My attempt at Selles-sur-cher

[kookookachoo]

Alrighty, I haven't been on here in ages..busy with jobs & home improvement stuff...of the DIY kind..so it's been a lot of slogging through life..as well as drywall dust that can't seem to be ALL vacuumed up! 

In any case, I have been making cheese...mostly only once a month, unfortunately.  Primarily lactic cheese & a feta here & there, as well as Caerphilly (a household favorite), Lancashire & "farmhouse" cheddar.  As of a few days ago...everything is finally (!!) done & I can breathe easy & get back to doing the things I love.

And a few weeks ago, I had some really yummy selles-sur-cher my aunt brought over from SF for me (as well as a couple of other cheese goodness).  I really, really loved the s-s-ch, sooo decided, what the hey, I'll try making this..or something similar.  And my efforts were happily rewarded.  Sort of.  I made 3, as I didn't really have any mold that I could use, so just used the mold/hoop I normally use for ricotta..except didn't fill them as much.  Anyway, it was a little intimidating (and messy!!) working with ash for the first time.  I had it all over, even in my nostrils.  No, I didn't try sniffing it..just took a deep breath, belatedly realizing..nooooooo! 

Anyway, this is the day 5th or 6th day, I believe....I lost my notes, so I'm not a 100% sure.   Some spots have a thicker application of ash..even using a salt shaker, I tipped it down..and poof! all over it went.



And this is is day 11 (according to the date/time stamp on my original photo)



And this was taken on day 15, when I decided to open it.  According to the 200 Cheeses book, it's ready in 2 weeks.  In any case, I think mine was a tad too creamy.



My 9YO decided to "help" me cut it open.




Now, for the really interesting/weird part.  Two of the cheese turned out almost perfect..though a little too salty for my taste.  The 3rd one, however, turned into this liquified, strongly ammonia-smelling, revolting, runny mess!!!  I have no clue what went wrong, obviously.  I opened it the day after (Day 16)..and lo, squirted all over, and it was sooo acrid that I was gagging!  I can't, for the life of me, recall if I did something horribly wrong (which I probably did).  It's just weird that the same cheese make, from the same batch could turn out so different (and wrong), from each other.



In any case, this was a good experience.  I've become a big fan of lactic cheeses!  Not just for the almost instant gratification, but also for the taste & texture.  My next "adventure" will be a raclette cheese, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, if anyone has any idea of what could possibly have gone wrong, hey, it would be nice to hear about it.  Or theories & suspicions?  Something wicked this way came??? 

[Boofer]

Wow, I had to go to my book and look it up (page 118) to find out what you were talking about.

With your explanation, I had this vision of a small dust cloud in your kitchen. Yeah, that's it, now take a really deep breath...oh yeah, that's the ticket! I do believe that is the first entry on the forum for this cheese. Congratulations, I guess. 

Really weird about that AB-normal cheese and how it separated from the herd. You made this with goat's milk, right?

-Boofer-

[Cloversmilker]

Can't answer your question... but here's a tip on the ash that I picked on the forum.  (Thanks iratherfly!  )
Mix the ash with salt in your shaker; the ratio is about 1 ash to 4 salt.  Then it won't puff all over when you sprinkle it on, and you'll be salting simultaneously. 
Thanks for posting.  Valencay's been good for me, maybe I'll try Selles-sur-cher as well. Those first look pretty tasty.

And good luck with the drywall dust.  (Been there, done that, and then cleaned all the kitchen cupboards out afterwards.  )

[HB]

Without knowing the notes of your make it is hard to say. What molds did you use? The growth of your PC is very, very thick. That is probably the problem. If you look in my thread about Valencay I have pictures of some Selles-Sur Cher style cheese that I made with leftovers from the Valencay. I used PC VS and at day 16 now the PC is not anywhere near so thick.

[DeejayDebi]

They got too wet.

[kookookachoo]

Ha!  I wasn't aware no one had made selles-sur-cher...I haven't even looked..it was more like an impulse make, more than anything.  I usually don't.  I usually read, look up & worry almost to death about a cheese before making it.  I just had some, looked at 200 Cheeses book..voila, it's there..and jumped into it with both feet.  I don't know why I inhaled a big WHIFF...when I had been telling myself mentally, "ok, don't take deep breaths...DON'T take deep breaths!"  So, it was probably that. 

HB, I used part FD & part NE Cheesemaking meso packet..the last one I had.  And the rest, followed the 200 Cheeses book...just about down to the letter. 

DeejayDebi...that's the thing..they are all made the same, came out of the same box, I would wipe down the sides of the tupperware twice a day..before going to work & before going to bed.  And I opened them a day apart from each other.  I was really surprised...thinking, ok, I'll take some to lunch (when I opened it the next morning)..and splat! all over. 

The ripening conditions of all 3 cheeses were exactly the same.  I don't know..maybe I handled one more than the other....contaminated one, somehow?   It's just really bizarre!!

(edit) Boofer-yes, goat's milk.  A friend of mine raises dwarf Nigerians & Nubians.  She makes soaps, lotions, lip balms, etc.  I had this straight the other day, but now I'm not too sure...it's one or the other that she has breed all year round, I'll have to ask her again. 

[DeejayDebi]

Interesting how that can happen. The crusts looked very wet in the pictures. Sometimes there is more moisture in the box if it's too crowded too. I had that happen with some croutins a few years back. When I spilt up the next batch into 2 boxes they were great.