt, too acidic, etc.

OK, I wasn't going to let out a secret, but here it is. What did I mean by "sort of"? Well I do way to many blues to fool with a ripening box, so here's my setup. A large restaurant tray and a piece of eggcrate to fit. I place two blue wheels on fine mesh plastic mats on the eggcrate, and then put a large kitchen garbage bag over the entire tray. I add just 1/2 cup of water to the tray, close it up tightly and leave it alone for several days at room temp. I always get terrific blue blooms this way.

[FRANCOIS]

I'd take the wheels out of the tupperware and put them right in your cave.  The conditions look perfect from the meter.  Blues need loads and loads of oxygen.  They are suffocating in there and you are promoting lots of yeast growth.  With that much yeast, you may not be adding enough salt.  Also make sure you don't start anaerobic fermentation in the tupperware.  With lots of yeast and no oxygen that can happen, and the results are gross.

I don't do the room temperature thing, too risky for pathogen growth here. 

[ashummel]

Sailor, Francios,
Thank you for advice. I have taken the blues out of there containers. I will probably put some salt on the sticky one. Sailor, I love ur input on ripening. And since u leave your blues in the hoops for a couple days, you wouldn't need to worry about the bag touching the cheese. I HAVE to make a blue tonight now that ive got some new insight.  Thanks again. I will post pics of the progress.

[KosherBaker]

Hi Andrew.

In the aging forum many people talk about putting something between the bottom of the plastic container and the draining mat. Something that promotes air flow and allows one to have liquid on the bottom of the plastic container. Here's one thread that might provide some ideas:
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,1028.msg7484.html#msg7484

[ashummel]

Hello kosherbaker. Thank you for that thread. I have looked for that type of grating at Joann's and homedepot. I use hard straws, chopsticks, anything I can find. The crossstitching mats don't promote enough airflow or even drainage I have found a bigger cross stitch mat that will work. I work in a kitchen and have unlimited access to eggcrates. I will be putting a few aside to use. For one they are disposable, and two they are absorbent. As for the drier hard pressed cheeses the louvers would be ideal.

Andrew

[Sailor Con Queso]

Ash - "Eggcrate" is not the containers that eggs are shipped in. That refers to a plastic ceiling grid that is available at most lumber and hardware stores. You do not want your blue in direct contact with something absorbent (except maybe wood).

Just to be clear, I leave my blues in the hoop for 2 or 3 days until they drain and become firm enough to remove. THEN I move them to my ripening trays and place in a plastic bag. I use a little piece of PVC pipe to hold the bag up off of the cheese - like a tent. The bag is not closed up so tight that is doesn't have good air flow, but it keeps the humidity really high with the natural moisture coming off of the cheese.

I agree with Francois that pathogens can be risky when aging at room temperature. However, I know my milk and how it has been handled, so I feel very comfortable with my process. If you have a pathogenic contamination, you're going to know it fairly quickly. So I age my blues for 10-14 days at room temp until I get a really good bloom going and then move it to my cave, bag and all.

[ashummel]

Wow!!! I feel like a complete goof. I'm glad i didn't start making the cheese last night. Thank you Sailor for the clarification. I will adjust my methods and equipment accordingly.

Andrew

[Sailor Con Queso]

Pretty funny. I had visions of tiny egg shaped Blues coming out of your egg cartons. Thanks for the comic relief Andrew. It's good to ask lots of questions. That's how you learn.

[ashummel]

Hey no problem. Im glad i could be of assistance Sailor.   I could see how that would be completely wrong and one amusing picture.