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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cooked (Swiss) => Topic started by: Boofer on June 24, 2012, 11:09:55 PM

Title: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on June 24, 2012, 11:09:55 PM
I had the best intentions for this make. Well...not really. When I started early yesterday morning, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to make with my sweet summer milk. I considered Butterkaese but decided that I already had several young cheeses in the cave and in the fridge (so sorry, george ;)). I rolled through my mental rolodex and my make notes folder trying to decide on a suitable cheese to craft this luscious summer milk into.

I looked at the date, June 23rd, and a spark of inspiration was lighted. How about a nice Beaufort that would be ready for Christmas in 6 months? Okay, but it has to be more elastic and less crumbly than my previous 3 efforts.

1 gallon Pride & Joy Dairy whole raw milk
2 gallons Twin Brook whole creamline milk
8 cubes Alp D mother culture, thawed
1/16 tsp Propionic shermanii
1/2 tsp CACL in 1/4 cup distilled water
1/16 tsp Renco dry calf rennet in 1/4 cup chilled distilled water

Initial milk pH = 6.59

Cubes and PS added to cold milk.
Milk heated to 88F.
At pH 6.47, added CACL & rennet.
Floc time: 13 minutes x 3 factor = 39 minutes before cut.
Cut to 1 inch, rested 5 min.
Cut to 1/4 inch, rested 10 min.

Raised temp to 110F, stirring, within 40 min.

At pH 6.38, removed 1 gallon of whey for whey-brine.
Added back 1 gallon of 128F water, stirring, to sweeten the curds a bit. This is where this disqualifies this make as a true Beaufort, but I have had problems with crumbliness (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5820.msg62473.html#msg62473) in the past and I wanted to reduce that chance here.

Cooked for 30 min, stirring gently to keep from matting.

Drained whey.
Put curds to prepared mould with PlyBan.
Pressed under whey using 11 pounds pressure (press lever arm and piston) to knit the curds for 30 min.
Flipped, pressed under whey using 11 pounds for 30 min.
Flipped, pressed under whey using 11 pounds for 30 min.
Flipped, pressed under whey using 22 pounds for 30 min.
Flipped, pressed under whey using 2.6 psi for 30 min.
Flipped, pressed under whey using 2.6 psi for 30 min.
Dumped whey.
Flipped, pressed in pot using 4.9 psi for 4 hours.
Flipped, pressed in pot using 4.9 psi for 3 hours.

Out of press, pH 5.07, and into brine for 3 hours.
Out of bed (1:00AM), flipped cheese in brine.
Out of bed (4:00AM), removed cheese from brine, dried, weighed.
Placed in minicave to airdry at room temperature.

Tomorrow I'll put the cheese in the cave and begin rind treatment, which will most likely be a PLA & 3% brine wipe.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: george on June 25, 2012, 09:10:41 PM
I considered Butterkaese but decided that I already had several young cheeses in the cave and in the fridge (so sorry, george ;)).

Wuss.    ;)
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on June 26, 2012, 01:15:37 AM
  :'( :'( :'( Snap!! :'(  :'( :'(

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: george on June 26, 2012, 11:30:36 AM
Awww, Boofer, don't cwy.   Tell you what - I'll make one instead.   ;D
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on June 26, 2012, 02:06:20 PM
What a deal!  ;D

You know, the last two cheeses I've put together seem pretty close to a Butterkaese with the washed curds and (hopefully) moister paste. My Tomme #6 (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9807.0.html) and this one. The key difference will be the rind development, but I think the culture mix is pretty close.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on September 04, 2012, 12:15:07 AM
In an effort to preserve moisture in the paste over the next 10 to 12 months, I decided to cream-coat this natural rind. Earlier I had cleaned the foreign invaders from the rind with vinegar and salt and then let it dry.

I'm going to put this on the rack in the cave without putting it back into its minicave. Hopefully that will be okay. It will certainly free up some shelf space in the cave.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: bbracken677 on September 04, 2012, 01:21:04 AM
Very nice! Great looking cheese, as usual!  So...when you pressed in whey, the whey was kept warm?

So....what is the difference between cream coating and wax? I suppose the question should be: Why use one rather than the other?
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: hoeklijn on September 04, 2012, 10:28:12 AM
Oh, what a nice coated cheese you have there Boofer!  ;D
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on September 04, 2012, 01:45:21 PM
Very nice! Great looking cheese, as usual!  So...when you pressed in whey, the whey was kept warm?

So....what is the difference between cream coating and wax? I suppose the question should be: Why use one rather than the other?
Thanks, Bruce.

Yes, the whey is kept warm to help knit the rind.
Here is a discussion on cream coating. (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9873.msg72590.html#msg72590)

With this particular cheese, it had developed a nice hard rind and was doing fairly well in the minicave, but it was losing more moisture than I wanted so I decided to try cream-coating it. No idea if this will do what I expect, so it is an experiment which I will learn about next year.  ::)
An added benefit to this cream coating is that natamycin is at work defending the rind under the coating.

Oh, what a nice coated cheese you have there Boofer!  ;D
Herman, you give us all an objective to strive for with your wonderfully-coated cheeses.  :)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on September 05, 2012, 06:07:19 AM
I went and checked the cheese after it had been in the cave for a while. There were marks where the cheese rested on the racks so I am now aging the coated cheese on a spruce board.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: bbracken677 on September 05, 2012, 12:23:23 PM
Admit it...you just wanted an excuse to use the spruce!   (hmm...that rhymes..)
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on November 28, 2012, 09:10:52 PM
Well here's an interesting development.

Everything had been just fine...the cream coating was nice and clear. Then, when I checked this morning, I was welcomed by this foreign incursion. :o

Anyone else have this happen?  Herman?

The cheese is just past 5 months old.

I wiped it down with vinegar.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: linuxboy on November 28, 2012, 10:00:53 PM
Natamycin degrades after 6-8 weeks. Opportunistic molds can slowly gain a foothold and start growing. You have to re-coat or wipe or take other measures if you want to avoid it.
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on November 29, 2012, 06:12:01 AM
I'm wondering if the incursion goes through to the cheese itself or is restricted at the moment to the coating.

I believe this underscores the discussion elsewhere about whether the coating is permeable.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Tomer1 on November 29, 2012, 08:56:42 PM
I bought some Beaufort last week, it was expenssive at around 5$\100 grams.  and I really did not enjoy it. too bad I didnt note the producer name.
very spicey flavor from the washing and prolonged aging and had a sour lactic note to it.     I also got some reserved gruyere which was alot nicer but a bit too old for my liking, it reminded me of the flavoring they put into processed cheese. it was way past the nutty stage.
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on November 29, 2012, 09:18:41 PM
I wanna be a Boofer-T when I grow up. ;)
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on December 19, 2012, 02:13:37 PM
This was my target when I started this cheese:

"I looked at the date, June 23rd, and a spark of inspiration was lighted. How about a nice Beaufort that would be ready for Christmas in 6 months? Okay, but it has to be more elastic and less crumbly than my previous 3 efforts."

Today, after I wiped some more white and blue mold off the cream coating, I decided to cut the cheese.

Wow...bullseye! I did indeed hit my target. The texture was hard but flexible...very much in keeping with the alpine style. The salt level was spot on. Then my tastebuds lit up! There's the nutty character! Excellent alpine flavor and it lingers on the palate.... It's difficult not to overdo the sampling.

There are some discussions on the forum about cream coating. This confirms its effectiveness for me. It protected the cheese and then peeled off very easily. That may not be true for all cream coatings. YMMV. This one works. I was worried that the mold I started wiping off the cream coating had penetrated through to the cheese itself. Not at all. The rind is dry and free from infection.

I divided the cheese into eight wedges and vacuum-sealed each one. Someone else will enjoy this cheese for Christmas. :D

I only wish that this was a larger wheel. I'm afraid it will disappear quickly. :'(

Another checkmark goes in the WIN column.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: bbracken677 on December 19, 2012, 02:30:16 PM
Congratulations on an outstanding Christmas cheesey success!  A cheese for you!  Merry Christmas!
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Schnecken Slayer on December 19, 2012, 04:32:23 PM
What a very nice looking cheese especially that rich colour.
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: JeffHamm on December 19, 2012, 04:34:55 PM
Very nice outcome!  A cheese to you for hitting the target.  So, I should be expecting that to arrive in the mail fairly soon then? :)

- Jeff
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: hoeklijn on December 19, 2012, 07:56:56 PM
And of course a cheese from the guy who sort of convinced you to try cream coating ;). What an excellent cheese that became! I bookmarked it because I will try this one some day...
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on December 20, 2012, 12:12:35 AM
Thanks, guys. Good stuff.

And of course a cheese from the guy who sort of convinced you to try cream coating ;). What an excellent cheese that became! I bookmarked it because I will try this one some day...
Sort of? No, you were very instrumental in swaying me to use cream coating. Thanks for that.

My Horseradish Cheddar was cream-coated as well and it has begun showing white growth on the coating. I wiped it down this morning with vinegar along with the Beaufort. According to linuxboy, the natamycin in the coating loses its potency after 6-8 weeks. The Horseradish Cheddar is too young for that so it must be the aggressive culture (terroir?) in my cave network...or I just need to wipe down my cave walls. But is that something I want to do? Don't I want to develop a culture inside the caves to mimic what a natural, real cave has going for it?

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: linuxboy on December 20, 2012, 04:18:25 AM
Natamycin begins to break down right away. After 4 weeks, typically, there is enough residual left to keep molds at bay.  6 weeks, you're pushing it. 8 weeks, barely any is left. For a coating with a typical 800 PPM natamycin in it, i doubt you you get to 8 weeks. 4-6 weeks is more likely
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: hoeklijn on December 20, 2012, 07:29:47 AM
Don't I want to develop a culture inside the caves to mimic what a natural, real cave has going for it?
-Boofer-

Mmmm. Not something that I want. I sometimes have different types of cheeses in my cave and I want to prevent cross contamination as much as possible. When I had different caves for blue and white, yes, I would try that and call one of them Cave de Roquefort...http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/soci-t-des-caves-de-roquefort-mro (http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/soci-t-des-caves-de-roquefort-mro)
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on December 20, 2012, 02:21:37 PM
You're most likely right, Herman. I too try to segregate my cheeses when I'm doing a blue. I use a laptop cooler to circulate the air inside the cave. No doubt it has all sorts of cultures attached to its fan blades which then swirl their spores, rods, or other progeny throughout the cave. ???

At any rate, my current setup seems workable for the most part, so I probably won't change anything. I'll just continue spot vinegar-wiping where I need to. I think a little cave terroir is preferable to a clinically clean refrigerator. I'm not performing surgery...I'm making cheese. 8)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: hoeklijn on December 21, 2012, 07:32:38 AM
Well, I'm not too fanatic about sanity. Now you mention it, I never cleaned the fan that is in my cave. I think at the moment it's once in a month that I clean the cave...
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: mbox on February 22, 2013, 07:26:58 AM
Looking at Boofers beautiful beaufort cheese it kinda suggests that my non swelling Emmenthal may be a close relative to it?
The 2 on the back of the Cumin Leyden are the 2 non swelling emmenthaler's

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EiBLwzoy1ak/UScR7Ddn_rI/AAAAAAAARTs/867LpHSJLGs/s576/DSC_0634.jpg)

mbox
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: hoeklijn on February 22, 2013, 07:53:51 AM
Sorry Boofer, missed that one completely....
Yes, sometimes that happens to me when I skip the cleaning several times. Normally once a week I clean all coated cheeses with a cloth with water and vinigar.
Title: Re: My "I Want to Be a Beaufort When I Grow Up" cheese #4
Post by: Boofer on April 05, 2013, 08:03:48 PM
This cheese is so good...I'm sorry I didn't make it larger than I did. It's at the top of my list for remakes when the cows are munching on rich green grass again.

Boy oh boy, if you're looking to make a semihard or hard cheese, I can't say enough good things about this style. :D

Very nice.

-Boofer-