Help! My Camembert is melting!

[Jessica_H]

I made my first Camembert on Monday.

I followed the recipe well.  At the end it says to put the curds in the mold and flip 5 times every hour or until the cheese is 1-1.5" tall.  I did that and then it says to put in a cave of 45 degrees and 95% humidity.  It says to leave it there for 2 days, resrpay with mold if desired, leave it another 3 days, and then flip over and leave for 7 days.

Monday my temp / humidity was 55 and 85%.  I turned the fridge on to get it colder and got to 45 degrees but only 75% humdity AND my cheese is melted!  So I turned the fridge back off and we're back at 54 degrees and 89%.

Is it a hopeless cause?  I can keep it at 55 and 95% (It'll get there by the end of today).  But I'm more concerned that my cheese was still draining and is a slumped.  There was a bunch of whey at the bottom of the fridge.  What do you think?


(After 5 hours of flipping and draining - the mold next to the cheese is 4.25" high)


(After 24 hours in the cave)

Thanks in advance!

[Oberhasli]

Hey Jessica,

It looks like your cheeses needed more time in moulds to drain and that is why they "slumped" as you put it.  Flipping them 5 times and hour seems like a bit too much in the beginning.  I usually put the curds in to drain and then flip about 3 to 4 hours later and then flip them for up to a couple of days every 4 hours or so until they aren't draining whey any longer.  They need to be really firm before you take them out of the mould or else they will sag from the excess whey that will eventually drain out.  I would put those wheels in a ripening box inside your fridge and keep wiping up any excess moisture or whey that drains out.  Don't let them sit in whey, but elevate the draining mat so they can stay dry on the top and the bottom.  Hopefully once they quit draining they will begin to get the white bloom and they might look a bit weird but will ripen once the bloom begins.   That's what I would do because it would be nice to salvage them after you put in all that work and milk. 

Bonnie

[Jessica_H]

Thanks for the reply!

This silly cheese is all I can think about this morning  :'(

I should have typed a little better...it said to flip a total of 5 times, every hour on the hour.  So it drained for 5 hours total.  But it sounds like you drain a lot longer.  What temp/humidity do you drain at?  In your cave or just out on your kitchen counter?

Do you think the bloom will still happen if the cave stays at 55 degrees?  I'm learning that my wine-cooler-turned-cave has a harder time holding humidity when it's on. But it's stored in a 55 degree room now so I can do 55 degrees and 95% humidity or 45 degrees and 75% humidity.

What environment will make the mold happier?

[Oberhasli]

Jessica,

Cams need to definitely drain more than five hours.  I drain mine for about 1 1/2 - 2 days on the kitchen counter in a plastic box with the lid on.  After I drain them sufficiently and they are firm and there is no longer whey in the bottom of the box, I salt them with kosher salt and I put them in that same box in the basement where it is about 60-65 degrees. I keep mine on the plastic craft mat elevated on a cake rack. The bloom usually starts about 5 days later and I still flip them every day and mop up any condensation in the box and whey on the bottom.  They will drain a bit when you put the salt on.  I would try the higher temp and watch your humidity so that the box doesn't get really wet and the cheeses stay too damp.  I usually leave the edge of my box open once I salt them to keep it from getting too moist and keep the slip skin problem from trying to start.  Too much moisture is almost worse for cams as not enough.  I do think your cams will start to grow some white mold.  The colder they are the slower the mold growth will be, especially to start with.  There are some good threads on the forum about cams and problems you may encounter along your journey. 

Your cams look good except for the "relaxed" look, and I think they should still grow some nice mold.  Give it a go - nothing to lose - and you have learned a bunch this go round.   Think of your cams as guys at the beach who have forgotten to suck in their stomachs when girls walk by .