Beautiful tasty mistakes

[DellaTerraCLE]

I'm sure you all have had this happen.  Making a recipe.  Maybe I had too much wine or beer....fell asleep at various points in the process.  Decided to keep it going.  My "jarlsberg" somehow wanted to be a washed rind monks cheese.  Instead of fighting it I embraced it, and let it roll.  The results (which I may never be able to reproduce) are fantastic.....others have stories like this?  Amazing mistakes?

[mikekchar]

Amazing!  AC4U!   I don't think any of my mistakes are as good at that :-)

[not_ally]

That was quite a pivot! That looks like a cheese where I might be crying after tasting if I hadn't taken notes, in fact I'm sad for the rest of us that you can"t share the recipe. ACFU for your beautiful accident.

[DellaTerraCLE]

I did take notes lol.  I started with Jim Wallace's Jarlsberg recipe from their website but adjusted for 3 gallons.  After mixing in the rennet which was targeted to set for 30 minutes, I dozed off a little.  It set for 90 minutes.  So I proceeded with the recipe pressing it in a Large Tomme mold.  Followed the instructions for pressing, brining, drying, and initial 7 days of cold age.  Then moved into an aging box for room temp aging.  It kept developing a ton of Geo and Blue on the rind, which I kept light brine washing off daily.  It was a losing battle with the molds.  After 10 days, I decided to try to clean it and oil it to make things a bit easier.  Didn't work...after 3 days mold was back strong.  So I got mad and decided to just end this by cleaning and hot waxing it.  Next day I woke up and thought - Wait a minute, I have an idea...so off with the wax and back into the aging box at room temp and daily washes alternating b linens brine with riesling on alternate days.  Did that for 15 days then vac sealed and cool aged for 28 days.  Which was yesterday.  Maybe I can repeat this hahaha  ;D

[DellaTerraCLE]

OK, other than the sliver of this I tried last night (fantastic), I took 1/2 a wedge (maybe 3 oz) of this tonight and did a proper tasting wth some nice white wine and table water crackers for dinner....flavor is incredible.  Of the 5 cheese I had tonight (all homemade) this is by far the best.  I need to figure out how to replicate this "mistake" - which I will begin tomorrow with another batch lol

[michoutim]

Wow, that cheese looks wonderful. I can feel its taste also.
It looks very much like a Reblochon, it must be mild et also probably tastes like a Saint-Albray. The washing with a salty B Linens brine stops the rind of blooming and it develops a linoleum / snake like smooth rind. That's my way to say it.  :D
Funny what you say, that you had some blue stains, me too, because at the moment I am also making a CAM Blue, and that roqueforti has a mind of its own, it goes everywhere. In France they never make a blue together with a Camembert on the same plant / factory. Now I understand why!
So congratulations.
I have made successful mistakes also. I put it on the account of my cheese-making angel...

[michoutim]

Should have clockwised it. Sorry... Don't twist your neck!   ;)