Suggestions for a first blue recipe

[janij]

Hi all.  I live on a farm and milk jersey cows.  I have found my 4 favorite hard cheeses and got them down pretty well.  So I am no longer buying any dairy product but blue cheese.  I guess I have all the equipment and I ordered the P. roqueforti culture.  I am looking for a simple blue with a firm creamy texture and a nice flavor.  Not to powerful.  I have Ricki's book, and I looked at the Stilton Approximation Howto.  Any suggestions for a recipe for a first try?
Thanks,
Jani

[H-K-J]

There are many people who have their favorite blues my wife and I have become very partial to this Stilton style blue
their are many recipes on the forum just do a search for the types you like I'm sure there is one here

[janij]

H-J-K,
Thanks for the reply.  I read your blog.  Great pictures and how-to post.  I take it it was not too hard but had to have the right equipment.  I am about to consolidate freezers and I will have a full size stand up freezer to convert to a cheese cave. 

[H-K-J]

I will have a full size stand up freezer to convert to a cheese cave.

I hope to have a cave soon, the weather is warming up and my cool room won't be so cool any more

I take it it was not too hard but had to have the right equipment

If you have the cultures and the mold you can improvise on the equipment, most important would be the stainless steel cooker.

H-K-J

[janij]

Yes I have a 22 qt stock pot that I use.  I normally make 4 gallon batches.  Can I use the bamboo mats instead of the plastic ones to age?

[H-K-J]

I tried the bamboo mat and decided there was to much mold growing on it and couldn't keep it as clean as I liked,
get my plastic mats from wall-mart (needle point plastic canvas #7, #5 if I can get them) most craft stores also carries them should be easy to find
you pay about 50 cents apiece for them

[janij]

Oh thank you so much.  I really didn't want to order any.  But I am not crafty and would not have thought about needle point sheet.

[JeffHamm]

I would stay away from the bamboo sushi mats.  The work fine, but you need to consider them as disposable.  The mould gets into them and they remain forever a source of contamination.  Might be ok if you only used them for blues, but they get pretty foul.  The needle point sheets really are much better, and easier to clean. 

- Jeff

[janij]

I will keep my bamboo ones for non moldy cheese then.  Oh I am excited now.

[hoeklijn]

My first blue was a mixed type, a Cambozola. Easy to make when you ever made Camembert before. Just follow the recipe for Camembert, when the moulds are half way filled, sprinkle the PR over the curds and fill the moulds completely. When the first PC shows up, pierce the wheels horizontally. Makes a very nice cheese, although not a "real" blue.

[janij]

That is very nice looking.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[tinysar]

What style of blue cheese do you like? (i.e. what type of cheese are you buying?)  Some people find Stilton too strong - personally I find it reasonably mild, but enjoy the high salt & cheddary flavour. Maybe if you tell us the style you're aiming for, someone could suggest a good starting place? Or this page has some info about how to alter blue recipes for particular outcomes.

If you do decide to go with a Stilton-type, Ricki has a good recipe on her website, which uses a slightly different method for the draining/acidifying step.

[janij]

Thanks for the links.  I had seen the flow chart but had not checked out Ricki's Stilton.  I buy the crumbled creamy blue cheese.  Think blue cheese salad dressing.  So that is what I am looking for.  Nothing fancy.  It is just one more thing I would not have to buy at the store.
Is it going to kill me if I don't measure the pH?  I haven't done it ever and don't have a pH meter.  And I am cheap.  I want to be able to make cheese for our family and to give away but don't necessarily want to get overly technical.  I have been making cheese for over a year and have had really good results, but I didn't know if moldy cheese would require me to measure.