Reblochon chronicles

[ArnaudForestier]

OK, well, I am concentrating on Beaufort. 

However, a man's gotta eat.  And my son, all of 10 years old with a palate begun as a French chef's kid, has really been wanting me to make some reblochon.  So, justifying my journey as one of being a Savoie kind of guy, an alpine kind of guy, I've now made some tommes, a couple of beauforts, and two batches of reblochon.  Pics to follow.

I adapted the recipe from Mtncheesemaker and SueVT (many thanks, friends).  Also, as usual, consulted with both Pav and Francois, who were helpful as always. 

Ultimately, for 2 gallons of creamline milk, went with a 0.8% MM100 primer, 1/32 tsp Thermo C (was thinking of straight ST, but wanted some of the LH properties from the ThermoC, after reflection), 1/16 geo, 1/32 candidum, 1/16 linens.  Per discussions with Pav, took it all the way down to 6.45 before renneting, to aid in the development of a moister curd.  That, and ensured an even 1/2" cut, retained through a careful stirring and cooking; first time I was really happy with the uniformity of the cubes, which stayed intact quite well through the entire stirring/cooking process.  Acidity curve still a bit fast for what I was shooting for, but still happy with a 5.10 final pH before salting (Pav also lent his encouragement, here).

I only had camembert molds, no available cheesecloth, so these were simply flipped under their own weight.  Especially on the first 3 wheels (each 3 gallons yielded about 3 x 11.5 oz. wheels), there are mechanical openings, but I can live with them - will be dealing with light weights in batches down the road. 

Very happy to say that after a mere 3 days of dips in 3% linens brine, there is a nice beginning of red taking off everywhere.  This is the first time I've seen such a linens takeoff, so quickly, and I'm pretty stoked (sorry - born California surf boy, if I'm a pastoral man, in my heart, now). 

Thanks everyone, for such a wealth of knowledge and camaraderie, here.

Paul

[smilingcalico]

Nice chronicle, thanks!

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, smiling.  One thing I just came across - forgotten from my first pass through Fox's Fundamentals, is the symbiotic relationship between ST and LH in the production of acid; the LH's peptidases aid ST growth and the ST's micro-production of CO2, among other things, aids in LH growth; both together symbiotically increase acid production when compared to either alone. 

As I mentioned, I'm still trying to slow down my acid curves, and one thing I think I'll try, and this is a general note, is experimenting with just ST, or pulling back considerably in my use of LH (stabilizing and flavor effects, however, also being taken into account).

[Boofer]

OK, well, I am concentrating on Beaufort. 

Alright! And here I thought your gearshift was stuck in "hard". 

Per discussions with Pav, took it all the way down to 6.45 before renneting, to aid in the development of a moister curd.

How long did it take for you to reach 6.45? Very curious.

-Boofer-

[ArnaudForestier]

Alright! And here I thought your gearshift was stuck in "hard". 

I, uh, don't quite know what to say.

How long did it take for you to reach 6.45? Very curious.

1.75 hours.  I went with a very light primer inoculation of 0.8%, so expected a slow initial ripening, but the faster-than-expected acidity curve through the drain is still something I'm working on.  I think I might go up on the meso primer, and tweak the blend of ST and LH, per the above, to learn more about the symbiotic dynamics of the thermos, during the drain and initial post-make hours.

[Helen]

Arnaud,

Congratulations on your new attempts. Looks like everything went well. I would love to see my b.linens take off as well as yours.

I currently have two reblochons aging in my fridge (I think it's been one month) and I keep on poking them, hoping they will get ripe soon. 

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Helen.  I'm shocked, to be honest, but will take the pleasant surprise, to be sure.  I'm also knocking on wood as I know a lot can go wrong from here.  But thankfully, I hit some markers during the make, and my setup allows a good RH, so...I'm grateful.

[Boofer]

Alright! And here I thought your gearshift was stuck in "hard". 

I, uh, don't quite know what to say.

How long did it take for you to reach 6.45? Very curious.

1.75 hours.

My "gearshift" reference was to vehicle manual transmissions that could occasionally appear to be lodged in a lower gear and yet the driver wanted to shift to a higher gear. Sorry if that threw you for a loop. Matter-of-fact there was a song written about just that dilemma (attachment).

I guess it's somewhat comforting to know that your make did take a little time to get to the renneting pH point.

-Boofer-

[ArnaudForestier]

Lol...Boof, I got your drift.  Just a bad combination of my sense of humor and the dryness of written text on a webpage, I'm afraid...

In planning for my next Beaufort, I've been thinking about all kinds of scenarios to tweak the acidification curve.  I'd read it before, but only cursorily so didn't remember until reading it again last night, but Fox et al's Fundamentals (p. 406) indicates that Beaufort typically only uses LH for acidification. 

Given that ST is known as a relatively fast acidifier, and LH a relatively slower acidifier, I'm considering playing with this.  Ideally, I'd like to tighten up the initial ripening a bit - maybe, a higher primer % of a meso acidifier - and slow down the drain pH drop; so perhaps a larger inoculation of MM100, it dies, and LH takes over for a slower, gentler dive down to salting pH target. 

[george]

AF, I'm shocked.  No pictures?   :'(

[ArnaudForestier]

AF, I'm shocked.  No pictures?   :'(

Yeah, I know, I'm usually keen on showing my babies, just thought these were nothing dramatic.  Sorry for the quality:

Batch 1 on the right, batch 2 on the left:



Closer on batch 1:



Closer on batch 2:



The feel of these are as springy little sponges, when compared to my other cheeses (obviously, just a cool experience for me to see the difference between these, and my beauforts or tommes).

[smilingcalico]

I still haven't gotten around to reading that text.  It's hard enough to get to the library before it closes, and don't know if they'll even have that book.  I'd probably even need to shoot down to UC Davis to get a look at it.  Wish I could talk my boss into buying it for me.  Anyone know if I could write it off as a deduction on taxes?

[Boofer]

Given that ST is known as a relatively fast acidifier, and LH a relatively slower acidifier, I'm considering playing with this.  Ideally, I'd like to tighten up the initial ripening a bit - maybe, a higher primer % of a meso acidifier - and slow down the drain pH drop; so perhaps a larger inoculation of MM100, it dies, and LH takes over for a slower, gentler dive down to salting pH target.

Sounds like a good strategy. I like it.

That seems like a reasonable approach to shorten the initial ripening period. Three hours is way too long! I've had quite a few makes that take that much time before renneting. I wouldn't know that if it weren't for the ExStick. I guess I'm learning to work with my meter more amicably.

-Boofer-

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Boof, for the nod. 

I'm pleased to report - knock on wood - my 3rd Extech is the charm.  I have to again commend the customer service folks, who didn't even bat an eye, in sending me a second replacement.  They literally tested this specific unit at the plant, and, so far, it is working great. 

My hesitation on the exclusive or heavy-balanced LH usage comes from Pav's comment on the bizarre proteolysis profile; additionally, I just re-read an article (PDF) on cheeses with Propionic fermentation; as Pav was indicating:

Some decades ago, Lb. helveticus was a major component of starter cultures in the manufacture of Swiss Emmental. Due to its intensive peptidolytic activity, which promotes late fermentation, it has been replaced by Lb. delbrueckii subsp, lactis.
Streptococci play a minor role in proteolysis.

So, a quandary, given my goals (faster renneting drop, slower draining drop), my understanding of the relative acidification power of ST and LH, Fox's comments, and my trust of and respect for Pav's experience a good deal nevertheless.  I similarly have trust and respect for Francois's expertise, and have consulted him as well about this, but as I know both gents are quite busy, I may be on my own here.

So: ST is a faster acidifier, and a lesser peptidolytic contributor; L. helveticus is a slower acidifier, and, from what I've read, both a decent lipolytic agent (creating substantial FFAs) and peptidolytic agent (proline, which is part of its "sweetness," among others, I believe).   The risk of "late fermentation" also gives pause, but then, LH is a blend of both L. helveticus and L. delbrueckii ssp. lactis.  Not sure of the ratio (though just called Dairy Connections, they indicated 50/50; will go on the working presumption).

Sigh - no one "perfect" solution, as always, every choice is, as usual, a decision point that has implications for the path downstream.  Will likely come down to an experiment, and risking failure; but c'est la vie, I suppose - how else to learn?

[Helen]

I think the reblochons look very good. I know someone that will be eating tartiflette for a long time!

For the longest time, I told myself that I did not need a phmeter. But I think I am caving in. I want to understand better what is going on with my cheese. Your posts are always very instructive and I think it gave me the push I needed.