Brie #2 question about aging

[Gregore]

You threw them out ......  they could not be salvaged by adding to cooked food?

[AeonSam]

A lot of it was eaten in various ways, but a lot of the rind was tossed.

Sam

[AnnDee]

I use PC SAM for my cams and quite happy with it. I pat the rind when flipping the cams too, I read it helps to achieve thinner rind.

[AeonSam]

AnnDee, that's typically what I use on Brie. Have you gotten really thin rinds on other soft ripened cheeses?

Sam

[Al Lewis]

I use PC SAM for my cams and quite happy with it. I pat the rind when flipping the cams too, I read it helps to achieve thinner rind.

Exactly!!

[Danbo]

Here's a good short PDF with some tips on bloomy rinds...

http://www.thebeveragepeople.com/pdf/webcheesepdf/Caldwellarticle.pdf

Danbo

[Martin]

I use PC SAM for my cams and quite happy with it. I pat the rind when flipping the cams too, I read it helps to achieve thinner rind.

How does one "pat the rind", Ann?

[AnnDee]

I use PC SAM for my cams and quite happy with it. I pat the rind when flipping the cams too, I read it helps to achieve thinner rind.

How does one "pat the rind", Ann?

Lovingly, of course 
Actually I just tap them gently with my fingers, I use raw milk so I have firm cheese to begin with even when I pasteurise it. But I have to be extra gentle if I use P&H milk.

[Al Lewis]

You will find that the PC will grow and look, and feel, like soft white cat fur on top.  You simply pick up the cheese and smooth the fur flat, very gently, with your hand.  Then turn it over and put it back with the other side up so it can grow. Repeat this process every day until you're ready to wrap.

[AeonSam]

Thanks everyone.

I meant something slightly different by thin rind and because I'm very new at cheese making, I might be using the wrong adjective. I'm refering to these almost imperceptible rinds like on St. Albans of Vermont creamery or alot of Mystic Cheese's products. It almost seems like the surface is unbaked bread dough, very soft, tight and thin. It looks like there's hardly any transition between the paste and the rind.

Know what I mean?

Sam

[Al Lewis]

Seems like that would be a good thing.  If you have a thick skin on these you may experience "slip skin" where the internal cheese touching the rind gets very soft and the center is still firm.  Then when you try to lift one the skin breaks letting the internal cheese run out.  Not good cheese.

[awakephd]

Sam, I hate to hear of this loss, though I'm glad you were able to salvage some of the paste.

I use PC-ABL, along with a tiny bit of Geo 13, and confess that my rinds are not the thinnest in the world - certainly nothing like what you are describing. But I haven't really cared, because I'm not getting slip-skin, and it all tastes good!