This cheese was made from 5 liters grass-fed water buffalo milk, 50 g Russian Yogurt, 50 g Yogourmet Kefir and calf rennet powder. I don't have a brie mold so I used a diy mold made from a food container with a 7.28 inch diameter. After dry salting the cheese, I inoculated it with white mold from a previous bloomy rind cheese by simply touching the bloomy rind cheese then this cheese. After 25 days in my cheese cave, I wrapped it in parchment paper, two pieces of paper towels and Glad press N seal plastic to age in the regular fridge for 43 days. This is one of the most unique cheeses I've ever tasted. It has flavor characteristics similar to a cow's milk cheese but it has a distinct subtle herbaceous gamy flavor that is unique to the grass fed water buffalo milk I buy from a particular farmer. I have tried Mozzarella di bufala DOP and it has a distinct floral flavor which is totally different from the water buffalo milk I use. That gave me a better understanding what "Terroir" is. Back then I thought it was just a BS marketing term.
I have tried using water buffalo milk from a commercial dairy that feed their animal corn. It is good as a drinking milk and high in milk solids but horrible for cheese. It had a rancid flavor and the paste had an abrasive texture. The ricotta made from it had a pronounced corn chip/feed flavor. This buffalo brie has a flavor that reminds me of a young Gouda or Colby but extra creamy thanks to the extra butterfat of water buffalo milk. It is cheesy, fruity, buttery, slightly sweet and slightly sour with a subtle herbal gamy flavor. I don't like its rind though. It is mushroomy but with a wasabi or horse radish smell. At 68 days old, it still has no ammonia smell. Its texture is fudgy and very creamy in the center and pliable near the rind. Because of the high butterfat of the water buffalo milk, the cheese is stabilized by default.
