DeejayDebi's FIRST Goats Cheese and Soft Cheese Crottin de Chavignol

[DeejayDebi]

Thanks Francois!

Well the pictures looked interesting and this was the main reason I wanted goats milk. This is the first recipe I have made from Tim Smiths book.

Would you mind sharing your crottin recipe? I would like to try this again on Saturday - the right way. They do look so cute!

[siegfriedw]

Thanks Debby - that is the exact same book and same recipe I have .

Francois - you say that is not the way you would go about it? Can you elaborate please? Please?

[DeejayDebi]

Ah siegfriedw then you drooled after the same photo I did eh? Looks like I have $36 worth of little puff balls with my finger prints all over them!  ;D

[FRANCOIS]

Sorry, these different crotin threads are getting confusing.  If I were to make crotin tomorrow, I would use this recipe:

- 12 liters milk (0.9 to 1.0 PF ratio)
- Warm to 32-34C
- Add 1/8 tsp MA4001 (or units if you have a scale that accurate).  If using bulk culture add 1.5% by volume
- Add ripening cultures of your choice, for a traditional Crotin I'd use PC22 and PLA
- Ripen for 1 hour, looking for a 0.15 pH drop so can vary
- Add 1-1.2 ml fromase (rennet).  This is based on 780 DCM (activity)
- Cut at 6x floculation to 15mm curds
- Rest 5 minutes
- Gently stir 2-3 times by hand over 10 minutes
- Rest 10 minutes
- Hoop and drain overnight, flip after 20 minutes then after an hour, then 1 or two more times before bed.  Make sure the worst looking side is down on the mat for overnight draining.
- Brine at 3-5 hours per kilo in heavy brine for 1.5% salt in final product.  This is extrapolated from 100 gram pieces we brine at 20-30 minutes.

They would like something like the attached, which do NOT use PC22 but are an example of the size and texture this recipe would produce.

[siegfriedw]

Thanks - to me that recipe seems closer to Camembert in some ways but I shall have to try it.

I can see why you refer to the recipe Debby and I are using as a Chevre - I kind of thought the same thing when I first read it in the book,

On Cultures - I dont have the sames ones you  list. I have MA 4001 but not the others. Would Flora Danica with some P. Candidium work?

[FRANCOIS]

Flora danica is not a ripening culture but a starter and, perosnally, I can't stand the stuff.  It would be used instead of the M4001 in this case.  Yes, it is very much like camembert.  You could use fresh cheese and it would probably give a cleaner taste, but you need to drain it much more.

The cheese in the photo is a mix of geo 17 and sr3.  Crotin's really should have some yeast on them.

[DeejayDebi]

Thanks Francois.

I will try this for sure. I have never made soft cheese so I wouldn't know a camembert from a crottin recipe. I am not getting any weird smells yet so I will hang in there for awhile. It's only been out of the molds for a full day so we'll see what happens over night.

[cmharris6002]

Thanks Francois! I am eager to try your recipe too. Luck me, I have plenty of goat milk :)

Christy

[DeejayDebi]

And a pretty goat at that!

I am in the process of trying this new recipe now ... I will have a cave full of these little hockey pucks soon!  :D

[DeejayDebi]

I thought I would post an update of my little crottins. They don't looks anything like Francois's crottins mine look like little marshmellows. The ones on the left (9-12-2009) are the second batch and the ones on the right (9-5-2009) are from the first batch.

I was a bit light with the first bacth I didn't know they'd shrink so much!

[siegfriedw]

They look  good.

Glad to see that you aren't getting that toad skin problem that I have. My last batch is on its third day drying before going to the cave. Hopefully this will eliminate the problems I have been having

[Tea]

They do look good.   As I can't get my hands on fresh goats milk, would the addition of some lipase to cows milk give a similar flavour?

[DeejayDebi]

I was thinking something was wrong. I didn't expect marshmellows . Albeit heavy marshmellows. They are slightly fuzzy.  ???

[Baby Chee]

Looks good to me!  They have that nice white penicillium candidium going on.

My camembert disaster is going on fairly well.  The mold is definitely reblossoming on the cheese after being mercilessly ripped off by the sushi mat. Hopefully all else goes well, like yours.

Well done!

[DeejayDebi]

Are yours powdery? I get powdery on other cheeses I am not adding mold to but this feels oddly fuzzy.