My 2nd PC Semi-Lactic

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I decided to give this another go since it's fairly straight forward.  I've just completed loadingt he mold with the curds.  Took a while for them to settle down into it so that all of the curds would fit, but they do make it!  Everything seems to have gone to plan.  When I told Vanessa that I was making a PC version again, she was a bit dissappointed as she was hoping I was making the blue.  That, it seems, is her favorite cheese of all the ones I've made.  Which is surprising because she never used to like blue cheese.  Guess I'll just have to make that again too.

- Jeff

Jeff’s Experimental Semi-Lactic Cam (Chaource?): Thursday, Dec 22, 2011 (overcase, 22-24 C)

2 L Farmhouse creamline milk
1 ice cube buttermilk
Scrapings of mold from store bought cam
1 drop rennet (750 IMCU) in 1 tbls water
salt

1)   Place scrapings of mold in warm water and mash about until water is a bit cloudy
2)   Warm milk to 25 C with ice cube (normally melt and get it going in milk 1 hour ahead of time as step 1)
3)   Add mold
4)   Cover, and place in hot water cupboard (2:31 pm)
5)   After 6-8 hours at 1 drop rennet diluted in 1 tbls water (7:02 pm)
6)   Wait until curd forms and separates from whey (12-24 hours?: 6:40 am next day: Friday)
7)   Ladle curd into mold (good curd/whey separation.  Lots of curds.  Filled mold and letting drain down, still about 1/3 of the curds left! Finished filling mold at  7:20 am)
8)   Drain, flipping every 2-3 of hours or so until night, then drain overnight (flipped @ 9:15am – 1:21am – 4:06pm – 6:36pm-8:08pm was 446g at 8:08 pm Friday 8 x 6.3 cm so 1.41 g/cc; final flip at 8:08 pm and will drain until Saturday am).  - previous was a bit bigger, 456, 8 x 6.5, but not quite as dense, 1.38 g/cm3.  still, this is a good replication as all measurements very similar.
9)   Salt each face of the cheese (Saturday, 8:58 am.  Weight, 392g.  2% salt = 8 g = 1 tsp salt.  So, coated the cheese with 1 tsp of salt.  put it back in the mold, as the cheese is still quite soft, but it holds it's shape.  I think if left out of the mold it would eventually sag.  Will leave it at room temperature until this afternoon, then shift to the cave).
10)   Place in cave (10 C; 408 g; Saturday 2:03 pm), flip daily, until mould covers the cheese
11)   Wrap and move to regular fridge and age 2 – 4 weeks.

I've added some photos to show
1) the separation between curds and whey in the morning
2) the curds after draining most of the the whey
3) waiting for the curds in the mold to drain enough to fit the rest of the curds
4) success with finally getting all the curds into the mold.

[anutcanfly]

Do you ever get the impulse to jump up and down on those darned curds that refuse to fit? 

[JeffHamm]

LOL!  With this make I don't cut the curds, so they are really plump and full of whey.  Rather than cutting it to release the whey, I just scoop thin slices with the spoon and lay them in the mold.  So, they expell a lot of fluid while in the mold and that causes them to "deflate".  Basically, if they all fit in the mold right away it would mean the mold was too big.  It's been draining about 6 hours now and it's shrunk enough that when I flip it it now has a small "drop", so it's about 1 cm below the top of the mold.  This will eventually firm up as it compresses, and tomorrow sometime it will be ready for a salting and the cave.  Well, that's the plan at this point anyway. 

- Jeff

[Tomer1]

I can never flip the first day, its like spreadable cheese.

[JeffHamm]

That's interesting Tomer1.  That suggests there is something quite different between our makes.  My rennet is 750 IMCU in strength, so very strong.  This would require about 3 drops of my 280 strength calf rennet.  How much rennet are you using?  Also, I'm using a creamline milk for these, so it's pasturized but not homogenized, with a high fat content.  The curds are soft, but they are firm enough to allow me to flip the cheese after it's drained for a few hours.  Clearly, there is something different between our makes from the very start.  I also keep the milk sitting on top of the hot water cyllendar.  It maintains a temperature of around 28-29 C, which could influence the curd set as well.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Here's how it looks now, post salt.  You can see how much the curds have settled after draining for over 24 hours. 

- Jeff

[Tomer1]

I use a much lower fermentation temp of about 20c.
The milk is homoginized and thermo treated at 72c and I suspect its not very high in quality, I still havent found a proper local source for cow's milk.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Tomer1,

Once I've put it in the mold it just sits at room temp, which is about 22 C now, but for the first make would have been close to 20 C.  It's only at the higher temp during the ripening and curd formation phase.  I suppose it could be the milk that's giving you the poor curd formation, and maybe even the bitterness you've experienced during aging?  I can't think of anything else that might be important to consider.

I've just shifted mine into the cave (10 C).  I expect the mold to produce coverage in about 2 weeks.  After that, I'll wrap and move to the fridge to try and prevent slip skin and will either age it a week or two more or just cut into it and try it younger than last time. 

- Jeff

[Tomer1]

I try to ferment at minimum temp to increase diactyl production but I dont notice much of a difference so perhaps I'l try normal (29-31c) incubation and see if I get firmer curds.

[JeffHamm]

A quick update!  First signs of PC mold today.  Three tiny spots, two on the sides and one on the top face.  Good, that's right on schedule. 

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

And like any proud father, I just had to share a photo.  And, to overuse an already stretched metaphor, just as a parent often sees good things in their offspring that others miss, I've highlighted the wee mold sprog so that all can share the joy!  

Anyway, this is 7 days from make day, so that's on schedule, though on the quick side.  I did innoculate with a larger piece of rind this time, and I suspect that's made the difference. 

- Jeff

[anutcanfly]

  Love the circle!

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Well, I've now got really nice coverage so it's been wrapped in foil and moved to the regular fridge to slow down the ripening and to try and prevent slip skin.  Will see how this goes.  Most likely going to cut into it in a week if we get together with friends who've been away for a few months.  Will see what their plans are. 

- Jeff

[anutcanfly]

I'll be tuned in for the cutting ceremony... don't forget to post! 

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Well, this one is 4 weeks today, so out of the fridge it's come.  I've cut it, and the paste is much firmer than the other, which was aged in the cave rather than a regular fridge.  The first one had major slip skin, but the runny bit was very mushroomy and nice (not amoniated).  I suspect, as this warms up to room temperature the apparently soft bit around the edges may flow, but we'll see.  Once we let it warm, and have a taste, I'll post the verdict.  So far, it's passing the test!  It weighed in at 302g, so just over 1/2 a pound.

- Jeff