I followed a recipe from a german cheese book:
- 6l milk (past., non hom.) 1/8 tsp Flora Danica, 1/16 tsp B-linen, 1/16 tsp Geotr Cand., 1/4 tsp rennet (IMCU 280), 1/4 tsp calcium, curd not pressed, dry salted
- after drying for a few days washed (almost) daily in the first 2 weeks with a prepared brine made of whey, salt and pinch of b-linen
- aged in cave (ripening box put in wine fridge), 12 deg C, 90% RH
- wrapped after about 2 weeks and put in regular fridge
What I noticed:
- it barely got any b-linen surface developing, just very slowly a hint of orange/yellow edges (not sure that was more drying out or actual b-linen)
- starting with fruity smell it actual did smell like b-linen after about 10+ days, but subtly
- I did taste small bits during the 4 weeks of aging, but they mostly tasted pretty bitter (stuck in peptide stage?)
- after wrapping and put in fridge I did notice that the wheels (8cm) slowly started ripening, getting softer on the outside - but stayed firm in the center, surface color not much developing, taste test still mostly bitter
- in the 4th week some very strong and bad smell started to appear, eventually resulting in throwing the cheese in the bin - I think at that point it turned really bad.
What did I do wrong here?