CAMEMBERT
I thought that it was about time that I try a white mold cheese. So I ordered PC-SAM3 and a puffer of black charcoal. I originally planned on a Valencay but I had not finished making the molds so decided on a Camembert.
I basically followed Ricki Carroll's book. I used Mesophile Aroma B & Animal rennet
the make went smoothly. I left them in the molds 24 hours because they were to soft to handle.
Because Ricki states that they are difficult to age I decided to coat one with ash I have read this assists in getting a good even mold growth.( I also wanted to see how the ash works)
they went into there container and the cave (a little warmer then recommended at 50-550
The pictures tell the rest of the story. I turned them on the 3rd day and patted them down on the 6Th
day. I also aired them out and wiped the condensation off the lid every day.
The mold shows up best on the ash covered one but they feel the same
I have never tasted a Camembert or seen one except in the pictures here on the forum so this is a totally new experience for me. I am pleased with them so far.
Pete
Wow, those look really great to me (having only made one cam attempt, which I'm still working at!). Be sure to post photos when you open these!
Thanks High Altitude.
I have been following your apparently successful rescue attempt. I think it may have saved me a like fate.
My curds were very fragile when I started to stir them, so I let them set to see if they would heal more. After the 30 minute time that I was to hold them at 90 d I ladled them into the molds. I took 30 min to get them all in the molds. after the 5 hrs drain time they were still so fragile that I let them set for a total of 24 hrs.You see the results
Should I move these to the colder fridge now that they have a complete covering of mold?
Pete
Well yours look very successful to me, Pete!
I put mine in the refrigerator (38 degrees) as soon as it had full mold coverage (in my case, day 5 or 6). I have read about many who leave in the cave to age and many who choose the colder fridge environment. My recipe called for the fridge, so I went that route. It is supposed to take 5 weeks after that to mature, so we'll see.
I'll start taking a look at it next week to see if it seems to be softening at all. For the moment I just flip it daily.
Good luck and keep us posted :-)!
Pete did you cut them open yet?
How long did you stir the curd and how vigourosly? How log was the rest time after stirring?