Improvised cow's milk blue cheese

[Aris]

I made this using 5l raw cow's milk pasteurized to 150 f for 30 minutes, calf rennet powder I bought from thecheesemaker over a decade ago, a Chinese yogurt starter culture (5 strains) that originated in Russia and store bought Danish blue cheese. I used my own recipe to make this since using others recipe is confusing and limiting. I don't use pH strips and pH meter since smelling and tasting the curd and whey already gives me an idea about acidity. Even cheeses that require a specific pH like Mozzarella and melting cheeses like Cheddar/Raclette are easy to time and arrest the pH drop. This blue cheese taste surprisingly good, albeit a little bitter (under salted 2.5%) and mild since it is only 35 days old. I wrapped it again in aluminum foil to age it further. Who would have thought over a decade old calf rennet powder can still be usable. The calf rennet powder was stored in the freezer but shelf life is supposed to be 2 years in the freezer. I don't even need to put more rennet. A pinch is even good enough to coagulate 7.5 liter water buffalo milk. Cheese ingredients are almost non-existent here in the Philippines and if you do find one like rennet, it is not viable. I don't have the money yet to buy cheese ingredients in the US. Good thing this craft is very flexible and open to improvisation.

[paulabob]

That's a really pretty blue, AC4U!

[MacGruff]

35  days in and it already looks like that? Impressive!

AC4U!

[Aris]

Aging it for an additional 10 days made a big difference. It is less bitter, softer and creamier. The flavor is nutty pretty similar to Stilton. It actually has more blue veining when you cut into it.

[broombank]

personally I take very little notice of 'use by' dates. I have fresh rennet which doesn't work and old rennet which does! In the freezer things last indefinitely - the acid test is do they work? Your cheese looks great by the way. I want to experiment with blue as my blues are among my most successful cheeses. I want to try a really hard pressed long maturation blue just to see..

[MacGruff]

Funny that!  " I want to experiment with blue as my blues are among my most successful cheeses."

I do not try to make blue cheese, but early on, most of my cheese turned out that way!   

Even now, after I learned to control temperature and humidity better, I am still fighting the blues all the time. Maybe I should turn these lemons into lemonade and start making blue cheeses?   

[Aris]

Funny that!  " I want to experiment with blue as my blues are among my most successful cheeses."

I do not try to make blue cheese, but early on, most of my cheese turned out that way!   

Even now, after I learned to control temperature and humidity better, I am still fighting the blues all the time. Maybe I should turn these lemons into lemonade and start making blue cheeses?   

Problem with wild blues they might not be the desirable kind. I used store bought blue cheese to inoculate this cheese that was cut from a wheel which is not really suitable because it is contaminated from exposure and being cut multiple times by the store. It is far better to use pre packed blue cheese wedge. I used it in two blue cheese I recently made. One already has good coverage of blue mold and no other molds are growing.

[Aris]

personally I take very little notice of 'use by' dates. I have fresh rennet which doesn't work and old rennet which does! In the freezer things last indefinitely - the acid test is do they work? Your cheese looks great by the way. I want to experiment with blue as my blues are among my most successful cheeses. I want to try a really hard pressed long maturation blue just to see..

Me too but my rennet is really over a decade old. I ordered it from the US, that alone has a big chance to destroy it. I am lucky I got an immortal rennet. What do you mean acid test? pH strips/pH meter? pH meter depends on the price. Cheap kinds are garbage. Test strips are cheap but inaccurate. When testing for acid, I base it on time, temperature, smell, taste and I do a stretch test. The problem with pressing a blue cheese there will be little to no blue veining. I had one recently with very little blue veining and I didn't even press it.

[broombank]

in the Uk the expression 'acid test' means 'crucial test' - its just a figure of speech with nothing to do with ph. Actually I have been so pleased with my German ph strips that I have not as yet used a ph meter I bought six months ago. If I puncture the blue with a sufficiently big needle it should permit the blue to develop shouldn't it ?

[Aris]

in the Uk the expression 'acid test' means 'crucial test' - its just a figure of speech with nothing to do with ph. Actually I have been so pleased with my German ph strips that I have not as yet used a ph meter I bought six months ago. If I puncture the blue with a sufficiently big needle it should permit the blue to develop shouldn't it ?

Ah now I get what you mean. Similar to "The proof is in the pudding"

It might just develop in the piercings and not spread like veins. It really depends on the openings and crevices in the interior of the cheese. I think high acidity/low pH is the key to get a crumbly interior so blue mold can spread easily. This blue cheese of mine has a pH similar to melting cheeses (5.1-5.3) that is why the blue veining is not as pronounced.

[mikekchar]

ob pedantry: The expression is "The proof of the pudding is in the eating".  Most people contract it to the "proof is in the pudding", which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  The original expression is intended to say convey that even if it looks good, you can't tell if it's good unless you try it.

I now return you to your normally scheduled conversation :-) (Don't get me started on "begging the question"...)