Raffine Challenge...

[bansidhe]

Ahhh yes.. I have been having trouble with the rind as well.  I tasted a small piece today out of curiosity and it was bitter tasting.  When do you do the 24 hour soak?  I'll be interested in knowing how that goes for you.   
BTW I got my pH strips!  I just need more recipes that actually have pH markers!

[bansidhe]

I think the bitterness is due to super fast (and over) ripening,   I think this is the case because I saw a comment on NE Cheesemaking Washed Rind Monk's Cheese recipe.   " The longer you wait the stronger the flavor. However, if it goes too long it will give off ammonia smells and the taste becomes bitter."    My raffine gave off definite ammonia smells ..  When I try this cheese again, I'll do it in the late autumn when the house will be cooler.

[OzzieCheese]

I have had to decrease the temperature to 12DegC and increase the humidity to 90%. The cheese sticking to the cloth has peeled off part of the under side of two. My cave cube is working well but I'm fighting little pop ups of blue so I removed the boards and changed the cloth covering the cheeses and wiped out the fridge with vinegar to wipe it out - hopefully. The smell of the cheese is not bad and I seem to have kept the ammonia production down to the bare minimum.
I have not tasted my cheese as yet.

[bansidhe]

You're about a week behind me.. Have you done the 24 hour water soak?

[OzzieCheese]

I have that on my list tomorrow. How much salt and water did you use in the end?

[bansidhe]

I put them in a plastic container and added just enough water to cover them with a handful of salt.  That is what I got from the recipe and the Q&A.  I figure it was about a liter of water..

[OzzieCheese]

At the end of the flipping and washing - no B.Linens !! I'm starting to the think it is a urban myth. To give it the best chance of showing I even rigged up my Cave Cube set to be 85% to 90% humidity and the fridge set to 12 DegC and still no 'linens'.
I even left the cheese in this environment for an extra week to see what would happen - nothing!

To the salting. We conversed over the interpretation and covered with water with a handful of salt was a little too vague. So I set two in a Red Decore ripening container each and measured my 'handful at about 30 grams and about 1.5 litres of water gave me a a light brine - ish! If the cheese tastes any good I'll standardize this to a light 8% brine.

The results were 'Interesting'
After 24 hours, the end result was sort of suspected and the rind got very mushy - but not slimy - one of the cheese lost almost all of one side - the others didn't seem to fair to badly but, the rind on all was very delicate and wouldn't take too much handling to make a mess.  Before wrapping in cheese paper I dried them off as mush as possible and placed them in the cold fridge 5-7 DegC and I'm going to leave them ripen a little longer. I've numbered them one to four, starting with the mushiest one and I'll run a taste test next weekend.

I will definitely do some more research on this cheese. If anyone else has run across this one please add your findings and impressions.
 

[mikekchar]

There are a couple of keys for getting b. linens to show up.  First, the pH has to be high enough.  For some strains of b. linens that's all the way up to 6.0 (though the average is 5.8).  The only way to get there is rampant yeast growth.  This is why some producers of this style of washed rind have a "yeast phase", where they hold the cheese at 16 C for several days.

Second you need salt.  B. linens is one of those strange bacteria that actually requires salt.  IIRC, this recipe has a dunk in salt water several weeks in.  I suspect that's what it's for.  Washing with a 3-5% brine usually does it for me, though.  However, if you don't have the yeasts growing actively on the rind, it may not work.

Finally you need moisture.  Keeping the cheese damp is really the key.  Especially if your cave has a fan, it may not be damp enough even with a high humidity.  Again, a wash is the easiest way to get there.

But, I had problems for ages until I realised that the yeast phase is crucial (I think it was iratherfly's Reblochon thread that clued me in...)  If you can get the rind to be a bit greasy as the beginning and you maintain that yeast growth throughout, I doubt you'll have any problems.  The other thing you can do when coaxing b. linens from the wild is to rub the cheese with your fingers.  Lots of bacteria there to transfer (b. linens is natural present on skin).  Sounds gross, but...

[bansidhe]

Sorry about your bLinens problems!  I've been lucky and have been able to get it even when I DON'T want it!

My rinds got all icky, too.  I will try this cheese when we have much cooler temperatures since my cheese ammoniated WAY FAST.

Do your cheeses stink?  This cheese matures quickly. I am anxious to hear of your tasting?  I tasted mine and they were very bitter.
:-(.

[mikekchar]

Yep.  Stinky and bitter if you don't slow it down.  That's why I say that as soon as it starts to turn, get it in the normal fridge.  If you don't want the b. linens then dry it off aggressively.  If you manage to get it to dry off, the rind tastes *very* nice in my experience.

[OzzieCheese]

Mine didn't ammoniate at all though I did lower the ripening temperature to 12-14 DegC. They are currently in the colder fridge for a week and I'll test on the weekend.

[OzzieCheese]

The Reveal - even without the B.Linens missing the party I declare this cheese a winner.

I must admit to having a piece when friends dropped in yesterday - don't judge me !

I had huge trepidations regarding the outcome of this cheese and all were discounted after the first bite. As predicted, the outside is very soft (about 1/4 a centimeter of ozzy creaminess) and inside was tangy and firmer. The salt level could be higher and the added cream certainly help stabilize the overall internals. It has a definite washed rind funk to it but is is not overpowering at all. Overall there is no bitterness and the ammoniation is present but again not overpowering. The overall mouth feel is a squishy creamy outside with a very delicate rind - the late stage brining caused that - with a creamy, tangy, firmer inside. It spreads well on crackers and I have tried it with a nice Ale and a good cuppa, all very nice.

[OzzieCheese]

This is very different cheese than I have made before and the results of the short aging was surprising. I hope the images show the how far the softening has reached. My extra week of aging in the fridge, trying to get the B.Linens to play has contributed to the degree of softening on the outside and brining did the rest. They were very difficult to handle after the brining.

[OzzieCheese]

My lunch for today, including some of our homemade pickled onions and a very nice ale - again. Things I'm going to change.

1. A little more salt added initially
2. Definitely add extra cream - remember the original was being made from Raw milk and while the milk I use is the best one I can afford here, it is still processed.
3. Cut the brining time down to reduce the degradation of the rind.
4. Drop the aging temperature in the fridge to 12-14 DegC but increase the time by about a week.
5. Try to keep RH at 90% - that is a bit difficult using a cheap wine fridge as the refrigeration cycle drops the RH and the cave cube is almost constantly running - better than nothing I suppose.
6. Work on my B.Linens story...     
7. Make this one more often

This has been a very rewarding experiment and one I intend to do more of. The details are scant on how to make this cheese and it would be a shame to see it disappear altogether so, if any one else would like to take up the 'Raffine' challenge I do thoroughly recommend it and would love to see and read about your endeavors.

[bansidhe]

Fantastic!  AC4U!  Mine was an abject failure!  But once the temps here get to be a bit cooler I am going to try again especially in light of your success!  And your cheese looks similar to the pic on the Cheesemaking site.  Congratulations!