I have only made one blue cheese so far. It was a Stilton style. It will be ready to cut next week and I thought I would start another blue. I recently bought Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Karlin and the Coastal Blue on p 184 caught my eye. You use Camembert molds, so it makes small cheeses. I thought that would be cool to have small cheeses. I think the make went well.
4 gallons whole raw milk
1/4 t mesophillic starter
1/4 t P roqueforti
1/4 t liquid rennet ( I used 1/2 t single strength veal rennet diluted in 1/4 c H2O)
3 t kosher salt
Heat milk to 86 deg F. Add starter and P roqueforti. Stir well and let ripen 60 minutes.
Add diluted rennet. Let sit 1-1 1/2 hrs or to a clean break. ( I realized that the amount of rennet listed for the cheese was 1/2 of what is used for hard cheeses. My milk needs about 1/2 the amount listed on the bottle to set the curds in the proper floc range. So that is where I came up with my rennet amount). By 1 hour I had a nice clean break. I am wondering what the floc time for this cheese is supposed to be. I may have to do some playing with it.
Cut into 1/2" cubes. Stir for 10 min. Let settle. I let the curds sit about 2-3 minutes before I started stirring. After stirring for the 10 minutes I let the curds settle for 10 min. I should have waited a little longer.
Ladle off 4 qts of whey. I got 2 qts ladled off and had to let the curds sit another 10 minuted to safely ladle the next 2 qts. Stir for 5 min.
Ladle curds into a lined colander. Let drain 5 minutes.
Put curds in Camembert molds. You will need 4 for 4 gallons of milk. I cut draining mats to fit the top and bottom of the molds. Let drain 12 hours flipping 4 times.
Remove cheeses form molds and sprinkle evenly with salt. Set on a mat in a ripening box at room temp and 90% humidity, flipping daily for 2 days. Pierce the cheese 4 times vertically and 4 times horizontally.
Move box to the cave at about 55 deg for 6-8 weeks. Flip daily and wipe of unwanted mold.
My question come in about the piercing. The last time I made blue cheese, or I should say the only time, I pierced at about 10 days. At day 4 I had no mold on the surface. So if I have no visible mold at day 2 should I wait to pierce? Should I leave it out til I see mold? Has anyone else tried this recipe?
I will post a picture when they come out of the molds.