P candidum - Bloom & Ripening Discussion

[jo1973]

I am from lovely Sdyney in Australia and am new to cheesemaking, and have a bunch of camemberts that i was ripening which developed the lovely bloom, but then developed blue spots, which i removed.  I thought I had removed too much rind,but the bloom is starting to come back, with no blue spots.  Here's the situation, they were made on the 19th March, and I have put them in the fridge after finding out the humidity was too high.  Does anyone think they will still be good to eat or have they gone too far in the ripening process.  Like I said the bloom is starting to grow back , and they are stilll hard, with no yucky smells, (they actually smell like camembert).  Any advice would be much appreciated.

By the way this forum is awesome, we have nothing like it in Oz, everyone seems so helpful, especially for us novices.  Hopefully with your guidance and advice we can all become excellent cheesemakers.

Thanks.

[margaretsmall]

Hi, I'm a new cheesemaker in Armidale, NSW, and am just starting my second camembert, so my experience is very limited! But I would say let them mature for a while longer - my first batch was made on 25th Feb, matured for 2 weeks then in the fridge since. The one I ate this week is still not runny but tastes good. I've since bought a wine fridge (on special at Target, $149) but the first batch I matured in a foam box with cold bricks which I changed twice a day. Don't know what the temp. was but the bloom worked really nicely.
I've been to two one-day workshops with Lyndall from Emerald Beach - I believe she has someone  who does cheese workshops in Sydney. Lyndall's were excellent for complete beginners.

[jo1973]

Hi, good to see someone from oz too.  Thanks for your reply.  Ok, well that sounds like they might still work, cool.  Yes, I went to the workshop with Susan, I think that's Lyndall's sister, here in Sydney.  It was great, and I learnt alot.  It's when you get home and have to do it yourself is when the fun starts.  It's all practice, and I have already made fetta, marscarpone, yoghurt and cream cheese.  I also had a go at the farmhouse cheddar from Ricki Carroll's book, I ate it too quickly though, it was nice, but needed more time to mature.  I am going to get a wine fridge, I think that makes the experience a little easier.  I am still trying to source a clean foam box till I get a fridge.  Again, thanks for the reply, and good to see a fellow aussie. 

Cheers. 

[smilingcalico]

Yes, those cams will be ok to eat.  The usual ripening time is 6-8 weeks, so you still have time to go.  Low refrigerator temp will lengthen the ageing time.  How are you keeping them in the fridge? Are they wrapped, or in a plastic box?  Camembert does need humidity, and refrigerators really dry the air out, which of course will dry your cheese out, so I'd highly recommend a plastic box.

[jo1973]

Hi, that's great to hear .  Yes,  I have them in a plastic box in the fridge.

Thanks for the reply.

[allondale]

Hi guys I am from Aus too. down in vic.. I have been reading your post. I have made my first batch of Camembert ever and its in an esky on a plastic rack it is covered in white mold but it has also grown a bit in size is this usual?..my recipe said to keep it the esky for a week then wrap and put in a fridge. Is this the right thing to do.. are you putting it straight into the fridge once the brine has dried.. help I have no idea what I'm doing.
thanks sue

[smilingcalico]

Growing in size, hmm.  Is it swelling?  It sounds a little like it may have picked up some propionic shermanii, the same culture used to make eyes in Swiss cheese.  Do you have any photos you can post?  Camembert usually isn't brined, but surface salted.  Was it a freshly made brine, or have you used it for some other cheese?

[margaretsmall]

Sue, You are probably using the same recipe as I am, which does brine camembert for an hour. I have a batch going at the moment with the most amazing growth of mould - this recipe directs you to add 'a speck' of the mould spores to the brine - i forgot to do it until after I'd put the cheeses in, dashed to the freezer, got out the packet, and started to put in.... not a speck but 1/8 teaspoon. As I tipped it in I sensed something wrong, stopped and checked the recipe (bit late). So it got maybe 1/16 tsp, way too much. I think it will be ready to wrap and move to the refrigerator tomorrow after 4 days - my first attempt took 2 weeks for the mould to cover. Isn't this fun?
Margaret

[allondale]

Hi ladies thanks for getting back to me...swelling sounds scary..I used fresh brine as recipe stated made night before with boiling water then refrigerated until used next day.. looks awesome covered in fury white mold is that normal to be slightly fury... wow this is so scary.. but fun

[smilingcalico]

This lady is a man.  LOL, anyhow, furry is excellent, you can just keep patting it down when you flip it.  How much bigger do you think your cheese has gotten? Can you describe the comparison?

[jo1973]

Ok, so my camemberts seem to be growing back the white rind slowly, and are nearly covered again.  I have noticed a few blue spots again, so do I need to remove them before I wrap my cheese? 

Hi, to the others from Oz, this is the best cheesemaking forum I have been on.

Thanks 

[Tomer1]

yeah, the blue can take over.

[jo1973]

ok thanks, will wrap them soon, and see what happens.  I have removed all the blue spots, there weren't many.  I'm not sure whether I should ditch this batch and try a new one.

[tnbquilt]

I had to ditch my camembert. I obviously screwed it up, but it smelled so bad in the cheese refrigerator, that it smelled up the house. I used half as much cultures as I was supposed to. I'll have to try it again.

[jo1973]

I have checked mine for bad smells, but they actually smell like camembert.