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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Other => Topic started by: Brie on March 23, 2010, 04:10:55 AM
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Attaching pics of my Cabre al Vino--the cut one is 4 months old, which I thought would be a little beyond it's prime; yet it was wonderful with a dash of clover honey and fresh sliced fig. A bit hard; yet when placed in a warm oven for a few minutes it blossomed and yielded a great taste and texture--much better, indeed than the one I cut at 2.5 months. The cheese beneath is another Cabre that is but a few weeks old.
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Looks and sounds delicious!
Pam
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Very pretty!!
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Very nice looking cheese Brie I love the color too!
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Hey Brie, that cabra al vino looks great. Mine did not respond well to the vinegar and salt scrub to remove the mold..they are growing away. I thnk it is because i did not get a smooth surface on the cheese when putting it in the mold...now that have made a gouda and have experienced molding the cheese in the warm whey, it seems like a good way to do the cabra. Did you vacuum seal yours??? it looks so good.....envy!! guess I should try it again.
Missy
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Hi Missy--I really just followed the Webmaster recipe on this site for Cabre al Vino--it's perfect and I have made it at least 3 times with no problems. The only adjustment I made was to soak in wine 3 times at 12 hours with 12 hour intervals at room temp to dry off a bit. I used the goat milk from Trader Joes, if that's any help.
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Geez, Missy, I didn't even answer your question--no mold growth at all with this cheese, and I've never had to wash down at all--surprising, because I have had to do that with most of my cheeses. All were caved at about 52 degrees, along with 30 other varieties. I do put the white and blue molded cheeses in containers, which helps. Still, many of the others sprout mold sooner or later--but not this one.
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thanks Brie,
did you vacuum seal yours? i am wanting to try a cheese with blueberry wine( a local thing) so was thinking of trying
the cabra that way or maybe a tomme au marc with blueberry wine and squished up (thawed) blueberries..any suggestions?anyone??
Thanks, Missy
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No vacuum sealing--stored at 80 % RH at 53 degrees. That blueberry wine sounds like it would go wonderful with this cheese--love to see the colors!
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I battled mold for a few weeks with mine -- I washed it regularly. but it still continued. Finally -- after a month -- I vaccum sealed it -- getting ready to open it this week to see how it has progressed!
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I ended up chucking my first cabra's they got so moldy... and got some poile du chat mold on them..i did cut them open though and they looked like they should on the inside... i had washed then with salt and vinegar, and a brush several times and it just kept coming back. so here is a maybe dumb queastion, if you going to vacuum seal a cheese, do you still keep it at the suggested temp aand humidity?? i would think the vacuum sealing would keep the humidity stagnant????? thanks ..didn't get to the new cheese last week...maybe this one will keep you posted.
Missy
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I have two comments:
1. Using a wine that is high in sulphites will help keep the rind clean, as will adding a few campden tabs to the wine bath itself to keep it fresh.
2. Vacuum sealing locks in your moisture so humidity is not an issue.
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I cut mine this past weekend. A bit drier than I would have liked, but overall the texture and flavor was really good. While it was a fight to keep the mold away, it was worth it. Vaccum sealing is what saved it -- I will try this one again!
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thanks for the info. made the new Drunken Goat today and will try it in Blueberry wine...it would be cool if the rind has that squished up blueberry color. Will lllet you know..in about two months or so!
Missy
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That sounds yummy Missy. Did you see my drunken cow in the Tomme thread? Opened it on the weekend after 65 days of aging, posted photos.
What's the blueberry wine like? Like Ice wine? Is this a desert wine?
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those look so good! makes me want a good glass of red wine and good company, and this good salad I am eating with fresh greens from the hoop house and lovage just coming up and chives. You forget how delicious salad can be...
so I just put my cabra in the blueberry wine.... I am happy because I now know that I didn't cut the curds small enough last 2 times and they did not come together very well hence the mold growth in all of the cracks, out of control. this one is completely smooth. Blueberry wine is more of a dessert wine, not what I really like to drink BUT I really want to use something local to Maine and I think the color should be great. Am thinking about gearing up to try Brie's Humbolt Fog again. Just hooked up the old fridge out in the barn with the thermometer gadget that keeps the temp at 50-55, as now the office is too warm! This is totally off this thread but I also just started making cajeta.it is delicious!!
More later..Happy Spring Everyone,
Missy
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They are! I love your life!
Here is a simple and oh-so-good recipe for drunken goat and tomatoes salad from one of my favorite chefs, Jose Andres on his great PBS show Made In Spain (This is better watched on video) http://www.josemadeinspain.com/recipes/drunkenGoat.htm (http://www.josemadeinspain.com/recipes/drunkenGoat.htm)
As for your technique - I felt the same way but I actually related it to overdraining in the cheesecloth colander and not to the size of curd. The curd size will seriously affect the results of your cheese. Small curd will yield harder drier cheese (like grating cheese) that will need more salting and aging because there will be little liquid to maintain the traffic and growth of bacteria and its food and the eventual protein breakdown by the enzymes.
On the Goat's Pettit-Tomme I did yesterday I attempted to do larger curds (I want soft Tomme and possible eyes) but I formed it under whey and it really tied it nicely together into a smooth form.
Ooooh Cajeta!!! I had some in Mexico last year. It's a lot like Dolce de Lecce, isn't it?
Happy spring. It's 5 more days until I do my cheese tastings in Paris!
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I had thought about loading the cabra into the mold in the whey as with the gouda, but had forgotten that you add salt to the cut up curds before you mold it. and i figured that the whey would wash away some of the salt.......... we'll see what happens. Made cajeta with 1/2 sugar and 1/2 maple syrup last night..little different consistence put tastes really good!
Missy
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What I did was first put the cheese in heavy brine (20%) (4 hour per Lb. each side) and let it dry for 2.5 days - as usual.
I Then mixed an entire bottle of wine (Syrah in this case) with salt and CalCl to make a medium (15%) "wine brine" that wouldn't wash the previous salt off the cheese or deplete if of its calcium and strength. Again, 4 hour dip per Lb. per side and dried for 2 days.
I then returned it to the wine brine (which I kept refrigerated) and did one more dipping and drying cycle for a second layer of wine.
Then, I vacuumed the cheese and then just turned it every few days. Opened at day 65.
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What I did was first put the cheese in heavy brine (20%) (4 hour per Lb. each side) and let it dry for 2.5 days - as usual.
To get an average of 2% salt content, 4 hour per Lb should be in total not per side, unless otherwise specified.
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Well, it tastes just right, not over salty. Do not know if there is any effect on its maturation due to over-brining, the cheese seems fine. Perhaps it was pressed and knitted tightly enough to slow down the penetration of brine? Perhaps it only affected the outside of the cheese?