Chabechou (not cabecou) help please

[TAMARA]

Hi cheesemakers, I've been busy learning and making lots of lots of cheese since I was last  on this forum and things are going very well.

I have been trying to find a recipe for chabechou which is a firm, cylindrical shaped goats cheese with a 'wormy' appearance on the surface. I dont believe it has pc as it doesn't have a bloomy white mould surface, rather a firm rind with tiny ripples in the surface (see photo).

I had thought that it was mycadore (mycaderm) which produced this find but I've had no success with it at all. Does anyone have a recipe of chabechou and can anyone assist with guidance as to how I can get this finish on my goat cheeses that age for between 2-4 weeks.

I would be eternally grateful

[TAMARA]

Correction... Chabichou is the correct spelling and it is from Poitou, France.

[linuxboy]

Make a semi-lactic ladled curd, slow coagulation, and inoculate rind from a real chabichou. it is a pure geotricum rind. in a pinch, try a commercial geo.

[TAMARA]

Thanks so much, linuxboy,

Can you explain the process of innoculating my milk with a real chabichou? I do have cheese making supplies and have 3 types of geo - standard, geo 15 and geo 17. The supplier cannot tell me what the differences are in these - just that they all result in slightly different results. I have also been told that you MUST use some pc with the geo but in my experience, you then end up with a overwhelmingly bloomy rind, rather than the dry 'wormy' find.  CAn you offer any more info on this?

Thanks so much,

TAMARA

[linuxboy]

For this one, inoculate the surface. Scrape off some rind, mix with a little water and then roll the young cheeses or paint with a brush or dunk a rag and spread. if using commercial, try geo13.

No, you do not need to use pc+geo. This is a pure geo rind. Not sure what you need to know... could you ask a little more specifically?

[TAMARA]

Hi again,

Could you use the liquid from diluted, scraped rind of a real chabichou and inoculate the milk with it?

Also, can you explain the differences between geo 13, 15 and 17 AND the results that each type of geo gives? Also, given that the chabichou is a dryer rind, should it be dry aged for a little longer before putting into a humid environment?

Thanks,

TAMARA

[linuxboy]

Could you use the liquid from diluted, scraped rind of a real chabichou and inoculate the milk with it?

Could, but IMHO, a surface treatment would work better for this one.

Also, can you explain the differences between geo 13, 15 and 17 AND the results that each type of geo gives?

It's about the flavor, historical use, and form (yeast form of geo vs mold). 13 is more yeast form, is about what you need, used with goat cheese. 15 often used more with bloomy rinds or as a precursor to b linens. and 17 is often used together with PC. They look different.

IIRC, it is kept in the mold for 2-3 days to acidify completely at 70% RH, then unmolded and moved to cave for aging for ~ 2 weeks.

[TAMARA]

Thanks very much - you have been really helpful. Just one final question... what does IIRC mean?

Tamara

[linuxboy]

IIRC= if I remember correctly

the gist of it is that you make a semi-lactic, flip repeatedly so it drains properly, then leave it to acidify and set up for a few days, so that it is solid and can be handled. Then inoculate the outer rind and you'll have a passable clone.

[TAMARA]

I knew it was going to be something simple like that... thanks.

I presume that I can innoculate the milk with geo 13 (rather than the rind of an existing cheese) then go to a 'pre-drain' of the semi lactic curds before moulding? I find that I loose more than 60% of the volume in the mould if i don't.

Thanks again.

TAMARA

[linuxboy]

That's one approach, but the texture will be slightly different.  Yes, you can add directly to milk if you want.

[NimbinValley]

Hi Tamara.

How are your chabichous doing?

NVD.

[TAMARA]

Hi There, Thanks for your message. Well I have 12 maturing that look good though they don't have quite the rind I wanted even though I used the geo 13 as recommended by the supplier but interestingly, I made a batch of cows milk crottin style cheeses at the same time with no geo or pc and they have exactly the rind I wanted. I am positive that I didn't put any geo in those at all.... bizarre! I will send photos later today.

I also made a repeat batch of goat cheese with an ash line through the centre. Last time I made it with mycadore which gave an amazing natural style rind. This time I did the same but got a gentle pc type rind..

Its all part of the learning curve, I suppose!

Regards, TAMARA

[NimbinValley]

Sounds good.

Where did you get your mycadore Tamara?  I have finally tracked some down through Cheeselinks but it was a struggle.

NVD.

[TAMARA]

Hi again Paul,

I get the mycadore from a supplier in the USA and I usually receive it within 5 days. Go to cheesemaker.com if you are intersted. Make sure you tell them I sent you as they do special prices for people recommended by existing clients. What is your understanding of what mycadore does to the rind? I've now used it 3 times and had wildly different results - depending on what other ingredients i use such as PC or GEO.

Here are the photos of the cheeses. The fantastic wormy rind is on the cows milk cheese that had nothing in it but starter, roqueforte (which did not makes its appearance) no geo, mycadore or pc. The cone shaped cheese is the chabechou attempt and had geo 13 but no pc though pc has grown anyway....

I am happy with them both but would have preferred they swap their rinds

Your thoughts?

Tamara