Wrapping Blue in Leaves a la Rogue River Blue

[lead_dog]

I want to 'play' with wrapping one of my blue cheeses this year in leaves that are soaked or macerated in some type of alcohol. The idea comes from Rogue River Blue.  I spoke with them last year about how they soak their leaves in pear brandy and they relayed that alcohol content was critical. According to them it had to be at least 90% or something like that.

I want to soak leaves in something more in my southern climate, like peach mead or muscadine wine, which will be lower than that.  Any advice on:

• how long to soak the leaves
• how old the blue should be once I wrap them in the leaves
• how long to then age them and at what temp]
  

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

[Beans]

That wrapped Rogue River Blue is so good; I'll be following along.  I can't wait to give it a try if someone has some expertise. 
Beans

[Tomer1]

Brandy is no where near 90% abv, more like 45-60%.   
I dont think the grape wraping is more then a presentation, its most likely just a damn good blue.

You can use preserved\salted grape leaves when not in season.

I really like to lactic ferment my leaves (which I use for stuffing). great aroma and flavor\tang. 

[Sailor Con Queso]

Tomer1

How do you lactic ferment your leaves?

[Tomer1]

2% brine with a tiny bit of vinegar to lower the ph and discourage spoilage.
Once the fermentation is done you can saturate the brine to further protect from spoilage and have it stable without a need for cooling or can it. (grape leaves are fairly firm and can stand a bit of heat without turning into mush).

Sterilize your jars and utensiles.

[linuxboy]

This is just a regular banon approach, but done for a blue.

It's not fancy. You soak grape leaves in brandy. Alcohol cooks the leaves. Fin.

If you want to optimize it, of course, there are various parameters:
- CaCl2 addition to help maintain crispness, else will be rather wilty
- can pre-boil to remove some of the grapey flavor and make more mellow, to highlight the brandy
- Can adjust pH down to match cheese pH. Add vinegar or other acid
- Can vac pack after wrapping to help retain max brandy flavor

And, naturally, you want high alcohol content, to ensure nothing grows on the leaves as they soak in the brandy, and as mentioned earlier to help cook them.

Again, past thread suggestions apply. If you soak in wine, won't work. If you soak in mead, won't work. If you want to add mead aroma/flavor, along with a grape wrap, alter your maceration schedule and approach so the chemistry works.

[lead_dog]

Mead/wine won't work because?  Not enough alcohol to cook?

Actually I want to use kudzu leaves and not grape leaves, so I'm not concerned about that flavor. What I'm trying to do is to take a current blue (similar to a Bayley Hazen) and wrap it in local kudzu leaves with the goal being to increase/retain creaminess and impart flavor of the brandy or whatever I use.  I'd love to use pear brandy but no one makes it in my area and the aim is to create a purely local product. Not trying to copy RRB, just trying to take inspiration from it.

[linuxboy]

Actually, will work, just takes a while longer ( I meant to type, it will not work in the same way, was typing too fast). Heck, water will work if you let it sit long enough. You are after the softening of cellulose without breaking down the leaves too much. That takes a bit of a fine balance. Alcohol does a decent job. Mead does a worse job. With wine, it balances texture better if you add CaCl2.

Try it, soak some kudzu in the wine with a bit (tablespoon per gallon or so) of cacl2 solution. Wine should have the right acidity already.

[lead_dog]

Great!  Final questions.

• any recommendation on how long I should soak the leaves
• any recommendation on at what age I should wrap them on the cheese and how long I should keep them wrapped before selling to maximize effect

[linuxboy]

any recommendation on how long I should soak the leaves

until they're done . But seriously, I have never macerated any leaves in wine. When they are pliable enough to use as a wrap and look a bit cooked, should work. If you want them to be eaten as part of the cheese, consider blanching, or soaking longer.

any recommendation on at what age I should wrap them on the cheese and how long I should keep them wrapped before selling to maximize effect

Wrap fully aged cheese 2-3 days before sale so aroma and flavors blend together. If vac packing, wrap aged cheese and keep however long the cheese will make it packed.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Oh No!!! We're spreading Kudzu - AGAIN. The stuff is such an infectious menace all over the South. Nonnative plant that was introduced and spreads like crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if it took root in your cheese.