Author Topic: gathering information for the first Camembert!!  (Read 1594 times)

aka_tico

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gathering information for the first Camembert!!
« on: January 03, 2012, 10:31:58 PM »
greetings everyone,
after making several fresh cheeses with success i would like to try my hand on some Camembert. i would appreciate if anyone could help me with the following:
1- any good try and tested recipe out there? my recipe for now is based on the one in Ricki Carroll's book.
2- what type of starter should i use? ill be using Mesophilic aromatic type B starter((LL+LLC+LLD+LMC). in addition to that, do i need other culture (i.e LC)?
3- what type of mold do i need(PC and/or GC)?
4-what size of loops are common for Cam and Brie?
5-any other relevant information that would not be provided in the recipe( target acidity, ect..)?
thank you all for any help you can provide.

Tico

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: gathering information for the first Camembert!!
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2012, 01:03:37 AM »
You should search the Forum. There is tons of info available.

Offline NimbinValley

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Re: gathering information for the first Camembert!!
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2012, 01:37:08 AM »
Yes this forum is full of info.  My suggestion is to search and read as much as possible then ask specific questions. General questions usually stump people because they don't know where to start.  And once you get the hang of it the forum's information is arranged quite logically - its just that up front it appears quite daunting!  Search for 'camembert recipe' and take it from there... Good luck.

NVD

aka_tico

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Re: gathering information for the first Camembert!!
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2012, 05:09:16 PM »
thank you for the replies.
i did read this board thoroughly(all 12 pages of it) before asking questions!!
the link for the popular recipe goes to 404:http://www.cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Camembert.htm
loop sizes mentioned are from 4.5" to 15". (?)
some use PC and some say it will not work if its not accompanied by GC. (?)
some say one mix culture is enough and some other say you need more LC. (?)

i guess i should just go ahead and make a batch. then come back with trouble shooting questions.

cheers
Tico

Offline NimbinValley

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Re: gathering information for the first Camembert!!
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2012, 09:34:39 PM »
yes I have noticed that the recipes link is not working - not sure what to do about that.  Hopefully someone that does know will read this.

PC will work on its own, but my understanding is that it tends to give a thick mat of a rind so mixed with geo it knocks it back a bit.  Some of my cams are mixes, others are just pc.  Personal preference as much as anything.

Again hoop (Loop??) size is pretty much personal preference.  For individual cheeses to sell or put on a cheese board I prefer small size of say 80mm, and make them slightly higher.  It just looks good to me.  Remember though that the PC and geo work by growing down into the cheese to ripen it and if the cheese is too thick then they will struggle to do their job.  There is a limit to how thick you can make a surface ripened cheese - its all happening on the surface!

You can make a cheese as wide as you like until the physical constraint of turning it becomes an issue.  For me anything larger than 250mm diameter raises my blood pressure - although they do look good on display.

As for starter cultures you need a mesophile.  For a beginner choose a mixed blend - that way something is bound to work!  Danisco's MM series or Hansen's Flora Danica will give good results.  Beyond that it is pretty much personal preference depending on the flavour profile you are chasing but that is about the limit of my knowledge...

pH control is critical for cams unless you are very clever!

NVD

Cheese Head

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Re: gathering information for the first Camembert!!
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2012, 08:31:21 PM »
The website side of CFO was converted to Articles system over a year ago, any link to the old webapges system will not work, please PM me if you find any and I'll try and correct.

Most of the old webapges were converted to Wiki Articles, including the Brie/Camembert Recipe which I have been adding to and should answer a lot of Tiko's questions.