liquid cheese

[Leasa]

What am i doing wrong
Any cheese ?that i make that has a rind goes to liquid very quikly(crottin,cams, chabecou).  What is causing this?  My maturing fridge is set for 9.c, so it should be perfect?
Cheers leasa

[Tomer1]

Possibly too much moisture?

[DeejayDebi]

That does seem to be the culpret mmost of the time.

[Leasa]

Thanks guys!
Am I correct in thinking you mean too much moisture in the cheese and not too much humidity in the cave?

[linuxboy]

High cheese moisture, high temperature, too much ripening culture, or high protein relative to fat are the most common causes.

[iratherfly]

Pre-drain your curd, lower temperature, humidity in cave (85%), shorten aging in cave (transfer to fridge sooner), salt with at least 1.5%. When you age it, make sure it is on a breathing surface (a mesh, ripening mat on a grille that allows air to get to the bottom side). Try playing with the quantity of Geo vs PC. It can give you an entirely different cheese. Tap the cheese as you age it to tighten the skin and transfer spores evenly onto the surface for even bloom.  Follow these steps and this will be fixed. Guaranteed.

[Leasa]

Wow I just love a guarantee!!!
Maybe you can help with another problem?  I'm trying to make a nice chabechou style cheese.  It was all going well but after aging i had alot of mould over the cheese.  Lots of colours, red, yellow and green.  Removed and cheese was nice tasted a bit bluey, not the taste i was after.

Cheers leasa

[Tomer1]

Did you use any yeast in the recipe?   I dont know the cheese but looking a picture of it it seems as the rind basis is geo based.
http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/images/chabichou.jpg

[iratherfly]

Sorry I wasn't around Leasa (and Tomer).

Chabichou? or Cabécou? Two different famous lactic goat cheeses from France's Loire Valley.

Yellow mold could be just geo formation. Red one however is usually a sign of too much moisture. Green spotting is quite normal for these types of cheeses when they go past 20 days or so and many French people prefer them with a few green spots.. If it's this green however has the hideous flavor of sawdust, it is probably just a contamination of bread yeast that traveled in the air from your kitchen or by sharing knife or plate with bread, or baking and touching the cheese with hands that have not been washed thoroughly between baking and cheese.

It should not taste bluey though. You may have other things going that make it taste a bit bitter/sour reminiscent of blue. For example, using too much rennet can cause that, or if the milk is very fatty (too much lipolisys, the fat breakdown that lands cheese its sharp notes). It could also be just overly ripening so you are feeling ammonia, which could feel blue-like.

By the way, here's a little trick if you ever wonder whether or not you are tasting blue or ammonia:
Drink orange juice right after you taste the cheese. If you can't feel the flavor of the orange juice and your mouth is all tingly, than your palate is out of whack and you probably just tasted cheese with lots of ammonia.  If however the flavor of the orange juice comes out right, than your palate is still in balance - you have tasted blue.

Tomer - yes, Chabichou uses geo but other strains such as PC may be present too. Yeast is part of the surface of this cheese. It can also contain a small amount of B.Linen (no wash. It's just a naturally growing aromatic).