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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => ADJUNCT - Blue Mold (Penicillium roqueforti) Ripened => Topic started by: bbracken677 on November 25, 2012, 08:47:25 PM

Title: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on November 25, 2012, 08:47:25 PM
Following Linuxboy's directions for making a Stilton type blue cheese, I began this make the day before Thanksgiving...and then got sidetracked and it stayed in the mold much much too long (like, until Friday morning) so it lacks the appearance of other stilton makes posted...I was rather surprised by the knit, since I have, in the past, had trouble with making a smooth knit and here I achieved it totally by accident.

Here is the recipe: http://www.wacheese.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71:stilton-approximation-howto&catid=38:bloomy-rind-and-blue&Itemid=58 (http://www.wacheese.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71:stilton-approximation-howto&catid=38:bloomy-rind-and-blue&Itemid=58)

For make notes, I followed the directions as best I could considering I started off without a pH meter, and then almost immediately into the make my digital thermometer decided that room temp was around 140F...
Sooooo....not sure how closely I followed the make directions since I had to determine some of the temps mainly by feel and pH schedules by the seat of my pants.

At any rate, I have a cheese...as well as a new thermometer and soon a new pH meter. Quite the week  lol

Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Tomer1 on November 25, 2012, 09:01:15 PM
Did you mill it? (it looks too smooth)
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on November 25, 2012, 09:52:34 PM
Yeah..I did...part of the knit problem (not intentional) was that I left it on the press for about 36 hours...was during Thanksgiving and there was just too much going on. I realized Friday morning how long it had been on the press and was surprised at how nicely it knit when I took it out of the mold. It was only flipped and redressed once and the knit was not great then...kinda like what you would expect.
Wouldnt you know...I get a nice knit when I really didnt need one   :o

I will be piercing this as soon as the flora begin flourishing...I have no reason to suspect I have a loose knit inside, given the condition of the outside.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: george on November 26, 2012, 11:33:19 AM
You pressed it?  Stilton no want to be pressed, it's claustrophobic.   :'(
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on November 26, 2012, 01:19:37 PM
I put the mold on the press with a very light pressing...but yeah..I wanted it to be a bit smoother than what I have seen. Can you say overkill?   lol
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: H-K-J on November 26, 2012, 04:11:40 PM
You may have closed up all of the interior cracks that let the PR grow in there :-\
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on November 26, 2012, 04:34:16 PM
Well...I have a poker to poke her..it...

Next make will not involve any pressing. Not to mention I will not be making cheese the day before Thanksgiving...or Christmas..lesson learned there.

With regards to plans: They oft gang aglay! lol
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on November 30, 2012, 03:00:41 PM
Blue is starting to show! I am so excited...in a few days I will be giving this a few pokes and will get a (sort of) look at the interior.

I love the fuzzy bluish covering this is getting:
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: H-K-J on November 30, 2012, 03:12:33 PM
I love it when they start gettin blue ^-^ 
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Tomer1 on November 30, 2012, 07:16:50 PM
Well...I have a poker to poke her..it...

Next make will not involve any pressing. Not to mention I will not be making cheese the day before Thanksgiving...or Christmas..lesson learned there.

With regards to plans: They oft gang aglay! lol

Worst thing that can happen is alot of cheese and little blue. 
This happend in my last blue. it tastes great 3 months later. very creamy and a hint of blue notes.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on November 30, 2012, 07:18:08 PM
That is kinda what I am looking for (depending on how little a blue flavor you are talking about) ...I like a mild blue with creamy paste.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Tomer1 on December 01, 2012, 01:07:45 AM
I also wraped it in tin foil and got a bit of yellow linnens growth so there was some spicy finish.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: shotski on December 03, 2012, 02:09:38 AM
My First try at stilton after 5 days.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 03, 2012, 02:52:17 PM
Here is a pic of the purty blueness going on....
Oh! and I poked it a few times as well...it is not happy with me!
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Schnecken Slayer on December 03, 2012, 03:44:48 PM
That's looking really good, It should be interesting in a weeks time.  :D
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: shotski on December 03, 2012, 09:08:49 PM
The Stilton recipe I have tell you to wipe the rind daily with a cloth soaked in salt water. I have seen both with this and without  does anyone have any thoughts on this process? 
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 03, 2012, 09:11:53 PM
After a couple of days I didn't see any growth...so I gave it a rind wash on one end using Alpkase's suggested methodology. When the blue growth started there was no difference in growth one end to the other.
I would say that if after a week if you see no growth try that...otherwise (for me) it didn't seem to make a difference.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: shotski on December 03, 2012, 11:53:54 PM
Thanks for the reply. I did add salt in the recipe and as you can see there is mold growth. Does the salt wash prepare the rind for ageing ? Not that I think the first Stilton will last very long.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 04, 2012, 12:59:27 AM
The recipe I used does not call for a rind wash. I would think that if you have already salted it to somewhere close to 2 or 2.5% by weight, that should be sufficient. If you do the wash...use a 3% salt solution at most, and stop as soon as you notice the slightest amount of fuzz growing.

At least, that's my take....I have very little experience with blues in general and stilton in particular.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Tiarella on December 04, 2012, 02:25:53 AM
Bracken,  How do you know it's the right blue growing?  Your blue looks just like the wild blue that shows up on all of my cheeses if I forget to take care of their needs for brushing or washing.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 04, 2012, 02:59:49 PM
I added PR to the milk during the inoculation phase, and it started pretty early on. The wild blues I occasionally see tend to be  localized spots, whereas this is widespread.

If you have planned blue makes in your cave, the chances of contamination are higher and it seems to me that the contaminating blue would be the same strain that you have used. Which in my case, would be perfectly ok.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Tiarella on December 04, 2012, 04:19:37 PM
Thanks for replying.  Soooo, if I ever make blue cheese will my cave be forever blue?  I mean, all the cheeses of course!   ???  I've been toying with the idea of making a nice mold blue but have been holding off on all blues because of contamination issues.  Has it been a problem on your other cheeses?
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 04, 2012, 05:56:47 PM
Not really....I have a couple of cheddars I left exposed that had spots show on them, but other than that I have had no cross contamination issues. The key, I think, is in the use of mini-caves (containers) that limit the cross contamination.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Schnecken Slayer on December 04, 2012, 07:25:06 PM
I think the secret is using containers as bbraken says and cleanliness.
If you are using disposable gloves change them after you handling your blues and before handling other cheeses.
If you don't have gloves then wash your hands with liquid soap then wash with vinegar (and I wash them again with soap) and dry on a new towel or paper towel.
 So far I have had no problems.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 04, 2012, 07:51:46 PM
Also, just to eliminate chance....if you have multiple cheeses to flip, make sure you flip the blues or mold ripened cheeses last.

I just automatically flip cheddars first and then my mold ripened.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Al Lewis on December 07, 2012, 01:35:18 AM
Flipped my stiltonesque cheeses tonight and took in a deep breath of their aroma.  Very nutty and delicious.  Can't wait for these to ripen.  Hope you have the same luck with yours. :D
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 07, 2012, 01:40:31 AM
So far so good! Has a really nice coat and I see blue growing into the holes I poked!  I have to fondle it daily, you know    :)

Will post a pick tomorrow morning.
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: Al Lewis on December 07, 2012, 01:58:10 AM
Did the same and ditto on the blue mold in the holes.  From the look of this I can't imagine anyone looking at it for the first time and thinking "that would be good to eat".  LOL
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 07, 2012, 02:43:38 AM
LOL yeah!  Looks really cool early on, but then gets kinda nasty looking later. Mine is still in the cool looking stage...
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 07, 2012, 01:24:48 PM
Here is how it looks as of this morning. Nice blue coverage, holes starting to fill in a tad....will have to re-stabbity-stab no doubt.  :D

Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: H-K-J on December 07, 2012, 03:25:25 PM
Lookin good bb
How long are you going to age it? :)
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: bbracken677 on December 07, 2012, 03:39:34 PM
60-90 days....whenever it seems right/ripe will be choppin' time!   O0

I have 3 blue projects going on...this one should be the last to ripen, and looks the best, so far. Even though I did press it ....meant to lightly press it for a few hours and then it got lost in turkey day activities. Remembered it about 36 hours later...so this should be an interesting experiment. A blue cheddar.....
Title: Re: First Stiltonesque
Post by: shotski on December 08, 2012, 06:09:19 PM
The recipe I used does not call for a rind wash. I would think that if you have already salted it to somewhere close to 2 or 2.5% by weight, that should be sufficient. If you do the wash...use a 3% salt solution at most, and stop as soon as you notice the slightest amount of fuzz growing.

At least, that's my take....I have very little experience with blues in general and Stilton in particular.

Thanks for the feed back. I did start a rind wash today because I used Geo and I read that the salt bath would slow down the Geo growth. As you can see the wheel on the right has less PF is spotty  and had a little whit mold (I am thinking that is the Geo)and a little slimy so I started the salt wash on the rind.