Draining Stilton

[Neil H]

Thanks Sailor,

I will certainly persist, although will put it in the cave as of tomorrow evening

as a thought does your hoop have holes on the side and base or just on the base ?  i only have holes on the base ....

i have prob lost 25 - 30% volume so far from draining

[Sailor Con Queso]

Hoops for blue cheeses need lots of holes, bottom and sides to drain properly. Your limited number of holes is probably why you haven't gotten a solid mass yet. It will still happen.

[Neil H]

i think that is the problem ......

twice in a row what has happened is when i flip the cheese, most of it drops to the bottom, but a more "solid" mass sticks to the top of the hoop....... i think this part is the right consistency and the middle is not draining effectively, hence breaking apart.... perhaps i should try a different hoop?  is it too late to transfer it to another hoop?

[Sailor Con Queso]

It is probably too late to change hoops. Either look for another hoop (best solution) or make more holes in the one you have for next time. When making more holes, you want to use a hot nail instead of a drill.

In a worst case scenario, you can always do a LIGHT pressing to bind everything together.

[linuxboy]

I would break apart the curds, dry out the really wet ones under a fan, and assemble everything together for another 2-3 days, then smooth the sides. But then again, I personally hate moisture gradients in cheese.

[george13]

Sailor, could you give me some specific parameters as to actual size in your statement 

The next morning you are going to break the curd mass into large chunks and blend with the salt

.  Thanks

[Sailor Con Queso]

Walnut-sized or a little larger.

[george13]

I have laddled my curds into a huge cheesecloth lined collander and await the acidification phase to do its thing.  My question I guess, is regarding this "overnight" period.  Is that a benchmark regardles of the time which I laddled my curds (i.e. 10 AM or 10PM) or should I be looking for a pH of 4.6-4.8 as my signal for the next phase.  Also, what about the environmental factors.  Right now my ambient temperature is 75F, presumably, acidification should be progressing well under these conditions, as opposed to a cooler environment.  I just want to get a feel for the key points that I should be waching for.
Thanks

[linuxboy]

Not regardless of time. If the time and acid are too mismatched, then you need to adjust the temp and/or culture amount, to get them to coincide. Time is for rate of reaction. It has to fit.

[george13]

I understand, it is now 8 hours after my ladeling for the initial drain, and my pH is at 4.77. Is my pH drop considered too fast for an 8hr period? It was 6.38 at 1 PM (8 hrs earlier).  If so, then I need to lessen culture given the warm environment.  If however the time parameter is acceptable, I envision breaking and salting within the hour.

[T-Bird]

On the Stilton making website, they show a curd cutting step T-Bird