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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => ADJUNCT - Blue Mold (Penicillium roqueforti) Ripened => Topic started by: Baby Chee on September 08, 2009, 12:39:40 PM
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I was thinking of making a couple Stilton with 3 Gallons whole milk and a couple quarts of whipping cream.
Has anyone tried upping the fats with heavier milks like creams?
Does this create any possible problems?
I'm assuming the benefits are a richer and creamier cheese.
Any advice or experiences?
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I started this Stilton:
3 Gallons Whole Milk from Sam's Club
2 Quarts Whipping Cream from Land'o'Lakes
Quite creamy, but the whey takes a LONG time to drain. I've been draining for 5 hours so far and it is no where near finished. I'll have to let it go for another 3 or so hours until I can split the curds and salt.
The curds so far are very very creamy and rich. I'm enthused!
This will by my last cheese batch for at least 3 weeks. I have 4 Goudas, 1 large Camembert, 2 Havarti, and this double batch of Stilton making two 4" cheeses.
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well done grasshopper now you may take a well deserved break ... ;D
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haha I can't stand that rich creamy Stilton sitting there for 60 days. It's turning now, about every 6 hours. If the mold sets in well, it should be a great set of cheeses.
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Well good luck hon. Hope your other cheeses don't turn green with envy! ;)
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Thanks!
The Stiltons are now out of the molds and smoothed, and the blueing is beginning on top and bottom. They also have that slightly sharp odor setting in. It's great! Everything's on schedule. I can't wait to have Stilton.
This might become my favorite cheese to make at home. Due to the extra cream, I am expecting some rich meat inside the blue walls.
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(http://cityofclifford.com/Blue.jpg)
6 days.
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Looks really nice Baby - I just never got into blues - cheese that is! ;)
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Blue cheese is a little more acidic or strong than normal-washed curd cheeses.
Blue is great to add to things--salads, sauces, etc. Though they presently smell like a basement of old books and dirty socks, I find them making me hungry...unlike dirty socks. Today they are almost completely blue, having been englufed by the rabid mold. Only 9 more weeks and they are edible!
I wanna make a 15 lb. Stilton sometime soon.
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Ok, this is starting to scare the poop out of me now...
(http://cityofclifford.com/BlueHell.jpg)
9 Days into the Stilton.
Is there any cheese left under that stuff?
I see a green mold covered by white fuzzy and some yellow fuzzy showing up every so often.
It smells a little like spinach and cabbage.
Should I be scared?
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WOW! That's a lot of ... errr .. green stuff! Isn't it supposed to be like ocean green/blue? That looks a lot like the stuff the grows on the cardboard in my basement after a flood. I think it's taken over ... run for you life!
Sorry I got carried away. ::)
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It smells like a basement... a debasement.
Rather florid molds. I've seen the before and after pics on the net where they show the lil' bluing, then the dried off blue/tan stuff. This looks like the part of birthing they skip over quickly because no one would have a kid if they had to endure the vicarious realities ignored in prudent documentaries.
A few days ago I wanted to eat the mildly blue curds... today I want to hope I never look at them again.
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The color, especially the white, does not look right. A blue should be a nice blue/green and has a much smoother surface. What was the source of your Penicillium r. ? If you used a "sample" from an existing cheese, you could have had contamination. If you use a pure culture, the Penicillium r. will dominate before anything else can get a foothold.
Can you salvage these? You MIGHT be able to do an aggressive vinegar/salt wash and then vac bag to choke off the mold. However, this stuff is probably inside if you poked holes in the cheeses, so it may be too late.
Blues don't smell like a basement. I would probably pitch them.
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No poked holes yet: that's in 3-5 weeks.
I don't pitch anything until results are thoroughly gained. The molds started well, but the past 2 days were scary. I purchased my P. Rocqforti from THECHEESMAKER.COM, and so far all his other starters, bacterias, rennets, and molds have worked.
This morning the smell has faded and is barely noticeable. The molds have gone farther. Blue, layered by green, layered by white, with some stray yellow spots rarely dotting the surfaces. I'll let it dry and see how it goes. The cheeses were smoothed, so this stuff isn't inside (I hope) and might just become an interesting rind.
Perhaps from too much moisture? I keep them under a metal pot I lift off about 10-12 times a day to air out everything and get moisture and gases escaping. They are in a room that is between 60 & 70ºF through day and night.
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In the past few hours I've noticed the green, partially covered with white, is now starting to have a layer or turn into a tan, similar to the final skin of the normal Stiltons. @_@; It's a scary ride. I'll wait until tonight and then post another photo.
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The white is not normal.
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Perhaps it is Camembert infection?
Someone wrote in anther thread about how the Camembert mold really jumps about.
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Do you have Camembert in the same cave? Molds are quite prolific and could definitely transfer. I don't do any bloomy rind cheeses but I still keep my blues in a seperate cave so they don't ruin everything else.
If you have Camembert transference, ya probably don't want to be pokin' holes in your wheel. No telling what you'll end up with, but it may still be edible. Someone with more Camembert contamination experience needs to jump in with advice.
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I'm certain it is Camembert.
Now the thing smells of ammonia and strongly so. The white is probably from my Camembert, but they aren't within 100 feet of each other, in two separate buildings, in two separate cooling areas. Either it jumped from me looking between them, or the milk in the same kettle days apart (doubt this)...or in the air somehow.
So if I puncture the cheese in three weeks I might end up with a runny mess?
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The ammonia smell is not a good sign.
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" They are in a room that is between 60 & 70ºF through day and night."
Bingo. I have never made Stilton, but have made many many blues. I have never aged a cheese at that temp for any period of time, especially anything that requires mold ripening.
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So the blue mold needs cooler temps? Too warm and it attracts other bacteria?
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It's looking very much like my cellar in the spring and if it smells like ammonia I would not eat it hon.
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14 Days in...
(http://cityofclifford.com/Cripes!.jpg)
It turned to straight cabbage... very old and disgusting cabbage.
This cheese is a roller coaster ride of dry heaves.
I'm going to cave it to steady 60ºF once my Camembert comes out this weekend when the rind is tight.
Maybe this one will dry out in a couple months and provide me a super interesting Stilton.
@___@;
I definitely can't puncture this cheese like a Stilton.
If that mold gets in the cheese I am probably doomed.
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Oh hon I don't think I'd eat that cheese - it might hurt you.
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But but but... I still have this faith that those will dry down to a chunky rind of dead molds, and then the meat will ripen into something spectacular!!
...I know: that's a lot of faith.
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Oh do be careful hon people can get very sick from bad cheese.
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Phew what a ride that cheese is taking you on ;D I'm making my first blue tomorrow looks like they can be fun . lets hope yours drys to a nice rind like the picture Ive posted it is a wicked blue cheese made here in NZ. I will be taking a sample of this cheese for my blue.
I cant wait for your next update on your blue
Daza
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Thanks! I'll post in a few more days as the rind dries. At the moment the mold is sort of darkening and shriveling.
I'll try another blue in the next few days, but this time I will put them in the 60ºF cave when the blue begins to form.
I've finally got two caves working.
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It looks like your texture is way to loose. Even just pressing under it's own weight, you should get a tighter cheese than that. All those huge crevasses are places for bad things to hide and grow.
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Yeah, I should have smoothed to bottoms, but didn't. However, the top and bottom aren't as infected as other areas.
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You really can't smooth a blue very well and you certainly don't want to press them like you would a hard cheese. However, you should be able to get a much smoother surface naturally. Even just putting the follower on top with no weight will give it better texture. I sometimes put an EMPTY juice glass on the follower to give it a few ounces of pressure.
Most recipes call for using an open mold with drying mats top and bottom then flipping the entire mold every so often. I use my regular 7-1/2" hard cheese mold with a bottom. After the curd mass has a little substance to it (a few hours), I carefully take the cheese out of the mold and flip it. I repeat this many times over the next couple of days until the draining stops. I usually get a pretty smooth surface that way - but still nowhere near as smooth as a hard cheese.
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Ok, folks... here's the scoop:
(http://cityofclifford.com/Mon1.jpg)
(http://cityofclifford.com/Mon2.jpg)
Dig it??
It's about 10 weeks after the making. This "Stilton" aged through the evil stuff and hardened into a WONDERFULLY stinky "blue" cheese. It really reeks like crap. Stored around 40-50ºF for those weeks in a plastic box.
And here it is opened up with a knife today...
(http://cityofclifford.com/Mon3.jpg)
So whaddaya think?
I took a bit and tried it.
The cheese it hard and a little crumbly.
Not blue, of course.
Great texture.
Creamy.
A little salty.
Tastes like a nice cheese I have never tried.
No ill effects after 30 minutes.
Let me know your thoughts: should I woof it or shave off the crap and eat?
(http://cityofclifford.com/Mon4.jpg)
A few minutes later I did what all good men do after surviving a near death experience:
A shot of single malt scotch.
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I it tastes good and you dont get sick by morning I'd eat it. Minus the mold of course!
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It's hours later and everything's good. I think it was 6 hours ago since I ate that bit.
It's probably a good-enough cheese. Just a tad salty, but nothing bad.
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Boy you are game!! Glad though you aren't heaving from the experience.
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Hey Chee is that a mushroom I see growing off the side of that stilton on the top left? I thin mushrooms need wood but that sure looks like one.
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Everything good.
I believe we have cheese. Now, how GOOD it is as a cheese, that's debatable, but it is safe to eat. Disturbing as it looks. However, blue mold is just the same basic thing as this garbage on this cheese: a protection.
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Baby Chee, I bow to your superior manhoodines. I do not possess the intestinal fortitude to accomplish what you have done apparently with ease. Long live king chee!!!!
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The second, whole, cheese was almost eaten entirely yesterday.
In the morning, I used a wire to cut the meat from the garbage. Took it to some friends. We sat around eating it with crackers. Very little was left after an hour. It was pretty good. Not as salty as the open one in the photos; creamy; good texture; rich flavor with a strong and spicy taste coming from the blue-white cheese.
The only downside is that awful mold and the stink it gives off. Cutting away that gunk leaves little "safe" cheese to eat.
Next time I do a Stilton--no more iodized salt, right into the 59ºF cave when the blue emerges, and I'll keep a dedicated cave.