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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => Problems - Questions - Problems - Questions? => Topic started by: Tiarella on March 06, 2013, 01:28:57 AM

Title: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Tiarella on March 06, 2013, 01:28:57 AM
Hi All,  hoping you can shed some light on my situation here.   :-\

What kind of cheese is this???  It's supposed to be a same temp washed curd (with ale added to the wash water)  but it quickly grew a little mushy soft under the skin and today I figured it was ruined and decided to open it so I could throw it to the chickens.  To my surprise it's not so bad.....softer under the skin and the flavor is reminiscent of Muenster cheese.  Not my favorite and not perfect but very edible.  But it's funny to me that it's softening under the skin, rather like a Brie.  It's quite squishy and goopy. 

I notice that a number of my cheeses are a little softer under the skin than desired and expected and wonder what I might be doing wrong.  Is the winter air so dry that there isn't enough drainage during pressing?  Am I not letting the curds release enough whey before hooping?  Any insights?  I didn't have this problem at all before winter.

This was 2 gallons, 1 quart of raw goat milk.    1/8 tsp of MM100, 1/16 of LBC80 and 1/16 of Mycodore.  Is this cheese maturing too fast?  Too warm?  Indicative of some pH issue?

I know I haven't given complete details and that's partly because I don't have them.  It's been aged in a box at fluctuating temps of 50-57 degrees.  It's had B. linens on it at times although not crazy, had a good coat of Mycodore for most of it's time.  I've washed it down, patted it, brushed it etc. at various times.  It probably hasn't been aired as often as optimal because of my schedule.  (we could call my schedule "helter skelter"   :o )

Any ideas?  Even ideas on what to do with it would be welcome.  I am not a fondue person and I'm not sure how to use this much cheese!  Thanks!
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: mjr522 on March 06, 2013, 04:43:33 AM
I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to reply so you'd know I wish I could help.  What about a soup?

This is my embarrassing cheese secret. :-[  When I've made cheeses that aren't what everyone else wants to eat (Camembert most recently) I end up eating them in grilled cheese sandwiches or melted on hot dogs.  Yeah, Camembert melted on hot dogs... ;D

Good luck!
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Tiarella on March 06, 2013, 12:27:44 PM
I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to reply so you'd know I wish I could help.  What about a soup?

This is my embarrassing cheese secret. :-[  When I've made cheeses that aren't what everyone else wants to eat (Camembert most recently) I end up eating them in grilled cheese sandwiches or melted on hot dogs.  Yeah, Camembert melted on hot dogs... ;D

Good luck!
Thank you for your show of support and a desire to be helpful that is strong enough to share your embarrassing secret!   ;). Although, wait a minute, that's not any worse than feeding pink Valentine's Day Brie to a flock of chickens.  (who either don't celebrate Valentine's Day or just really don't like Brie!).   :o.

Seriously, I opened this cheese and it looks so big when contemplating using it up that I felt a little ::)

Wish I was into fondue.  I think it might be too soft to store for long term to age it out although I don't have enough experience to know that for sure.  Thanks for the solidarity!

Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Boofer on March 06, 2013, 02:52:39 PM
Nope.

Just wanted to chime in and say that I don't have an answer either. ::)

I had a similar experience here (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,8941.msg67798.html#msg67798) with some gooeyness just under the rind. "The culture mix that included PLA, mycodore, and LM057 created a really different rind (and cheese!)."

Perhaps it's something that the mycodore does. Although my experience didn't end up as chicken food, it was a little unnerving. Besides, I don't have chickens and I'm sure if I had put it out for "them", the neighbors might have been upset.

Really? The chickens didn't appreciate the pink Brie? High-falootin' birds! Got their beaks stuck up in the air. :P

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: hoeklijn on March 06, 2013, 03:59:17 PM
According to Danlac LBC80 is also used for a shorter maturation time, so maybe your idea of maturing too fast could be right?
My first and until now only batch of Valencay was also slightly softer under the rind then in the middle, but I am not using LBC80.....
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Keyser Soze on March 15, 2013, 09:53:48 PM
I would not worry what it is as much as how does it taste.?  I could see if it was good, being heaped on top of some good bread or Triscut crackers.  I'm not sure I ever tasted a cheese without some redeeming qualities, even if I would never eat it again  ;)
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Tiarella on March 18, 2013, 02:50:24 AM
Boofer, it's not so much that my chickens are high falutin' it more that they are simple, honest peasant types and don't like high falutin' cheese.  They tell me, "just some nice bread, a little plain cheese and some rustic red wine will please us much more than these fancy Francais cheeses."  What can I do?  I have to please them or they stop laying eggs.  I am a puppet to keep them happy.   ;D

And my Mycodore thick felty white rind on a recent Tomme got washed down with honey whisky to control the Mycodore component.   I think all the little fun guys fungi got drunk and didn't survive the hangover.

Keyser, it is not a worrisome taste.....just SO much cheese and I eat a LOT less cheese than I make because I have goats producing milk every day and I can't keep up with anything these days! Not even the chicken eggs!  Despite multiple batches of graham crackers, all those last minute dinners of omelets and selling a dozen here and there.   :-\
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Boofer on March 18, 2013, 01:25:40 PM
 :) What a trip!

The dawn breaks...a grin on my face from picturing poor, peasant chickens. :D

Too bad about those fun guys. I'm sure they lapped up that honey whiskey.

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Tiarella on March 18, 2013, 03:22:22 PM
:) What a trip!

The dawn breaks...a grin on my face from picturing poor, peasant chickens. :D

Too bad about those fun guys. I'm sure they lapped up that honey whiskey.

-Boofer-

You're smiling because of poor peasant chickens?  Have you no care for their little bare feet, their faded kerchiefs on their little heads?  It's okay, I have told them they all get a new wardrobe for spring.   :)

And those fun guys definitely drowned in whiskey with a smile on their faces.  The cheese label could note: "No fun guys were persecuted in the production of this cheese.  All volunteered for the whiskey wash and died happy."

Okay, back from barn, now to start the work that makes money instead of edibles.   ::)
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Red Mountain on March 18, 2013, 10:41:19 PM
Cauliflower cheese or any vegetable gratins....yummy, and you get your veggies in at the same time.  Or a nice aligot, cheese and potato puree.  No one will know it's not Cantal.
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Salilah on March 25, 2013, 05:56:56 PM
How about Tartiflette?
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: meyerandray on March 25, 2013, 06:54:12 PM
You could make gnocchi with 4 cheese sauce, which is one of my favorite, all though quite a heavy dish.  Another heavy but favorite of mine are pizzoccheri, which are traditionally made with a cheese called bitto, but I can't always find it in my region and sub it with fontina, but I think any flavorful cheese that melts would do the trick.  Pizzoccheri are rectangular shaped buckwheat pasta, if you can't find real pizzoccheri, I bet you could find some form of buckwheat pasta.  Remember, I warned this is NOT a low-fat dish... They eat it in the winter in the Alps
Ingredients:
500g pizzoccheri
300g potatoes
250g butter
300g cabbage
500g of your unidentified cheese
150 g parmigiano (or grana/substitute)
2-4 cloves of garlic

Cut the potatoes in cubes, about 1 inch.

Slice the cabbage (I usually put more cabbage in there because I like it, and when boiled it really goes down substantially, I would put 1 small head of cabbage-500-600 grams)

Grate the parmigiano and cut your chease into small, meltable pieces.

Peel the garlic (you can slice one side of it or cut the cloves in half if you want to get more juices out), put it in a small saucepan with the butter, leave out to soften and mix their flavors.

Put a large pot on to boil.  When the water boils, add rock salt (3 handfulls or so)

Add the potatoes and the cabbage, after 5 min the pizzoccheri (depending on your buckwheat pasta cook-time.  This is based on 12-15 min pizzoccheri cook-time)

As the pasta cooks, turn the heat on really really low under your butter/garlic, you just want your butter to melt.

When the pasta is done, drain the pot (potatoes, cabbage and pasta)

In a bowl/dish, put one layer of pasta mix, sprinkle on top some of both cheeses, dump on some melted butter (remove the whole garlic pieces from the butter before using)
Repeat layering until all ingredients are finished.  Mix well and serve hot.

As far as what to do with your eggs, you can always make egg pasta, you can dry it and freeze it and it keeps really well.

Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Tiarella on March 25, 2013, 08:52:37 PM
Thank you Meyerandray!  My partner is of Italian descent and may remember his grandmother making this.  We have the eggs and cheese but will have to buy cabbage and potatoes  (we ate all ours already!)  It is okay that it is not a low-fat dish.  I too work outside for hours every day and need hearty foods to fuel my body warmth!  A winter Alps recipe sounds just about right!  We do have lots of our own garlic and some homemade grana cheese.  This will be a good use of mystery cheese I think!   ;D  Thank you again!
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: meyerandray on March 26, 2013, 10:17:21 AM
Oh good, I hope you enjoy!  Just wanted to reinforce that traditionally this is not made with egg pasta, but with buckwheat pasta-(buckwheat flour and water), I don't know how it would turn out with egg pasta, but with butter, cheese and garlic, in my opinion it is very hard to go wrong ;)
When do you plant your garlic? Our garlic and onions never really come in, any advice? 
PS What kind of fertilizer do you use? sorry for getting so off topic...
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Tiarella on March 26, 2013, 11:38:36 AM
Oh good, I hope you enjoy!  Just wanted to reinforce that traditionally this is not made with egg pasta, but with buckwheat pasta-(buckwheat flour and water), I don't know how it would turn out with egg pasta, but with butter, cheese and garlic, in my opinion it is very hard to go wrong ;)
When do you plant your garlic? Our garlic and onions never really come in, any advice? 
PS What kind of fertilizer do you use? sorry for getting so off topic...


Humans cannot live on cheese alone so addressing the non-cheese foods that keep our strength up for making cheese can't be too far off topic, right?   ;D  Joseph wasn't able to find the right pasta so we may have to try it without buckwheat pasta the first time.  Is the buckwheat pasta really made with only the flour and water?  no egg? No salt?  no oil?         Here we live in a northeast climate of lots of snow and temps down to -20F/-28C (although not often now).  We plant around September/October depending upon how crazy busy we are with other things.  We harvest late summer when two leaves have browned.  I make a pesto from the garlic scapes  (the flower buds, not sure if there's another name you're more familiar with) and also blend it and freeze to add to different dishes.  I also use the garlic scapes to flavor chevre.  (see! Got back to cheese!)  Perhaps this year I should grind some garlic scapes and dry in slow heat and the roll a chevre in the dried scapes.  Hmmm.  This past year I harvest about 400 heads of garlic for our use.  (we are only 2 people but eat a lot of garlic)  I'll attach a photo of another year with less garlic but nice onions and shallots.  We grow the Dutch Moon shallots because they are big and tasty.  I also can't resist a tomato photo from this past year....one of our favorite varieties that was good with everything.  Enjoy and if you want to see more photos of the food and animals here you can see it at www.foxmountainfarm.blogspot.com (http://www.foxmountainfarm.blogspot.com)   

Oh, and for your fertilizer question:  we just use minerals and animals bedding from the barn.  The bedding has straw in it which greatly enriches the soil and changes the texture to fluffy, rich soil.  I no long use a shovel in the garden.  I part the mulch and use my hand to create a furrow for planting seed.  The soil is soft and is of a health that it is best for me to avoid disturbing the structure of it. 
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: meyerandray on March 26, 2013, 08:11:05 PM
Those tomatoes are beautiful!  I can't wait for tomato season...and you just got me dreaming again.  You seem to be quite the successful gardener, I am jealous.
That is a lot of garlic!  I should send you a bagna cauda (pronounced ban-yah cow-dah) recipe.  It is a traditional Piemontese dish in the winter.  It is essentially a dip served hot in little personal fondue-style pots with raw veggies, and cooked potatoes and onions.  Do you eat anchovies?  The ingredients are anchovies, garlic, cream, hazlenuts and olive oil, so if you don't eat anchovies, you can skip this recipe.

The pizzoccheri, yes, they are just made with buckwheat flour and water.  Most dry pasta that you eat is made with semolina flour and water, not salt-that is why we add salt to the water.  In the US I know that Barilla and DeCecco have to add vitamins to their pasta intended for US export, but otherwise just flour and water.  Egg pasta on the other hand is either only egg yolk and flour (for a really rich pasta, like during truffle season...delicious!! otherwise, we make it with whole eggs, and even add some water sometimes, depends on how many eggs we have. 

Last year we used a mix of straw, cow manure that is aged for a year.  I think we have soil problems in the veggie garden though.  I am going to buy a phmeter for my cheese, and might have a look at my soil while I'm at it (probably shouldn't say that in public people will think that is horribly unsanitary!!)  We have fruit trees, and get GREAT results with our fruit, but unfortunately in the veggie garden we don't really get the same satisfaction.  Tons of zucchini, lettuces and spinach/chard etc, but the rest does ok, nothing to get too excited about.  Maybe we need to add some new soil when we fertilize and turn the land (sorry that is an awkward way to say it, I can't think of the right expression, till the land??)

Ok, well I attached some photos, let me know if you are interested in that bagna cauda recipe.  I will check out your blog. 
Title: Re: Help! What kind of cheese is THIS?
Post by: Keyser Soze on March 28, 2013, 07:01:37 PM
How about baked into a biscuit.  Cheese biscuits are all the rage at some of the restaurants I've been to lately.

I was also thinking as Käsespätzel. German egg drop noodles with melted cheese in layers and baked in the oven.  MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.