Stilton Fail ???

[cnorth3]

Okay, here's my first effort at Stilton, following Ricki's recipe.  Per the recipe, I didn't press it (only enough to fit all of the curds into mold).  This is what it looks like after 4 days at room temp. in the mold.  Lots of cracks and crevices!  I've seen suggestions about using a spatula or knife to smooth the surface, but mine's pretty dry and unyielding.  Would wetting it help?  Any other suggestions?

[george]

Cnorth, that's what my first one looked like when it came out of the mold - except I had pressed it a bit more because my mold was too small to start with anyway, and I had cheddars on the brain and was concerned about all those big blank spaces.  (I think I put an 8-lb dumbbell on top of the mold at first, to squoosh the curds so I could fit in the rest - then the initial four days in the mold I did the same thing only with either a 5- or 3-lb dumbbell.)  By the time it was ready to come out of the mold, I had read every Stilton reference on the forum I could find, and went ahead and smoothed it based on that info.  (Dipped non-serrated knife in warm water and used that.)  It looks like you have a few slightly bigger "dips" than mine did, mostly on the bottom, but with enough warm water over those spots I managed to get it smoothed out just fine anyway.

My second Stilton I milled the curds a little smaller so I didn't have so much of a hassle smoothing it when the time came.  They'll be ready to eat in a few more weeks, so I'll let ya know.

[cnorth3]

Thanks George, that's comforting.  I'll give a try with some warm water.  Last night (fitful sleep due to cheese worries ) I remembered that I have some ricotta in the fridge that I made from the whey from this make.  I'm thinking of using this as mortar for some of the deeper crevices.  I've read mention in this forum of using reserved curd for this purpose.  Any reason the ricotta shouldn't be employed for the same purpose, in a pinch?

[george]

Well, at first I was going to say "eeeewwwww!" at the idea of blue ricotta - the flavor possibilities just don't sound that appealing to me.  But since you made it from the whey from that cheese, maybe it wouldn't be so bad?  I suppose it depends on whether you mixed anything else into the ricotta (other than salt).  From what I remember of those threads, they used leftover actual curds from the cheese (whatever wouldn't fit in the mold) - had I known that at the time I did the make on my first one, I wouldn't have weighted it to get the rest of those curds in.  Probably also depends on whether you plan to cut off the rind whenever you eat it - in which case blue-flavored ricotta would sort of be a non-issue.

I will say, though, that one of the most helpful comments from those threads was the one that said you're basically taking bits from the parts that stick out and using them to fill in the holes.  Once I realized that I didn't need to be afraid of a little scraping, it went a lot easier.  Plus once I got enough water onto the bits around the holes, I could essentially fill them in with themselves.  Took me maybe 20 minutes to do that first one (first time and all), but it was worth it.

[cnorth3]

Thanks George, you've convinced me to at least try without resorting to ricotta 'mortar'.  It's just a little scary ... afraid the whole thing will disintegrate.  Well, we'll see!

[Sailor Con Queso]

Definitely don't use the Ricotta. If the rind won't scrape well, that means that you have let it dry out a little too much. It's a Catch 22. The huge open areas can allow the cheese to dry out too much internally. On the other hand, if you are ripening in a nice humid environment, it will also allow plenty of oxygen for the blue mold. I would stick it in a warm (80F) environment and soften things up a bit, then try scraping without water.

[cnorth3]

Okay, so I ended up using a knife dipped in warm water to scrape & spread.  I think the rind was a bit too dry to do it w/out water, per Sailor's suggestion.  Anyway, things went remarkably smoothly  , and this is what I ended up with.  It's been in the cave for a few days since the photo, and seems to be shaping up nicely.

One of the things I really enjoy about a new hobby is the steep initial learning curve (I've taken up beer, wine and cheese making in the last 4 years), and the feeling of satisfaction that comes from developing an understanding of the processes involved, what can go wrong, and what can be fixed.  Forums like this are a fantastic resource.  Thanks, everyone, for your help!  What did we do before the internet?

[Sailor Con Queso]

Darn. Now the mice have no holes to play in.

Looks MUCH better.

FYI, I use a small 4" plastic tool with a blunt edge that is normally used for smoothing vinyl lettering. Check with your local art supply store or sign shop. A small wallpaper tool would work for scraping and smoothing as well.

[cnorth3]

Thanks Sailor.  I think I know the tool of which you speak.  Mice?  I'm far more worried about my corgi, who has been eyeing my cave/minifridge with a clear case of malice aforethought!

The stilton gets better looking every day, starting to develop a nice coating of blue fuzz.  Very exciting!

[MrsKK]

My doxies know when I bring a cheese to the kitchen up from the basement - even when the cheese is vac sealed.  They stand at the end of the kitchen, watching, waiting, hoping.

Now that I'm vac sealing almost everything, there is very little loss to rind, therefore not many treats for the weiner dogs.  Poor, poor puppies! 

NOT!

[Mersunwea]

Hi,
I also made my first Stilton a bout 3 weeks ago. And lloked the same!!!! (so bumpy), so now I feel much better sharing the pain. But my reaction was to wax it, because I thought that all those cavities were an invite for 'aliens'. What do you think??? Anybody has tried to wax a Stilton?  Thanks!

[george]

Congrats!  See, told ya it wouldn't be so bad!   

Except, except, except - you forgot something very very important:  how did all those little bits left on the board taste?   

[cnorth3]

My doxies know when I bring a cheese to the kitchen up from the basement - even when the cheese is vac sealed.  They stand at the end of the kitchen, watching, waiting, hoping.

Now that I'm vac sealing almost everything, there is very little loss to rind, therefore not many treats for the weiner dogs.  Poor, poor puppies! 

NOT!

Now that's a look I know well!

[cnorth3]

Hi,
I also made my first Stilton a bout 3 weeks ago. And lloked the same!!!! (so bumpy), so now I feel much better sharing the pain. But my reaction was to wax it, because I thought that all those cavities were an invite for 'aliens'. What do you think??? Anybody has tried to wax a Stilton?  Thanks!

I'm the newest of noobies, but I think waxing is likely not the right way to go with a blue (at least not at the outset.  Wouldn't wax keep the good mold from forming?  Scraping with warm water worked just dandy for me, and as you can see, I had lots of surface imperfections!

[cnorth3]

Congrats!  See, told ya it wouldn't be so bad!   

Except, except, except - you forgot something very very important:  how did all those little bits left on the board taste?   

That was the best part!  It took a lot not to simply declare defeat and set to eating the whole thing!