Blue: How long do I wait?

[flac]

BLUF:  How long should I let a blue, stiltonesque grow before diving in?

This cheese began it's life in my vat on Feb 22, 2014.  I used four gallons of PH milk and one Raw gallon (at $15/gal I have to limit myself right now )


I used a small slurry from Trader Joe's Stilton


Out of the press it looked pretty good. Banana for scale


A week later it was still kinda wet, but I smoothed it (or tried to anyway)


It has been living in a micro cave (a bin) inside of my cheese cave since then. I have been flipping it somewhat inconstantly. It never 'blued' as much as I had hoped; maybe I did not use enough slurry or had the humidity messed up. Lately there have been a few new colors (dark brown and pink). Should I be concerned? Keep it alive, or just cut into it?

I just took these pictures today (July 7, 2014)






Thanks!

[jwalker]

I guess they're all different , but my blues are usually ready to eat at six weeks or so.

But Stilton can be aged much longer , it's up to the individual.

[flac]

Well, I will have to break into it soon.
Thanks

[flac]

The little eight month old child has been taking up most of my time 

But, finally cut into this guy tonight. The blue flavor was VERY strong! It has a super strong bite! The texture was very creamy, more like a spread than I expected; I definitely have to work on my humidity control.
It is a success in getting blue veins, even if I did not oxygenate enough after the piercing.
It is a failure in my humidity control. Still learning...

[Andrew Marshallsay]

I'm jealous (and peckish)
Please accept a cheese for a lovely looking blue.
What recipe did you use?

[H-K-J]

I wish I could get mine to vein like that
What recipe did you use?
A cheese for you  and a great looking blue 

[flac]

Thanks! It was fun to see the blue actually work.

I used Mary Karlin's Stilton recipe from Artisan Cheese Making at Home I can't find all my notes for how (or if) I deviated. I used the Trader Joe's brand Stilton and just completely guessed how much slurry to add.

[amiriliano]

Beautiful! I made some Roquefort a few months ago that for some reason came out extremely bitter. This however looks great.

Accept a cheese, please.

[JeffHamm]

A cheese to you for a wonderful looking Stiltonesque.  Great looking veining and the paste looks good.  Sounds like it has a bit of attitude, which is not surprising given the age.  Well done.

- Jeff