My first Derby

[anutcanfly]

I made a sage derby with the recipe in 200 easy homemade cheese recipes.  The make went well, though I was disappointed to realize it wasn't going to have the pretty green marbling you see in pictures.  In a few months, if it turns out well I will post the make with pH markers.

[JeffHamm]

Another nice one.  With fresh herbs, you can also just load half the curds, then put down a layer of herbs, then load up the rest of the curds.  This way you get a "line" of herbs through the middle of the cheese.  I think to the get the green marbling you have to do your curds in two batches, one of which you add green food colouring to.

- Jeff

[fied]

To get sage right through the Deby it has to be very fine. Chop it as fine as you would mint for mint sauce. You'll get a much more even distribution of the sage throughout the cheese, but, no, you won't get the marbled/green-colouring effect of commercially produced Derby.

[anutcanfly]

Yeah, I've been debated that.  I don't normally dye cheese, but I might have to make an exception...  I wonder what the color would be like if I went beyond fine chopping and ran the herbs through the blender like I do for pesto.  Garlic pesto parmesan?  That's a thought! 

[fied]

You could try puree-ing it, though I never have, and you can also bulk out the sage with some spinach. I'd advise against putting in green food colouring, though; commercial Sage Derby is pretty nothing-tasting stuff and looks as though it's greened to this side of a cricket pitch.

[JeffHamm]

I made a sage wensleydale a while back, and one thing I did was to steep some dried sage in boiling water to make a tea.  Let that cool, and add it to the milk along with the culture (the fluid, not the leaves).  This can help flavour the cheese.  I added the leaves at the milling stage.  It made a great cheese for potatoes and such, but personally I ended up deciding I don't really care for herbs in my cheese, as I can add them when cooking but can't remove them when I just want some snack cheese!  But, I know others have had great success and really enjoy it, so take my opinion on that as just that, only my opinion.

- Jeff

[fied]

I agree with you, Jeff. Herbs in hard cheese are a bit of a no-no for me, especially as I usually make 3lb cheeses. Chomping your way through that much Sage Derby is a little too heroic for me - I only did it once and would rather have an ordinary Derby.

I do, though, like herbs and/or garlic in fresh, soft cheeses and often add them.

[anutcanfly]

Spinach pureed with sage might work great for the color--it's a pretty green.  I not sure how I'll feel about herbs in the cheese either.  That's why I ran a 2 pound batch.  I'll wait on further experiments with herbs until after this cheese is ready to sample. 

[JeffHamm]

Hi anut,

The sage will make for a good savory cheese to use in cooking, so think of it as an ingredient rather than as something you might put on a cracker.  At least, that's what I did with it.  Was really good on baked potatoes to go along with roast chicken.  Yum!

- Jeff

[anutcanfly]

  Sage Derby potato & leek soup 

[anutcanfly]

I forgot to take a picture when I brought this out the other day.  It looks the same as when it went in to the cave.  The texture was very good and it melted beautifully.   Alas, I didn't like it.  Sage did not pair well the mild Derby. Thankfully, my Sweety did like, so I won't have to eat it.

[JeffHamm]

I made a sage Wensleydale, and found the sage overpowered the cheese.  Sage is very strong, so I think the best way to add it (if you're going to) is to put half the curds in, then just put a layer of fresh leaves in the middle of the curds, then fill up the mould.  You could sterilize the leaves in the oven for a few minutes before adding them.  Gavin, on the Greening of Gavin blog site, does this and has reported it's really good.  I've not tried it myself though.  But, it seems to me it might be pretty good as it would greatly reduce the strength of the herbs because not as much is being added.  I've had a taste of a local sage derby that was nice, but again, even mild herb makes it taste like something that goes with a meal rather than as a nice snack by itself. 

- Jeff

[anutcanfly]

I don't think I'm going to try sage again.

I wonder what basil and garlic would be like in a Parmesan?  Just grate a little over pasta and toss with some olive oil and you're done!