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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cooked (Swiss) => Topic started by: ArnaudForestier on February 25, 2011, 09:29:45 AM
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Well, inspired by Boofer's wonderful chronicles, I decided to do a chronicle of my recently-made beaufort, my first. Thanks to Sailor and Pav for their considerable help, to Boofer for his press design, and many others who have contributed to a discussion of this style, a favorite of mine, though this is my first make.
Freshly out of brine - yes, it's 3:20 in the morning:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/pkphotodo/Beaufort12-23-11.jpg)
(Pav, if you're reading this, you may be able to make out some of the red flecks and streaks I mentioned earlier. I have to admit, they do just seem like some sort of coloration from the cheesecloth - hadn't noticed the spots earlier, only what looked like filaments; so my paranoia got ahold of me in wondering, "bacilli?").
Very early, and given my uncertainty on pH targets, can't say for sure how well this has turned out; but by the knit, I'm happy, as this is the first cheese I've made without any mechanical openings (well, it's my first real attempt, I guess, as with my tommes I understood openings are part of the game, and so pressed more lightly and accepted the surface openings). Anyway, knock on wood, happy at this point.
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Freshly out of brine - yes, it's 3:20 in the morning:
Man, when do you sleep?
Looks great. Nice knit. Now the fun begins, huh?
Thanks for your kind words.
-Boofer-
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A wonderful wheel of cheese! What's your address again?
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Thanks, Boofer. Your press was king.
LOL....I'm a freak, and a slave to these kinds of hobbies. Forgive if I've already recounted this story, but once lived in Spring Green, on a farm. Brewer, always conceiving recipes and approaches, and when it came to me, it had to be done. Then.
Brutal winter's night, in the Wyoming Valley south of Spring Green, easily besting -10F with cutting winds howling through our oak ridges. Got the joneses to do a decoction mash, a bock by traditional German practice; had to be tried then and there. Started around midnight, and sometime in the middle of this laborious make, I wasn't getting a clear vorlauf, recirc/runoff, which was weird as I'm a freak about such things (ask my former cooks, how much diligence I instilled into them on the management of each of our poultry, meat, fish, shellfish, game stocks). Discovered the lauter screen had broken free. Because of the decoction method, I had a truly gunky vat of stuff to deal with, much less calculations for cooling off, etc., as a result of fixing the issue.
So, I fixed it, in the middle of the night, outside at 10 below. I had to have this bock. Climbed into bed the next morning, wife asks if I've been to hell and back, and...Hellenback Bock was born. A wonderfully malty, true helles Bayerisch bock that I intended to lay down for an upcoming spring fest.
So, long-winded way of saying, I don't sleep unless absolutely necessary. It's such a bother when obsession is calling. ;D
Thanks, Zenith. I live in Madison, WI. Use Sassy Cow for all my makes so far, and very pleased with the quality of what I'm getting, but would love to work with raw milk, at some point.
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A very lyrical tale. Thanks, I got a wonderful vision in my head.
I love bock. Doppelbock holds a special place in my palate. Optimator, Celebrator, Salvator...heaven.
Once upon a time I was fortunate enough to enjoy some Spaten Premium Bock. Very rare to find any more. That's been more than a few years.
Yeah, nothing worse than a stuck sparge. ;)
-Boofer-
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Spaten Premium Bock, twas a time when I couldn't get enough of it. Helles and Maibock are unfortunately not that common. I have one on draft in my basement right now, homebrew of course.
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For some crazy reason, I've almost completely lost my taste for beer, though it was my profession at one time. Boof and Hammer, absolutely agree on the bocks - loved them, especially this time of year. Never had the Spaten Premium, would love to try it, even now. (I'm a ... wine drinker, now, have been the last few years. Né Boyer, I always thought my French cooking came from my blood. Turns out "Boyer" was nothing more than a corruption of "bouvier," and he was a German settled in that part of France, who took to cattle. Oh, to think his line moved to wine, and left beer behind...).
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Cheese is in the cave at a confirmed (by calibrated analog hygrometer) 91-92% humidity, sharing space with my tommes.
I know gruyeres (and understand other alpine styles) have a higher humidity, 95-98%, but I am hopeful of creating one environment where the complex cultures of the tommes (PLA, Mycodore, 3% wash) and the beauforts (though I've seen some with a b. linens wash, will be doing only a saturated brine and natural rind) will basically have a hardscrabble fight to come up with something interesting. Also, I've an eye to an eventual underground cave, and at least for now, am playing with one environment for different cheeses.
Let me say this another way. As Pav has indicated to me, and as I've dug up otherwise, it's quite common for the alpine styles to have a high humidity of 95% on up. If, on the other hand, mycodore and yeasts have an optima much lower - I recall Pav indicating they can compete at 85-88%, but cannot compete well past 95% or so - and if they are part of the normal alpine profile, how does this work, in terms of microbial succession, when you can't manipulate a cave condition (as in a natural cave)?
I hope I'm making my question clear. Just thinking on things, both for now, and in musing on future possibilities.
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alpine styles to have a high humidity of 95% on up.
Yes, because you can't lose too much moisture over the 12-14 months of maturation.
If, on the other hand, mycodore and yeasts have an optima much lower - I recall Pav indicating they can compete at 85-88%, but cannot compete well past 95% or so
Not exactly what I said. I said they cannot outcompete b linens at 95%+.
alpines are different from tommes. They'll use a b linens smear, a low moisture cheese, and then the b linens dies off and forms the color.
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Let me clarify my intent, Pav. I am trying to create one cave condition that will allow for good maturation in both a tomme, and a beaufort. I am hopeful of working around a given cave condition, with an eye to an eventual natural cave environment, over the creation of many micro-environments, though that would certainly (and is) be easy enough to do.
Sorry if I misrepresented what you said - certainly not my intent. I was going off of:
Here's a good rule of thumb... in the mid to high 80s, yeasts, mycodore, and mycoderm can compete with molds. When you get to 90-95, they don't compete as well. When you get to 95, they can hardly compete with b linens and geo. When you get to 98, even geo can't compete well with b linens.
"Don't compete as well at 90-95" was what led me to wonder what happens if one were to create a cave with 95% or better - a cave that would neither be begun at a lower RH (say, 88% or so) nor dropped at a later time - and inoculated with, say, PLA or other yeast-bearing blends. It's just a persisting curiosity on succession; basically, in an environment favoring, say, linens (higher pH, higher RH, higher O2 exchange), if linens depends on, say, the de-acidifying effect of a DH, how does it work in caves where DH, etc., can't "compete well" with its "successor" flora? Am I saying this clearly?
I hadn't thought of the longer aging period and lower moisture content of the alpine, and the reasoning behind the RH. I also better understand the role of linens or morge on an alpine. Thanks.
I have the intent of dry-salting daily, for a month - though know this tradition is seemingly, usually applied to a full-size wheel of beaufort; then applying a morge twice weekly. Any thoughts? Over-salted, doing this, on an 8-inch wheel?
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"Don't compete as well at 90-95" was what led me to wonder what happens if one were to create a cave with 95% or better - a cave that would neither be begun at a lower RH (say, 88% or so) nor dropped at a later time - and inoculated with, say, PLA or other yeast-bearing blends. It's just a persisting curiosity on succession; basically, in an environment favoring, say, linens (higher pH, higher RH, higher O2 exchange), if linens depends on, say, the de-acidifying effect of a DH, how does it work in caves where DH, etc., can't "compete well" with its "successor" flora? Am I saying this clearly?
In natural and established caves, molds and yeasts can deacidify without a problem. They're acclimated. In small scale environments, you have to use the blends to make sure it all works out.
I hadn't thought of the longer aging period and lower moisture content of the alpine, and the reasoning behind the RH. I also better understand the role of linens or morge on an alpine. Thanks.
Alpine b linens works way different than it does in a tomme. In an alpine style, the outer rind should be impenetrable. And you layer repeated washes of b linens to the point where all the dead cells build up a rind a biofilm on TOP of the cheese. With tomme the goal is to get geo/candidum molds to penetrate inside, and for b linens to add complexity. And the higher moisture of the b linens also encourages faster ripening.
Absolutely, higher RH in alpine is to preserve product. You want about 20% loss of weight in a year. Any more, cheese is too try. Any less, and original moisture has to be wrong, or conditions are unfavorable.
I have the intent of dry-salting daily, for a month - though know this tradition is seemingly, usually applied to a full-size wheel of beaufort; then applying a morge twice weekly. Any thoughts? Over-salted, doing this, on an 8-inch wheel?
Daily? It's overkill? For wheels like that, easier and faster to brine. If you want to dry salt, I would do no more than a total application of 4% of initial weight. If you're doing this over a month, that's like what, 1/8 tsp per day? Less?
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Daily? It's overkill? For wheels like that, easier and faster to brine. If you want to dry salt, I would do no more than a total application of 4% of initial weight. If you're doing this over a month, that's like what, 1/8 tsp per day? Less?
Thanks on the information on the linens, Pav. Fascinating, as usual, and clears things up in terms of the different purposes of linens in a tomme v. beaufort. However - and I'm sorry if this is obvious - if using a culture blend, and not an ambient, conditioned flora, and you have a 95% cave, will you have an issue with the DH, etc., not doing well, and therefore, you're setting up for failure if depending on the de-acidifying flora to do their job, in setting up for linens?
Again, I know I can easily move between 88-95% at will, but I'm just curious on what will happen should I keep my cave at the higher RH, wash with PLA and myco, when aging both tomme and beaufort at the same RH.
Re: the dry rubbing: What I'm asking about is from a practice I've seen where this is done, in addition to brining. A brining period, but a "month or two of" dry-rubbing/turning daily, "until the rind is ready" for a morge. This was one source, and I'm sorry, I can't recall where I saw this. It seemed excessive to me on even a traditional beaufort wheel, and seemed especially so on an 8" wheel. (I've queried Francois the same thing, and if I've understood correctly, a mere 24 hours, twice-rub is sufficient; though I'm at this point unsure if this is in addition to, or just a practice in lieu of, a brine).
On the other hand, I guess I don't consider it "excessive" when I know of a natural rind development using a saturated brine, for an extended period. Are they not, essentially, equivalent - a saturated brine wash, and an extended dry-rub/dry "brine" development?
I'm not trying to complicate or confuse things; I'm sincerely trying to figure out the dynamics, and am somewhat confused as I've seen some rather vague descriptions in various places (not here, but usually cheese-appreciation sites, which give outline descriptions of processes). Basically, because I saw this somewhere in a description of something characterized as "traditional practice," I'm piqued by the notion of doing this, on top of a brine, and before a morge wash.
What I've seen would include:
-a brine, a cooling period, a drying period, an acclimatization period in one's cave, and then a schedule of saturated brine washing, to develop a natural rind;
-a brine, a cooling period, a drying period, an acclimatization period in one's cave, dry rubbing/turning (basically, creating a rind brine wash) for some period. A site I've seen describes this as long as "a month or two, until the rind is ready" for a morge. This is then followed by a morge, of a presumable 3-6% salinity.
Sorry for the length, and I hope this is useful to people. If not, I'll move on. Thanks.
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Prepping already for a Beaufort 2, and wanting to touch base with the community on some benchmarks. These are gleaned from various people, so I know there will be contained within the below various opinions, not necessarily a singular opinion or vision. Just doing a reasonableness check up on a good procedure:
Presuming a milk that comes in at pH 6.72.
-Rennet at 6.55-6.56 or lower.
-Hoop at 6.3.
-Press to 8 hours, or to about pH 5.4 (acidity should drop from pH 5.9 at 6ish hours to 5.4).
-Cool off 12-24 hours, at 72F/70%RH. pH Target to 4.9-5.3.
-Brine in saturated brine, 55F, 3-4 hours/lbs of pressed cheese.
-Dry x 24-36 hours at 72F/70%RH, until ready for cave.
-Place in cave at at ideally 95%RH, 52-55F.
-An additional salt-rub for 2x24hours (flip each time, @24 hours); dry.
-Brine wash with saturated brine (natural rind), or with some sort of corynebacteria wash at 3-6% salinity (cultured, washed rind), twice weekly, to maturation; minimum 8 months or so.
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will you have an issue with the DH, etc., not doing well, and therefore, you're setting up for failure if depending on the de-acidifying flora to do their job, in setting up for linens?
Not really, you should be fine. Geo will deacidify just fine. But you will have a different rind on a tomme, one that has more b linens, if you use PLA.
Again, I know I can easily move between 88-95% at will, but I'm just curious on what will happen should I keep my cave at the higher RH, wash with PLA and myco, when aging both tomme and beaufort at the same RH.
B linens will show up a little sooner and will dominate. Not like a limberger dominate, but will be more smelly. Which is not a bad thing for a tomme, just different.
A brining period, but a "month or two of" dry-rubbing/turning daily
I've never seen this done.
Are they not, essentially, equivalent - a saturated brine wash, and an extended dry-rub/dry "brine" development?
No, you lose more moisture from the cheese when dry salting.
but usually cheese-appreciation sites, which give outline descriptions of processes
Some are full of crap. Some misunderstand and misstate. Some are right. Some hear a process and think it applies to every cheese. There are probably people out there who both brine and salt rub, but I haven't seen this done. I've seen brine, brushing, and then washing later. They're probably using salt as a way to manage unwanted mold. Depends on the cave and the cheesemake. You need a rind with a slightly firm outer "shell" because, again, you don't want the b linens penetrating excessively. You want to layer and layer them on, and slowly flavor the cheese over time, and give an interesting color. Differences in practice have to do with cheese moisture. With more moist cheese, you want to protect the rind, and then layer on the b linens, and you give the cheese some time to lose moisture before you do that. With a drier cheese and a proper rind, you can layer on the b linens pretty quickly. Just depends on the entire technology of the make the individual preference. No one right way about it.
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Grateful Pav, very clearly explains things. I now realize I'm after something ultimately unachievable - the ability to "optimally" make both a tomme (at least a more nuanced tomme, not one heavily balanced towards corynebacteria) and a beaufort in one cave environment really can't be done. While I would like some linens contribution to the tomme, the notion of it taking off on this relatively-moister cheese isn't appealing to me, personally.
I wonder if the fact my tommes started off their first couple of weeks at 88-90%, with the the relatively slower, drying rind development shown elsewhere has (has, for these 3 tommes, only) forestalled the linens domination? (though wonder if by what you're saying, I could expect it to go from here, if not watched/controlled).
I think it's come full circle - sorry if it was a circuitous trip: Ideally, then a beaufort cave would be 95-98%, and a tomme cave, say, 88-92%, yes (if you want a more nuanced tomme)?
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Aging isn't that straightforward. You have regions in a cave with temp and humidity differences. And you have microclimates where some species dominate. And then you have the control factor where you can alter the development by what you do.
I personally wouldn't want to deal with aging a tomme and beaufort in the same cave, but it's possible. Suggest you do what you can and see how it turns out.
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Aging isn't that straightforward. You have regions in a cave with temp and humidity differences. And you have microclimates where some species dominate. And then you have the control factor where you can alter the development by what you do.
I personally wouldn't want to deal with aging a tomme and beaufort in the same cave, but it's possible. Suggest you do what you can and see how it turns out.
OK, I Understand. I'll watch and deal accordingly. You've also given food for thought for the broader question, a larger, natural cave system. Thanks.
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I personally wouldn't want to deal with aging a tomme and beaufort in the same cave, but it's possible. Suggest you do what you can and see how it turns out.
Some (most) of us don't have many options for otherwise. I was doing just that with my Tomme #2 With a Complex Rind and my Beaufort #2.
I realized I would have the risk of cross contamination, but I had to live with it anyway. The addition of the new cave gives me more options. The use of the minicaves helps to retain some control.
-Boofer-
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Some (most) of us don't have many options for otherwise. I was doing just that with my Tomme #2 With a Complex Rind and my Beaufort #2.
I realized I would have the risk of cross contamination, but I had to live with it anyway. The addition of the new cave gives me more options. The use of the minicaves helps to retain some control.
-Boofer-
Pretty amazing how quickly my tommes have started to take off. Definite progress of linens (will post some pics tomorrow or next); seems like a veritable party going on, which I think I'm going to have to monitor a bit more closely than before. I, too, Boof, am considering another cave, as I have an additional humidifier and can set up another environment.
FYI, for anyone interested on this notion of brining, then dry-rubbing, I did find the original cite, where I got the notion. Culture Cheese Magazine (http://www.culturecheesemag.com/beaufort-chalet). The thing that piqued my curiosity:
After unmolding, cheeses are transferrd to a cool "cave" and stored for another 24 hours before being submerged in brine for a day. Thereafter, cheeses are turned and hand salted on one side every morning and rubbed every afternoon while being stored on spruce shelves.
This process continues for one to two months, and when the rind is deemed satisfactory, the routine changes to twice weekly turning, and an application of mixed salt and a substance called "morge." "Morge" is a mixture of brine, old cheese scrapings and whey, and is known to contain at least 480 species of bacteria. This process develops the characteristic russet-colored rind of Beaufort.
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A brining period, but a "month or two of" dry-rubbing/turning daily
I've never seen this done.
Are they not, essentially, equivalent - a saturated brine wash, and an extended dry-rub/dry "brine" development?
No, you lose more moisture from the cheese when dry salting.
I don't understand the point of the brining followed by the dry-salting. Seems like the resulting cheese would be too salty, very hard, and very dry. Is that your target?
Thanks for distilling the Beaufort recipe. I am well pleased with my efforts so far and will use your work in my third effort down the road.
While I was writing this I scrolled down and saw your reference to the Culture Cheese Magazine and "morge". Wow, 480 species of bacteria! All good? All safe? Is that possible, linuxboy? That just seems too far "out there".
-Boofer-
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Boof, I think for me, there's likely several things at play, and most of it was out of a lack of clear understanding of procedures, past the make itself. What first prompted me was from reading in Sailor's recipe:
This is traditionaly a washed rind cheese. In about 7-10 days surface molds will start to develop. This needs to be wiped down with a saturated brine at 3-6 day intervals to start. Traditionaly the surface of large Beauforts is sprinkled with salt and allowed to develop its own brine. This is rubbed into the surface the following day, the cheese is turned, and the cycle repeated. A red rind will form in time and will require less frequent treatments.
-and since this followed the soaking brine itself in the recipe, I had thought this was basically a traditional version of what I knew of as the "washing" regimen, but one of using a dry rub instead.
I also saw this on cheesemaking.com's (http://www.cheesemaking.com/Beaufort-AlpineStyle.html)'s website, on beaufort:
Rind development:
This is a washed rind cheese. In about 7-10 days a surface mold will develop and this needs to be wiped down with a saturated brine at 3-6 day intervals to start. For the large Beaufort the surface is sprinkled with salt, allowed to develop its own brine, and this is rubbed into the surface on the next day. The cheese is turned and the cycle repeated. A red rind will form in time and the rind treatment will become less.
When I further saw the Culture Cheese (http://www.culturecheesemag.com/beaufort-chalet) website, describing a "1 to 2 month" period of dry-rubbing "until the rind is ready for a morge," I concluded this was "traditional" practice, esp. given Sailor's and cheesemaking.com's comment. I'm still a bit confused as to what "traditional" practice means, given the above quotes, and the description of this dry-rub period (an extended period) in at least one other site. Perhaps Sailor or Pav could clarify?
I am definitely not after a salty, hard cheese. I love alpine cheeses, and simply want to make a nutty, buttery (and...if I could get the milk...wonderfully floral, grassy) beaufort, similar to those I've come to love. I am also yet ignorant of salt-in-moisture levels, how to estimate it (how to estimate salt uptake) given a brine or a dry-rub; still learning.
Bit of digression, forgive me:
I think the operative term, is "still learning." And trying to lock in moving targets: something I will have inevitably to get over. Pav's comments re: "aging isn't that straightforward" are definitely taken to heart.
It's interesting, to me, - from my brewing days, dealing with an inherently unstable product - from the raw materials (malt starch and protein levels; hop a- and b-acid contents) to the living components (yeasts, and their varying ways), past a certain point, the goal was no longer as much "creativity," but taking an inherently variable, biological thing, and shooting for some level of consistency - even at the "craft brewery" level, an important thing once expectations from year to year come into being. It was fairly easy to do, in brewing.
But then, there's a lot more alchemy, I think, in brewing; a lot more inherent engineering than, say, my cousin's world, that of wine. I'm consequently not quite as comfortable in handling the wily world of bacterias and moulds, as well as yeasts. I shall have to get used to constant dancing, methinks.:)
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Those two quotes you have look like copies of each other. Someone wrote it, someone else came along and merely paraphrased it. They say the same thing...no new knowledge.
I had read that too and what I got out of it was that this was a traditional rind treatment for LARGE wheels of cheese (40lbs or better). The double salting treatment probably wouldn't have a negative impact on that much cheese, but I think you would see a definite extra dose of salt in the size of cheeses we typically make (3-7lb).
The double salt dose might be applicable to Wayne or FarmerJD's size of cheese wheel since they make 25 pounders.
I made an observation about Vasterbotten in another thread, commenting that the pressing regimen went up to 90kg per kg of cheese. In my myopic world that meant in excess of 800 lbs pressing power. In that case the cheesemaking instructions were geared towards 40lb wheels. If I applied those same instructions to my cheesemaking world, I would press my 4lb cheese at 800 lbs and end up with a cheese diamond. ;)
So I think the recipes and instructions for making cheese that we find out there in the etherworld should be taken with just a little pinch of salt. :D
Just my opinion, of course.
-Boofer-
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While I was writing this I scrolled down and saw your reference to the Culture Cheese Magazine and "morge". Wow, 480 species of bacteria! All good? All safe? Is that possible, linuxboy? That just seems too far "out there".
Wrong word choice. Not species, but strains. It's not uncommon to have dozens of strains of geo, be linens, yeasts, etc, in a traditional morge. But not that many unique species. In cheesemaking, it comes down to maybe 20-30 species for morge.
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How common is the use of a morge? Is it something we hobby cheese artisans should consider or is it too fraught with difficulties and problems? How much does it improve the final quality of the cheese flavor and texture over what most of us may be doing (brine wash, wine wash, beer wash, misting, etc.)?
-Boofer-
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I had read that too and what I got out of it was that this was a traditional rind treatment for LARGE wheels of cheese (40lbs or better). The double salting treatment probably wouldn't have a negative impact on that much cheese, but I think you would see a definite extra dose of salt in the size of cheeses we typically make (3-7lb).
It seemed excessive to me on even a traditional beaufort wheel, and seemed especially so on an 8" wheel.
What he said. Or he said. Or what someone said.;D
Yep, Boof, I was aware that if this applied to anything, it would be to the traditional, large wheel. What I was querying (it seems I queried poorly), was basically on whether this really was done in a traditional practice; and if so, what lessons could be drawn on a smaller, home-style wheel.
Because I did see it (agreed, Sailor's and cheesemaking's were basically saying the same thing; and the idea was only extended in the cheese culture article), I was hoping to find some kind of clue as to the reasoning, if so. I still would love to know whether anyone, in traditional practice, soak-brines, acclimatizes, then dry-rubs "daily" in the way discussed.
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I've read some interesting articles, and have begun reading some of the scientific texts behind a lot of this discussion on surface-ripening, in beaufort and related cheeses (thanks, Pav - reading esp. the bacterial surface-ripened chapter in Cheese: Chem., Physics and Micro, and also in particular, enjoying today, "Nature et variabilité de la flore microbienne dans la morge des fromages de Comté et de Beaufort," Le Lait (1992), 72, 143-164 (http://lait.dairy-journal.org/index.php?option=com_article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/articles/lait/pdf/1992/02/lait_72_1992_2_10.pdf) - the last is in French, for anyone interested).
I need to digest; a quick question. If I washed the tommes every other day to begin and attempt a good foothold of desired flora, I note the beaufort protocol is "every 3-6 days." My nervous micro-managing (no pun intended) habit would wish me to try to get the beaufort started early, and well, with a more frequent washing initially then a 7-10 day waiting period, followed by by a washing routine of 3-6 days. Is the difference in washing regimens between the two styles related to the difference in rind permeability, cheese moisture content, aging period, and so forth? In other words, a beaufort is a longer, slower, gentler rind "layering" and cheese maturation process, whereas a tomme, or like cheese, is simply more prone to deleterious flora effects (because of rind and moisture differences), is washed by a different protocol, and aged more rapidly?
Or have I misread something, and there's no reason one wouldn't wash a beaufort initially, every couple of days (over every 3-6 days)?
Thanks.
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No, that's right. Tomme rind is higher moisture, faster ripening, and the point is to let the molds and bacteria release enzymes into the body of the cheese and help to change the paste.
Beaufort rind is dry, have to wait for it to form, then layer on the morge.
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Thanks, Pav. I washed the beaufort, initially, after brining and drying. I was planning on doing this on a 3 day schedule, initially, so that would mean tomorrow, again. Is this, then, a mistake, and I should allow a week or two in the cave, untouched (I am turning it, daily).
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(split, as it's a cumbersome read...just an FYI, for anyone interested):
BTW, off-topic, and Pav, you may have read this already - but for anyone else, an article on husbandry practices - genetics, physiology and feeding - and their influence on texture, taste and other sensory aspects in cheese; from the same journal - "Relationships between ruminant management and sensory characteristics of cheeses: a review," Lait, 84 (2004), 221-241 (http://lait.dairy-journal.org/index.php?option=com_article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/articles/lait/pdf/2004/02/L03994.pdf). I am somewhat keyed by this today, for a couple of reasons.
One, I tasted the most extraordinary cheddar: Willi Lehner's (bleu mont dairy) bandaged cheddar. It's been a long, long time. Without hyperbole, the most incredible sensation of pasture grass - and this is tasted in the late, late winter. I've had cheeses before that capture this fresh, grassy quality; but MAN, I love this maker's cheese, and eager to see more of what he does.
Secondly, coming off a grazing conference a few weeks back, and having talked with a French cattle genetics guy, I am very interested in the potential for Normande, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise breeds and crosses, in American cheesemaking. (The article discusses, in part, some of the genetics of these breeds in terms of their casein variants, and their impact on cheese properties. It also discusses how the physiological aspects of cattle, food preservation methods and forage composition - to include "highland" v. "valley" feeding differences - influence the sensory aspects of cheese. Very interesting, to me, when thinking of a given cheese's "style."
Paul
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I am hopeful someone can help clear this up - trying to derive process, from Pav and Sailor's guidance, and from things read by people like Frank Kosikowski, et al. I am not trying to complicate it, just sincerely remain confused as to what to do in the early stages of affinage. Admittedly, most of what I've read applies to large wheels - but again, trying to understand exactly what is at work to dry the beaufort rind during the first, critical period, in prepping it either for an entirely natural rind process, or a bacterial surface-smear ripening.
In addition to Sailor's recipe, and references elsewhere in a general way to gruyere, etc., some of what I've read:
From Kosikowski (this is for Gruyere): "Proceed as for Emmental" [NOTE: this includes brining for 2-3 days, then a cool room treatment of: 50-60F, 90ish% RH, and wiping down daily with a salt solution; turn cheese over onto a clean board, sprinkle dry salt over the surface, and replace on shelf. Repeat for 10-14 days]. Then "Hold in a warm room at a minimum of 57F for 4 weeks or more; salt the rind periodically, and permit smearing of the surfaces during curing at 59F. Store at 50-57F for 3-12 mos., or at 43F for 6-12 months."
From Fox, et al, Cheese, Chemistry and Microbiology, "Bacterial Surface-Ripened Cheeses": "Smear cheeses are normally salted by brining for 4-18 hours, depending on the size of the cheese; with smaller cheeses being brined for shorter periods, after which the cheeses are brined for some hours to remove excess brine. Again, Beaufort, Comte and Gruyere cheeses are an exception to this rule, as their surfaces are rubbed with dry salt several times throughout their ripening."
Both texts go on; and many others do as well. I am just wondering what exactly one does, after brining to (a) make a beaufort with a natural rind; I see many instructions say "in 7-10 days, moulds will appear which will need to be wiped down with a saturated solution...." So, does this mean that for the first 7-10 days after brining, the cheese is to be left alone, or, as I seem to see in, say Kosikowski, some sort of salting regimen - presumably to dry the rind out, per Pav's discussion of the nature of the rind in these types of cheeses - is to take place (I again admit the smallness of the wheel - and just wonder if some salting, adjusting for the smaller wheel, is to take place during the first period after brining - BEFORE 7-10 days take place?)
Or,
(b) if doing a true bacterial-ripened beaufort, again, is there any provision for this salting regimen (in order to dry out the rind, and prep it for the eventual flora - given the desired end in a beaufort, comte, etc. v. a tomme, as discussed above)?
I am truly sorry to beat a dead horse; I'm just thoroughly confused about the nature of how, exactly, to dry out the beaufort, during the first week or two, post-brining, and "drying" period of a day or two. Pav, or anyone, if you could clarify this, I'd greatly appreciate it, as this would help elucidate much more than beaufort making alone. Many thanks.
Paul
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Paul--I have made many of the Alpines, including Emmenthal and Beaufort and have found the "brine washing" you are referring to in your recipes is only used to disuade mold when it is found on the surface. It's a washing method used for many cheeses to ward off unwanted molds. Perhaps Pav has a more involved explanation, but it's really quite simple.
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Thanks, Brie. I do understand the purpose (I think) of the saturated brine - again, please forgive my newbie (and fractured mind, at times - :o) status, which can lead to confusions; as I understand it, the saturated brine wash is both to ward off unwanted molds (as you say), as the alpine style rinds are extremely clean and taut; additionally, and relatedly, to dry the rind out - either as part of the natural rind, or in prep for the morge treatment, if going with a bacterial surface-ripened cheese.
It's this aspect of drying out that I am confused by; again, looking at Sailor's recipe (and I've seen this expressed similarly elsewhere), there's an initial period of 7-10 days, "during which" molds, etc., will start to form. A saturated solution is then used to wash the rind free of these molds.
But reading Kosikowski, etc., it seems to imply a salting regimen that is continuous from the brining and "initial" drying; so, in a nutshell (I'll try to make this concise):
I. If doing a natural rind, after brining, do you leave the beaufort alone, until molds begin to appear - then wipe it off with saturated brine? This could be anytime, really - 7, 10 days, 2 weeks - but basically, the saturated brine is used to wash the rind; there's no regular, real "salting" regimen otherwise. If so, what is Kosikowski, etc., talking about when indicating:
brining for 2-3 days, then a cool room treatment of: 50-60F, 90ish% RH, and wiping down daily with a salt solution; turn cheese over onto a clean board, sprinkle dry salt over the surface, and replace on shelf. Repeat for 10-14 days]. Then "Hold in a warm room at a minimum of 57F for 4 weeks or more; salt the rind periodically, and permit smearing of the surfaces during curing at 59F
? Does anyone see where I'm getting the confusion, over this initial period, and salting, post-brine?
II. If wanting to do a morge-based beaufort, do you:
(1) again leave the wheel alone for some period after brining (this is the "drying out" period, the setting up of a truly dry rind, upon which corynebacteria, etc., are "layered"); use a saturated brine to keep off unwanted contaminations, and then, finally, after some pre-determined period of "drying"; then begin a 3% morge washing regimen, of every 3, or 6 days (which is it - and what's the reasoning), to the end of maturation? or
(2) Does one leap into a semi-regular 3% morge process, every 3, or 6 days (again, if recipes say "every 3/6 days - which is it, and why?) immediately after brining/drying?
Sorry for the morass, folks - a point I'm clearly but sincerely sticking on, and hopeful of a lantern to guide me out.
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I am truly sorry to beat a dead horse;
Sorry, Paul, I couldn't resist. 8)
What I might try is to brine for a shorter period so that I've got a little more margin before the excessive saltiness creeps in. Then I could try the dry salting post-brine and not be so concerned that I would just end up with a deer salt lick.
Man, with all of this discussion you've dished up, I am really anxious to do another Beaufort and another Tomme! Where's the milk?
And I didn't put that "This Thread" in the last pic.
-Boofer-
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Lol, Boof....nice way to wake up. And I haven't even grabbed my first cup of joe. ;D
And, uh, I still don't know whether to leave the wheel alone for 7-10 days (or until moulds start showing up), to salt it (via dry rub or saturated brine) immediately, or if doing a morge, whether to do the same in prep for the morge "layering" process.
Anyone? Bueller?
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BPI1jbeoxc0/RwPuz9wEwMI/AAAAAAAAAHo/tmA03oiEYYM/s400/teachermirror.jpg)
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Alright gentlemen, here you go, Beaufort affinage with small wheels.
First, a discussion of what is done on a large scale:
1-2 days into the make, the wheels are out of the brine. The salt content at this point is low, about 1%. Over the next few weeks, the cheeses are allowed to firm up, and to start undergoing the early stages of aging. During this part, bacteria will lyse, there's hydrolysis happening of fats, sugars, and proteins. During this part, the moisture level of the cheese is fairly even throughout. There is no rind "shell" on the outside. That shell is crucial to later aging, so after the cheese has had a chance to solidify it becomes easier to flip, and salting can begin.
about 1-2 weeks into aging, salting/rubbing can begin. This is for three reasons:
- One, the salt will draw moisture out, but only from the immediate rind. Crucial to rind formation
- Two, the salt will act as an abrasive to kill any molds. And it will kill them off also due to salinity
- Three, rubbing down helps to physically knock back molds, working together with the salt.
This continues for weeks, depending on how the affinage progresses. Once there's a good rind on the outside, a sort of thick, impenetrable one, the morge wash can begin.
The morge wash works in the long run primarily through heavily proteolytic b linens. This will break down protein rapidly, and will create a soft cheese if the moisture is high. But if the moisture is low, it will slowly break up the protein peptides into amino acids, creating really intense flavor. So 4-6 weeks into it, or whenever the rind is ready, you start the morge wash and keep layering it on.
You can't use the exact same process on small wheels. Especially the salting has to be different. That's why I said I don't know anyone who does that; there are not many makers of wheels this size in the US.
For small wheels, it doesn't work so well because you will be losing a good part of the cheese to the rind. A good size is perhaps a 4-5" thick, by 8-10" diameter wheel, in a smaller form factor.
So the way around it is to create a thinner rind and baby the wash to make sure you start at the right time. What does this mean? Means your make schedule is like this
- 24-48 hours, wheel should be out of the brine. Move to cave.
- In the cave, do everything you can to control molds and encourage the rind to form. Salt and rub with a rag, wash with saturated brine, scrub, all of those would work.
- Once you have a reasonable rind (will be different color uniformly), start your morge.
Oversalting is actually not a huge deal, provided that you used the right PF ratio in the milk. Lower fat cheese, like Beaufort, will not absorb salt as quickly or as much as cheese that has higher fat. If you're worried, brine less.
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Oh my god, I BREATHED! I actually BREATHED!
Thanks, Pav, as usual; you come through with lucidity, for the (I speak for moi-même) challenged. Perfect!
I'm in the beginning stages of my second beaufort. All of this is really, really, helpful. I hope it has been so to others, as well.
Paul
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Inspirational and elucidating, as always. Thanks, linuxboy.
Filing this away in the Beaufort/rind care folder....
-Boofer-
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Day 12 of this first beaufort. Ceased daily 3% brine wash with PLA on day 10.
Evidence of yeast development has been continuing in an even way for several days, now. However, as of this morning, I noticed several ringlets on both sides of the wheel, varying in size between, say, 1/32 and 1/16" in diameter. They are at this stage, basically the same color as the rest of the flora. (Not that that means anything, just noted it).
It's my presumption, from everything on this board and from what I've seen elsewhere, that these alpine rinds should be as smooth and even as possible, through the entire affinage. To that end, I took a small amount of dry salt and used a cloth to scrub the surfaces lightly, this morning, to try to smooth down the ringlets. It didn't really work - got rid of the ringlet "ridges," but the circular patterns are still there. Don't even know if that was a tactical error.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/pkphotodo/bottomsidebeaufort1ringlet.jpg)
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/pkphotodo/topsidebeaufort1ringlet.jpg)
(Pics are again a bit modified and heightened, to show the issue better).
I've an issue with condensation on the refrigerator ceiling, which can drip down onto these wheels (drag) unless I catch the buildup and wipe down several times a day. My first thought is that perhaps these are water droplets, making for a different substrate locally? Any diagnostics as to what these are? Solutions?
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Seems like you've identified a possible cause and explanation for the rings. Now you can be extra cautious along those lines. Those rings are probably there now as part of the cheese character. Last June-July when I was making my two Goutaler wheels, the lid on one container touched the top of one of the wheels. I caught it pretty quickly but not before it dampened the top of the wheel and forever changed the look of that surface. I took it as something to watch for and ensure never happened again.
That cheese was successfully carried through to affinage where it is now.
You can see where the problem was in the pic. Live and learn.
-Boofer-
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Thanks, Boof. I'm going to have to rig something up on the ceiling to allow dripping to go down to the sides, as opposed to gathering on top, as it's impossible for me to catch it all the time - the ceiling condensation is constant, in my cave, at this humidity level. Drag.
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I'd have to see it in real life. I'd guess one of two things:
1. Condensation drips
2. Whey wells
If you are having trouble with condensation in a fridge you can do two things, both have worked for me in the past, I used to use fridges for cam blooming:
1. Move a shelf to the top position and put a towel on it, replace the towel every few days.
2. Fabricate a sheet metal pan that you can put on the top shelf, empty every week or so.
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Thanks, Francois. Unfortunately I'm out of shelf space, so I did a jury-rigged tent that extends to the sides, and allows condensate to drip down the walls. Not sure that's going to work, either - the condensate has exploded on the underside of this tent, and I only hope the angle is steep enough for the water to roll down and escape, not drop off the tent onto the cheeses, same problem.
I'll have to investigate what whey wells are (a flaw, I'm guessing, in the make? - uneven syneresis, something like this?), but just before putting the tent up, another drop landed - and immediately made the weird pattern. Not happy about it, but c'est la vie.
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Francois, if you're reading this, more of these patterns have showed up, though I can confirm there's no more condensate coming down onto the cheese. I've searched, but haven't found anything on this - can you (Pav? or anyone with knowledge on these) go into the causes of "whey wells," as you mention above?
Thanks.
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Whey wells, or at least I call them that, happen when trapped whey inside the cheese finds an exit. It makes a pin hole sized spot where it exits and then a larger ring around the area. The whey creates localised pH gradients and provides food for all sorts of things to grow. I usually attributed the wells to incomplete cutting of curd, so a big chunk got trapped when I hooped up.
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OK, great, thanks, Francois. That makes perfect sense on this wheel, because it was the first time I attempted a 1/4" cut with a knife on a stockpot, so my "conical sections" at 45 deg. were all over the place and unlike my second beaufort, I made no corrective "ricing" with a whisk. I got anything but even curd cuts, and many were "set" by the cook in this irregular way, I know.
Any means during affinage to mitigate the damage, that you could suggest? This beaufort is off of its first 10 days of daily washings, and gets a 3% saline PLA wash, 2x weekly.
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No intervention that I am aware of. If you scrub the spot it is likely it will come back as more whey escapes.
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OK, thanks. Live and learn. Though my second wheel was much more regular in curd size (really, large rice grains), next project is a harp, as Wayne designed and built, or a mini-version of:
(http://www.nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org/Documents/Images/ch_29.jpg)
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That looks like a decent pic of you, Paul. Is it fairly recent? :)
-Boofer-
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Nah, I wish it was, Boof. That's me, but it's my dad taking the pic - Polaroid, c. 1964. ;D
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Came back from a week away. My neighbor kindly did yeoman's service in turning my cheeses while away, but unfortunately I can confirm the whey wells. The day we left, many of the wells had exploded overnight (by visuals, only) with blue. I washed the wheel, wiping the molds away (experimenting with just doing this, over "excising" any blue I see, to see if desired flora can outcompete the blue, with time and care). A lesser return by Tuesday, and more so on Thursday. My neighbor washed both of my beauforts with their respective brines, and I did the same on Saturday, on my return.
The blue on this first beaufort is very small, compared with what I saw on my leaving; if the day I left, I saw 2-3 craters of perhaps 3/8" diameter, by Saturday, the original areas had shrunk to maybe 1/16" or so. However, both sides of the wheel now have these small blue spots. Not many, and not large but more.
I know blues are everywhere, and as this cave is a young cave, it will be some time before I can likely expect a balanced flora development as an environmental parameter. The cave is maintained at 93%RH and 53-55F.
I'd think to spray all boards and cave surfaces with a PLA wash, if PLA was common to everything I'm doing, but it's not (my younger "beaufort" gets a L'Etivaz rind morge wash). Any immediate suggestions for keeping general blue infestations down? (As opposed to what to do, once finding blue on a given wheel)?
Edit: Just turned the wheels. I can see no blue on this first wheel. Knocking on wood, and would be surprised if indeed, the blues have been starved out, given my understanding of at least some of their parameters of play; but hopeful, nonetheless.