Author Topic: My First Pyrenees  (Read 5125 times)

susanky

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My First Pyrenees
« on: April 25, 2011, 12:21:18 AM »
Inspired by Sailor.  You may have read on another post about the amazing Pyrenees I sampled when taking Sailors fabulous cheese class.  So I am giving it a go.  My floc time was only 9 minutes :(  but I will carry on with a 3.5x multiplier.  I have had short multipliers ever since changing to this Brown Swiss (still raw) milk.  Thought it was a fluke the first couple of times.  But next time I will back down on the rennet.  That is where I am so far.  But I see the recipe calls for over 25 hours of pressing.  Really?  It's hard to imagine much happens after 8-10 hours or so.  But I will follow the directions.  Anyone with experience?  Sailor, do yo press it that long?
Susan (still raining in KY.  Will have to take a break from cheesemaking to finish building the arc)

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2011, 02:22:27 AM »
Yes, I press Pyrenees for 24 hours. You're right, from a knitting standpoint, much doesn't happen after 10 or 12 hours. However the time is important to build up acidity.

Susan - you are experiencing the practical reality of the flocculation method. If you were simply following the time suggested in that recipe, you could be way off on the proper timing to cut the curds and they could end up too dry or too moist. More importantly, how could you ever be consistent from make to make? Obviously Brown Swiss milk reacts differently than Jersey or other breeds. You are also seeing the effects of Spring milk and changing diets.

HUGE storm just came through down here again. Flash flood warnings everywhere. Unfortunately the lumber for my ark washed away in this last storm. ::)

susanky

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2011, 03:12:12 AM »
It's coming right along.  Heating the additional 10 degrees was going slow, only up 2d in 17 min.  Turned it up a little the overshot to about 104 (goal 100).  When breaking up curds and salting I drained off some whey.  Was worried if I didn't before salting, the salt would wash away in the whey.

Now pressing at about 1/4 psi to start.  Not enough?  I doubled the recipe so not sure what weights to use as not given in psi.  But it seems like pretty low weights.  On the other hand, not as much salt in this cheese.  Might wrap my seedling mat around it to keep warm tonight.  Suggestions for psi? 
Susan
p.s.  I will let you know when the arc ready.  Will have plenty of room.

linuxboy

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2011, 12:35:21 PM »
Quote
Now pressing at about 1/4 psi to start.  Not enough? 

Susan, the press schedule for all tomme types has to coincide with your moisture target and rind types.

Generally:
-regardless of final moisture target, if you're using a hairy rind, like on a tomme de savoie with mucor, some external inclusions are fine because the mold fills them in.
- If you're targetting a different rind, like one with geo, or multi-species, or washed, then it's better to try and achieve a very tight external knit by pressing with a high PSI for a short burst and using cloth to create an impression, and then pressing very gently during the prolonged acidification time. Something like .3-1 PSI works.
- If you're targetting a lower moisture, you can get there by pressing at higher PSI. it will not drastically lower, though.

Make sense? It depends on the approach you're using. Generally, I try to achieve as even of a rind as I can, even when working with hairy rinds like tomme de savoie has. For tomme de pyrenees, it's essentially the same core cheese, but rind progression differs.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2011, 07:11:49 PM »
Tim Smith's Pyrenees recipe is not the classic Tomme De Pyrenees with a complex rind. In fact, he describes it as a cow's milk Ossau-Iraty. It is a simple, salted curd cheese that uses much less salt than a cheddar. It has a mild, creamy paste after it has aged a while, but the flavor is much more complex than I expected. Yes, Tim's recipe calls for 24 hours of pressing, but he specifies just 20 pounds, which is very light for a salted curd cheese. So, I press at just 2-3 psi like a Gouda, flip after 12 hours and increase the psi to about 5. It could probably be done with the heavier pressing first to cachieve a better knit, but either way at 12 hours it is past the peak of the pH curve anyway.

Susan - 1/4 psi is definitely not enough for a salted curd cheese.

linuxboy

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2011, 07:22:49 PM »
But ossau iraty is brined, and then usually rubbed with salt, not salted curd. The make for ossau iraty is a classic tomme make. Small size curd, packed, stacked on top of each other, acidified, then brined, then moved to cave for salting and rind formation. This is how most pyrenees cheeses are made. That's just the predominant technology in the Basque areas.

I didn't realize that the recipe had salted curds. I wonder which area his make is from? Because ossau iraty is not typically kept for 24 hours, either. Tomme de pyrenees is, though. Maybe he hybridized a few makes or uses his own approach to try and achieve a similar flavor and texture profile?

susanky

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2011, 10:40:28 PM »
I must admit to knowing little to nothing about this type of cheese.  Rather I am trying to replicate a cheese I tasted, made by Sailor.  So if I follow his instruction I may have a shot at it.  Maybe it won't truly be a Pryenees.  But hopefully it will have a similar taste, because that was awesome!

As far as pressing, I started with 10 lbs (recipe called for 5 but I doubled recipe so had bigger wheel).  This calculates to about .25 psi.  This was just the first 30 min.  Didn't seem like much but lots of whey expelled.  Then 20 lbs for 15 min then in the press at about 2psi.  Now it is nicely knit together so maybe alls well that ends well.  Will come out of press tonight for air drying.
Susan

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2011, 02:45:26 AM »
Tim says that this is a very popular cheese that is mass produced in France. There are obviously many cheeses that can claim a Pyrenees lineage but I have found no other reference or receipe for "Pyrenees" except his.

I'm not at all sure why he claims it's a cow's milk Ossau-Iraty. To me there is no similarity. BUT... it's a really nice cheese anyway.  It is really interesting how well it knits together for a salted curd cheese.

linuxboy

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #8 on: April 26, 2011, 04:16:07 AM »
Oh, I see. Wonder which cheese it is. There are many pyrenees-area cheeses out there, and I've seen them grouped as "pyranees", bit more as a descriptor, like "tomme". There are all the variants of ardi-gasna, and then all the many rather distinct cheeses that Ossau Iraty covers. For example, abbaye de belloc is technically Ossau Iraty, it falls under that AOC.

Great thread; I had never looked at his book, interesting to see his take on things. Thanks!

susanky

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2011, 11:04:44 AM »
I ordered Tim Smith's book mostly for this recipe.  But he has lots of interesting recipies in there that aren't covered by the other two major books (Ricki Carrol and Easy 200 Recipies).  But many I don't have a clue what to expect.  But I also just ordered 'The Cheese Bible' as suggested on this site.  Maybe I'll learn something! 

This cheese is air drying.  Will try to post a picture later.  I tried taking one this morning, but using the flash the picture is not a accurate representation.  I'll have to take it in the light of day. 
Susan

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2011, 04:37:33 PM »
I think Tim's book is excellent and his recipes have been spot on to me. His lingo and presentation are very consistent throughout the book. As Susan said he covers some things that other books don't - like Blue Gouda. However, I wish he had covered a wider range of cheeses. This is the nicest design and printing of all the "How To" books with full color photos and illustrations.

Susan - that cheese is going to be SO GOOD made with raw milk.

oenophile

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Re: My First Pyrenees
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2013, 06:58:12 PM »
How did it turn out, Susan?  Are you still making Pyrenees style cheese?  I am simply in love with Abbaye de Belloc and I want to learn everything I can so I can attempt making something similar.