Limburger Adventure

[Lancer99]

I made two batches, on successive days. Why? Because the curd from the first batch seemed too firm, according to the guidance in the recipe on cheesemaking.com, and I was concerned it wasn't knitting together enough.  The next day things went better:



And I may have gotten carried away a bit with the annatto on that first make.

Anyway, it has now been two months. They've been kept in 48-50 degrees/90-95% RH. I did the initial wiping with B. linens and brine wash, then until about three weeks ago, I had to wipe the rinds more or less daily with just plain water. Then they started to get "tacky," stayed moist and developed a gorgeous salmon/pink color, as seems right for B. linens FR22.

One problem? I wasn't careful enough when they started, and they got infected with my arch-nemesis, blue:



It varied from cheese to cheese. This one was pretty much unaffected:



. . . and it didn't really seem to affect the finished taste, presumably because it never got past the rind and into the paste. The other problem? I should have kept the rinds even moister (until they started doing that for themselves), to prevent some splitting:



Here they are at two months, which cheesemaking.com describes as "à point."





The labels are reversed – Lim2 is actually the first batch I did. Pretty happy with these, nice color on the rind, some openness in the curd, and (once I cut back on the annatto) nice color.

But, you ask, how do they taste? Well, the irony here is that I'm not really a Limburger fan. It's not the smell, which I recognize but it completely doesn't bother me, I just don't really love the combination of soft/sweet/salty taste of these cheeses. I'm gonna pat myself on the back because they were pretty much like Limburgers I've had in the past. It will be interesting to see how much funkier they get in the future.



Thanks,
-L

[MacGruff]

First of all, aC4U - those look very pretty. I like the looks of the one on the right (Lim2) - maybe because it is more orange... ^-^

I have never had the pleasure (umm...  strength of character) to try Limburger. I'm told it's quite delightful, especially with a thick slice of raw onion on a hunk of hearty bread...

But your two cheese look quite nice on those crackers. Since you mention that you are not particularly a friend of Limburger's - what made you try to make them?

[River Bottom Farm]

Nice looking cheese. AC4U

[awakephd]

AC4U!

[Bluehorse]

I know what you mean, about not being over the moon about the texture (soft).  I'm a bit like that with soft, gooey cheeses and i think it is texture (not taste) that i have to be careful not to have too much of or it wrecks the experience.   All cheese is good but it appears each has a time & a place,a recipe, accompaniment and serving size.  I'm looking forward to trying more washed rinds - it appears to be an art within an art.

[Lancer99]

Thanks all for your comments and kind words.  MacGruff, they were made as part of what I'll only half-ironically call my "cheesemaking journey" - - trying out all the basic cheese(making) styles and trying to learn about the various ingredients and techniques.

Bluehorse, the odd thing is that a soft and gooey Brie/Camembert is my favorite cheese of all!  So much for consistency (mine, not the cheese) :)

-L