A Stilton is born...hopefully?!!

[steampwr8]

This is to all who dwell here faithfully and give of their knowledge without hesitation.

I took a step and am now nurturing my first Stilton. I have tried with success, cheddar, gouda and a nice assiago, but why not venture into the King of Cheeses.

I bashed recipes and methods from FarmerJD, Sailor, Linuxboy, Ntai...Leaned on Ricki Carroll and Steve Shapson. You all have made it understandable and fun so far.

The recipe I came up with is as follows:
4 Gallons of Pasturized Homogenized Whole Milk
2 Pints of Regular Cream
2 Packs (1.9g) of C101 DS Mesophilic from Ricki Carroll
1/4 Teaspoon (.44g) Penicillium Roqueforti from Leeners
1 Teaspoon (14 ml) of Calcium Chloride
1 Teaspoon of Animal Rennet (Too much I fear) should have been 1/2 Teaspoon

The milk was heated to 86 degrees and the Calcium Chloride and starter cultures were added. I let it ripen for 60 minutes.

[steampwr8]

At the 1 hour point I added the rennet and timed for flocculation. When the bowl stopped moving with a slight amount of air, I blew on it, I stopped the timer. In this case it was 14 minutes. I used a Flocculation Factor of 4 per Sailor's advice. Therefore 14 x 4 = 56 minutes until checking for a clean break and ladling the curds into the drain pot.

I used a stainless pasta pot and drained in the whey for 1 hour, then lifted the pasta basket out and drained for 30 minutes.

[steampwr8]

I then put the curd into a 6"x12" mold and turned it every 15 minutes for 2 hours. I then put it in the press and used 10 pounds, 1/4 psi for 10 hours.

[steampwr8]

The next morning I removed it from the mold and milled the curd using a cookie cooling rack. It was then salted with 4 Tablespoons of Cheese salt.

I remolded the curd and put it into my 'cave' at 68 degrees F 88% Rh for 4 days. At that time I had a good amount of blue mold.

 I then removed the mold, smoothed the surface cracks and put it back in the cave.

[steampwr8]

I lowered the 'cave' temperature to 54 degrees and have held it at 85% ish humidity for 10 days now. Incidentally I got the temperature and humidity setting by watch the video at http://stiltoncheese.com/. If you watch closely there is a scrolling marquee on the wall that gives the exact figures of the aging room.

Here we are at 10 days.....I will keep all of you posted, that is if you are interested.

Oh, the other cheese is my second Assiago made the next day. I hope it is as good as my first one.

[newbie]

Looks good. Just one observation, Stilton is not pressed, ever.
The idea being an open texture to allow crevices which allow the blue to penetrate to the inside.

[Boofer]

Very thorough dissertation. Good pics. Pretty much a how-to from my myopic perspective. 

You're not concerned about that Asiago turning blue?

-Boofer-

[steampwr8]

The Assiago will get a brine bath regularly to keep the blues away...If it gets too aggressive I'll put it in it's own cave.

And I pressed ever so slightly at 1/4 psi to aid in knitting per Sailor's advice. It helped knit the curd.

[zenith1]

New births are always great this time of year, and this baby looks beautiful!

[bmckee561]

Great post and pictures.  I will be following this.  I have 2 small blues in my cave and they are completely covered in mold.  Can't wait to try them and make more.

Salute!   

[steampwr8]

Update...here it is at 16 days old. The Blue is very aggressive and I have ammonia being emitted.

I know that piercing is the next step, what do you folks recommend. From what I have gleaned from my research here is that 3 to 5 weeks is right, but that is a big spread.

Cheese making takes a village, and I need help raising this one.

[newbie]

I know that piercing is the next step, what do you folks recommend.

I pierced one just this a.m. Used a thin bamboo skewer as used for BBQing. Worked a treat. Just wet it down so it doesn't 'grab' the curds in or out.

[Sailor Con Queso]

The blue should completely cover the cheese. That hasn't happened on yours yet, so it seems your humidity is a little low.  After 3 or 4 weeks, pierce, then re-pierce in the same spots a week later. It's not an exact science and depends on how well your cheese is maturing. If the interior is still really moist and creamy (a good thing), the piercings will tend to fill themselves in, so you will have to wait longer. I wait until the blue starts dieing and turning tan. That way there is a little bit of rind that stays open.

[steampwr8]

The hygrometer says 85% Rh and the temp is a fairly constant 55 degrees. I am using the La Crosse Tech system remote temp/humidity sensors.

I may turn on the humidifier for a day to see if it helps.

Thanks for the advice.

[steampwr8]

I took an analog hygrometer out of my den set and put it in the cave as a comparison.

I checked within 1 or 2 % Rh. Is this just a slow growth blue?