Author Topic: Hi from Vic. Australia  (Read 3602 times)

roo_dr

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Hi from Vic. Australia
« on: June 14, 2012, 09:37:52 AM »
Hi!  Short-term reader first time poster! 

I bought my sister-in-law a cheese making kit, started reading about it myself and am now hooked!  Already got my Halloumi sorted, a few camembert are in the cave, and half-way through producing my first basic cheddar.  Nothing like running before you can walk!!

I see a lot of reading, learning, mistakes and most important, delicious cheese (!) in the future.

Roo

hoeklijn

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2012, 10:43:11 AM »
Well, apparently you're having a good start! Welcome to the forum...

boothrf

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2012, 10:59:13 AM »
G'day roo, plenty of Aussies on the forum who are very willing to help out, along with the international members. If you have any questions, just ask and post photos and recipes/procedures to get the best out of the forum.

Where are you in Aus? I'm in West Gippsland, Victoria.

Good luck, and post photos of your progress.

Bob

Offline Boofer

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2012, 02:52:03 PM »
What about your poor sister-in-law? Did you pirate her kit?  :)

Welcome aboard, Roo. When you get a chance, we like pictures of your work.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

roo_dr

  • Guest
Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2012, 01:42:57 PM »
Pictures you wanted...!

The first is of my first three Camembert, only 4 days old, sitting in the Esky cave at a near constant 10oC.  I hope that's right!!

The second is of my first Cheddar, a whole 36hours old - I'm a little bit worried that it was still a bit soft in the middle when taken out of the press (22kg / 14hrs).

All made before I found this site, so much reading to do!!

roo_dr

  • Guest
Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2012, 01:52:00 PM »
Where are you in Aus? I'm in West Gippsland, Victoria.

Bob

I'm on the Bellarine - trying to find a dairy herd nearby I can mug...!  Organic non-homogenised will have to do for now.


What about your poor sister-in-law? Did you pirate her kit?  :)

-Boofer-

Ha ha, not quite, she's still got her kit, but I have realised that I bought her a cheddar and hard cheese kit but no cheese press!!  Doh!

boothrf

  • Guest
Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2012, 04:12:58 AM »
Ha ha, just had an image of you mugging a herd of cows on the way to the milking shed! I'm lucky I'm surrounded by dairy cows and can get my milk from a friendly farmer, straight out of the vat.

You are just up the road from Cheeselinks at Little River. They have an on line shop and run courses. They also welcome visitors at their premises and are really helpful. Handy if you want to see what you are buying before committing.

Good luck and thanks for the photos, the cams look great. Keep the humidity up in these first few days to ensure a good growth of PC on the surface.

Tea

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2012, 11:39:38 AM »
Evening Roo and welcome to the forum.  I am one of the Aussies here though I live up in North Queensland.  Lots of great people here and lots of great advice.

Yours cheeses look good, lets hope they behave themselves while aging.

Enjoy.

roo_dr

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2012, 12:22:43 PM »
Keep the humidity up in these first few days to ensure a good growth of PC on the surface.

Day 10 Camembert, and getting a healthy growth of furry stuff on the surface, so much so that they were actually stuck to the bamboo sushi mat when I came to turn them today! 

The Cheddar is taking a while to dry out too, maybe wax it tomorrow...

You are just up the road from Cheeselinks at Little River. They have an on line shop and run courses. They also welcome visitors at their premises and are really helpful. Handy if you want to see what you are buying before committing.

Didn't know about these guys - Thanks!  Will be making a stop there soon enough on the commute to / back from the city...

I'm guessing cheese making is rather like home-brewing, best to get a pipe-line going so you always have a supply of fresh / ripened cheeses?  Will have to put down another few camembert in the next week or so!!

boothrf

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2012, 01:04:53 PM »
Yep, by day 10 you should have a full coverage of PC. I suggest you get rid of the bamboo mats, too hard to clean properly, they tend to retain bacteria, sometimes the wrong ones. They are also too tight ie not enough spaces for the whey to drain freely and also, as you have seen, the mould can grip them too tightly. A lot of the US cheesemakers on this forum use needlepoint mats from stores like Spotlight. These are small pieces of matting mesh made of plastic. I use specific cheese draining mats, but I reckon the needlepoint mats would be perfect and cheaper.

Good luck with the next batch.

roo_dr

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2012, 03:06:37 AM »
Latest updates on the cheeses...

Camembert - almost ready to be wrapped
Cheddar - day 8, just about to be waxed
New batch Camembert - just about to be salted


boothrf

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2012, 04:15:39 AM »
Well done roo!  You are clearly bitten by the cheese making bug!

Keep an eye on your first cams, they look like they may be a little high in moisture and will therefore ripen just under the rind quickly. What can sometimes happen is they will ripen too fast  under the rind, but stay firm in the middle. leaving them to ripen longer just allows the outside to over ripen and get "manky".  Just check them regularly and eat them before they are too far gone. Otherwise, they look good.

My advice on the second cams is that they look too high compared to their diameter. This can lead to a similar problem as described above. It can take too long for the centre to ripen, as a lot of the ripening happens from the outside in. Again, you will end up with unripe centres and over ripe outsides.  Photos can be deceptive, so please don't just take my word for it, measure them for yourself. White soft ripened cheeses are best when they are thin in section, like all your typical cams and bries. You might like to consider slicing these in half to halve the height, as soon as they are firm enough. Not sure how you added your PC mould, but you can make up a solution with boiled, cool water and spray it on the cut surface if necessary.

Good luck.

roo_dr

  • Guest
Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2012, 04:34:19 AM »

My advice on the second cams is that they look too high compared to their diameter.

...You might like to consider slicing these in half to halve the height, as soon as they are firm enough. Not sure how you added your PC mould, but you can make up a solution with boiled, cool water and spray it on the cut surface if necessary.


Thanks Bob!  The second batch didn't decrease in height as much as the first batch - that said I was continually topping them up, should have made 4 cheeses batch 2!  They are also a little wetter than I recall the first batch being, so we'll see how they go.  I'll be sure to check them regularly, and my impatient self will no doubt eat them long before the outsides are manky, or the insides ripe...  :-\

boothrf

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2012, 04:43:01 AM »
No worries  ;)

There is a lot to work out to gets cams just right.... I know from experience! Keep detailed records, they will help you remember what works and what needs changing. From my 8 litre batches, I make 6 100mm dia cams, each ending up around 220g and about 25 - 30mm in height.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Hi from Vic. Australia
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2012, 08:26:57 PM »
Welcome Roo! I fine job you have going there. Enjoy your new addiction!