Morbier Madness

[Brie]

My first Moriber made it to the tasting in FLA--quite proud and amazing reviews!

[iratherfly]

Congrats Brie!

What is this tasting for? A contest? It looks fantastic. I wouldn't dare bringing a first try cheese anywhere... you have some guts!

How long did you age it? What did you do for rind? (Morbier rind is usually washed). This is one of my favorite cheeses and a regular staple in our house.

[DeejayDebi]

Very nice looking cheese. You have done so well! I am quite proud of you and I haven't even met you yet. I still haven't gotten around to an ash cheese yet but I will. Morbier will probably be the one or a lactic cheese.

[Brie]

Thanks for the accolades, my cheesers! This was aged for about 8 weeks. I washed the rind every other day in brine with a touch of B-linens. The rind is a bit ashey--as the original ashing seemed to spread over the whole darn thing!

[iratherfly]

Yes, ash is sneaky this way of getting everywhere. (I use it in one of my cheeses).

I saw in the Morbier AOC video that some of the cheesemakers have a great system to keep the ash under control easily: they mix a bit of whey leftover with the ash to make a black paste, they then take a brush or cheesecloth and use it to paint the top of the bottom piece before slapping the top piece atop it. It's a great way to eliminate mess as well as to prevent a thick layer of ash that is too thick (those tend to make the cheese fall apart in the seam, the ash would be chalky to bite through and would paints your teeth black... not nice).

They paint it almost entirely but leave just a few mm at the edge unpainted to help the sides stick better and faster and prevent ash run-over onto the side of the cheese

[Brie]

Thanks so much for that piece of advice--I love this cheese, and would age it at least a month more in the next go round.

[Boofer]

Beautiful cheese. Very unusual.

-Boofer-

[Cheesetart]

Great looking cheese!

[FRANCOIS]

Hi Brie,
Your cheese looks nice, although I would suggest that if you want to more closely emmulate Morbier that the curd should be much softer.  From the photo it looks like the paste is quite firm, with small inclusions.  Morbier (and racelette) should be bulging on the cut face with no inclusions.  You can get this effect by making sure your milk is running very high in cream and lengthening your set time.  It then needs to be aged in a very high humidity room (above 90%) with daily smears to get the b. linens humming.  The result will be a stinky, meltable cheese.  Just a suggestion.

[iratherfly]

Fancois, would this be ok to make with milk with added cream? What would be an ideal set/floc situation in your opinion?

[FRANCOIS]

I'd start with a P:F of 1-1.1 and a multiplier of 3.  I guess I should qualify high fat, as it's different depending on where you are.  A ratio of 1 would require cream addition where I am, but may not where you live.  FGive it a 2o minute stir then take at least 30% of the whey off and cook to 40C over about 45 minutes.  Don't let the pH drop below 6.2 at hooping.

[Brie]

Thanks, Francois--will try your suggestions at the next go-round. You're right it was not as creamy as it should be. Unfortunately, the cows are quite dry in the summer here in hot, hot Phoenix--so I'm left without my raw milk. Working on some goat cheeses in the interum.

[stoneyridge]

Brie - did you use the same brine/B. linens solution with each rub-down, or did you make fresh?  Also, did you add B. linens to the brine the whole time it was aging, or just at first?  I made a morbier this weekend, but the directions weren't clear on whether to use the B. linens each time you wiped down the rind or not. . .thanks.

D

[Brie]

I have another 3 week old Morbier that I am aging now (followed Francois suggestions on the make). I wash every other day with b.linen and salt brine, which I make about once per week. I keep it in an atomizer and spray on. I am also aging Reblochons, which also need the b.linen spray so that it goes further.

[FRANCOIS]

You should keep the same bucket of wash through the whole make.  That is the traditional way of doing it.  You also wash from oldest to youngest wheel with the same rag.  We only dump wash when it smells off or has something obviosuly wrong with it.  Once the yeast gets going it is very difficult for any nasties to take hold, plus we test every batch.