Blue Cheeses - Milling The Curd?

[george13]

In following some of the recipes for the "blue/green" family types of cheeses, I encountered the milling phase, which I don't fully understand.  Once the curds drain (based on my trials) they begin to attach to one another forming the foundation of the cheese solid.  Am I to understand that now I must break them up, crumble them, salt them and then place into the desired mold?  Will they coagulate again to form a solid unit?  I understand that they must have some spacing between each other so as to allow oxygen to encircle them for mould to flourish, but could this also be achieved by cooking them a bit longer so that they form a harder surface, and then just mold them once?
I just feel uncomfortable breaking up a nice curd knitting, which is essential to other cheese types, but since I am new to the blue/green types I am more than open to the views of experience.
Thanks

[Cheese Head]

george13, you are correct, there's a thread on it here, and if you search you'll find some more.

The cut curds will re-meld, if you apply a lot of pressure, like with cheddars then they will do so fully. Blues are normally unpresssed or lightly pressed so that voids are left in which later blue mold can grow.

Also for Stilton's, their rinds are smoothed to seal the rind, so that the inside bluing comes at a later stage after piercing, see the videos on Stilton making.

[Tomer1]

"Will they coagulate again to form a solid unit?"
Yes they will.

[george13]

I see, when I have a drained mass of curd, I can cut into slabs and thereafter into 1/2" cubes and then salt.  Presumably this would be the equivalent to commercial machine milling?  and would these little cubes be able to undergo matting under their own weight or will they require some force?

[Tomer1]

No need to press, 
Proper acidification is important though.

[george13]

According to the stilton recipe I am following today, the pH at milling is for a 4.6.  Should this be my goal as far as the milling, salting and final mold sequence is concerned?

[Boofer]

According to the stilton recipe I am following today, the pH at milling is for a 4.6.  Should this be my goal as far as the milling, salting and final mold sequence is concerned?

Worked for me.

-Boofer-