I am trying this for the fourth time now. Up until now the curd has been mushy, drained poorly and the roqueforti mold has not developed. I am going to try one more time but with a different milk/cream ratio, as suggested on this forum, and delayed inoculation of Penicillum candidum & Geotrichum candidum.
14 cups pasteurized homogenized whole cow milk
2 cups pasteurized homogenized heavy cream
¼ teaspoon MM100
¼ teaspoon calcium chloride
¼ teaspoon rennet
1/8 teaspoon Penicillium roqueforti
1/8 teaspoon Penicillium candidum
1/32 teaspoon Geotrichum candidum
2 teaspoons salt
Warmed milk to 86 degrees and sprinkle with MM100.
Rehydrate for 5 minutes, then mix and in and let ripen at 86 degrees for 30 minutes.
Add the rennet and let sit for 1 1/2 hours or until you have a clean break.
Cut curds into ½ inch cubes and let sit for 5 minutes.
Stir for 5 minutes, then let sit another 5 minutes.
Line a colander with cheesecloth and ladle curds into it.
Let curds drain for 20 minutes.
Ladle into 2 Camembert molds on a draining rack until ½ full.
Sprinkle P. roqueforti on cheese and ladle in the remainder of curds.
Drain for 6 hours at room temperature then flip and drain overnight.
Remove from molds and place on mat in ripening box.
Sprinkle the top of each cheese with ½ teaspoon salt.
Let sit for 5 minutes then flip and salt the other side.
Cover and ripen at 50-55 degrees and 90 percent humidity.
Flip daily and remove excess moisture from box.
This is where I diverge from the standard recipe:
Day 1—see above
Day 2 – unmolded and salted, then place in box in cheese cave
Day 3 – flipped and removed moisture from bottom of box
Day 4 – flipped and poked holes through the sides of the cheese about 3/4 to 1 inch apart.
Day 5 – inoculated top and bottom of cheeses with P & G candidum (I used sterile damp sponge to apply)
Day 6 – flipped cheese…the smell of P. roqueforti is noticeable and lovely!
Day 7 – flipped cheese
Day 8 – flipped cheese…white mold starting to develop
Day 9 –flipped cheese…white and spots of blue mold are clearly visible
Do I dare hope???
More to follow as these cheeses progress...crossing my fingers and toes!