Hacking Vacherin Mont D'Or?

[H-K-J]

Nice one Al
AC4U it looks excellent 

[Al Lewis]

Thanks guys!  Still not sure if I made what I stated out to make.  I tried to go on-line and order one last night but couldn't find any.  I am still going to try the other option once this one is cleared out of my cave.

[OzzieCheese]

Al !!  What a cracker of a cheese - why the heck would you want to mail order a cheese when you make something that is far far far superior   An Artisan is born - this is what we all aspire to.

Very well done   and A Cheese !!

-- Mal 

[Al Lewis]

I just wanted to see what the real one taste like so I can see if I actually hacked the recipe.  This one tastes great but I have nothing to compare it to. LOL

[Danbo]

Al: Yours is much more "real". ;-)

[amiriliano]

Looks delicious. Excellent work! I think you've 90% hacked it I would say ??

[Al Lewis]

I think this cheese is good but I still have to try the modified brie recipe.  I think I've found the secret to these things.

[amiriliano]

I agree. Would you mind summarizing it in one recipe?

[Al Lewis]

The secret, if there is one, is when you flip them over and wash the top make sure you leave a good layer of the brine on the cheese.  You want a nice thick film of it to soak into the cheese.  I used the recipe from 200 Easy Homemade Cheese recipes, page 239, changing it for 3 gallons of milk with 3 pints of heavy cream and adding 3/8 teaspoon of PC and 1/32 tsp of Geo to it.  I also wrapped them in the spruce bark which the recipe does not call for.  For 3 gallons of milk and 3 pints of heavy cream I used 1/4 tsp meso culture, 3/8 tsp calcium chloride in water, 1/2 tsp vegetable rennet (1/2 tablet) dissolved in water, 3/8 tsp penicillium candidum, and  1/32 tsp of geotrichum. Procedure was the standard "bring the milk to 86° F and add cultures wait 15 minutes and add calcium chloride, wait 15 minutes and add rennet, wait 50 minutes and check for clean break.  Use a large which to cut the curd to pea size pieces, let stand for 10 minutes.  Slowly warm curd to 100° F while stirring continuously for 35 minutes.  Hold for 10 minutes while curds settle.  Pour contents into cheese cloth lined colander and drain.  divide curd into 6 equal segments and put into prepared mold, 1 segment at a time, and press with 20 pounds of weight for 30 minutes, flip over and press for a further 30 minutes.  Wrap with the prepared spruce bark (keep in a pan of steeping hot water prior to use to make soft).  Brine in 18% saturated brine for 12 hours turning over after 6 hours. Dry at room temperature and place in cave, flipping every 12 hours for one week.  After one week flip and wash the top side of the cheese with brine solution leaving a good layer of brine on the surface every other day.  Continue until the cheeses soften.  Once soft box and place in fridge until use.  Not sure if this makes vacherin Mont D'Or but it's what I did.  I'll be doing a different version soon.  Tip, I keep these on a glass cutting board as the PC tends to grow quite a bit on the down side and wold easily attach itself to a mat. I used 5.1" diameter camembert molds which give you a cheese a little thicker than the spruce bark.  About 2 inches thick.

[Al Lewis]

Flipped and brined today.  The one on the bottom right is just about ready to eat.  Note the slight difference in color. They are softening in the order of their thickness with the thinnest ones ripening first.  Another good reason to make sure they are uniform when you mold them.

[OzzieCheese]

AC4U - this is has been a great expose.

--Mal

[Kern]

Flipped and brined today.  The one on the bottom right is just about ready to eat.  Note the slight difference in color. They are softening in the order of their thickness with the thinnest ones ripening first.  Another good reason to make sure they are uniform when you mold them.

So, your namesake who traveled west about 1804 with a guy named Clark had nothing on you!  Take a cheese, Merriweather!   

[Al Lewis]

Thanks for the accolades my friends but, I'm still not sure I made what I started out to make. LOL

[Danbo]

No matter what, you made some cheeses that we all can envy! :-) Have a cheese...

[OzzieCheese]

That's for sure... Cheddars and Caerphilly's are the mainstay this - is edible art..