Brie, 1 Month Ripening - Soft Below Rind & Hard Center?

[Melbourne Cheese]

First time poster here and new cheese maker.  I cut open my first brie today that has been maturing for just over 4 weeks.  It looks great from the outside and smells just right.  However, when I cut it, the centre was quite firm.  It has a lovely soft gooey outside that tastes good but as I said, the centre is hard and almost crumbly.  Have I cut the curds to small??  Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated.

[Aris]

Not enough aging time. Maybe if you left it to age for 7 weeks, it would be ripe by then.

[cheesequeen]

I agree it just needs more aging time.

[boothrf]

Sounds like it needs a bit more time to me. As long as there is no breakdown in the rind or any ammonia smell, it is most likely not quite ready yet. I try to test mine by gently pushing the top of the cheese with my finger to guage the softness of the paste, it takes some time to judge it right. And I also look at and smell the uncut cheese to make sure it hasn't matured too much.

Cutting the curd too small, and excesive stirring will lead to a drier, firmer cheese. How small did you cut the curd and how much stirring did it get?

Pleased to see another Melbourne cheesemaker here on the forum! Welcome, and enjoy the fantastic information avaialble on the site and from the members.

[Melbourne Cheese]

THanks all for the advice.  It makes perfect sense now.  The taste is perfect, just that middle bit detracts from the overall effect.  Has a perfect rind.  Am very happy with my first attempt. 

As for cutting the curd, I learnt my lesson when making my first camembert.  Think I cut and stirred too much with them as they turned out quite solid and sort of rubbery, like a jarlesberg cheese almost.  Still tasted fine. 

Am very happy I have found this forum, so much great information!!  THanks again.

[FRANCOIS]

Sounds like you used whole milk.  If you add some extra cream you will get less "runny" and a softer core.

[Melbourne Cheese]

I have a recipe for a double cream brie so will give that a go.