Up Cream! - Stilton w/ Double Cream

[Baby Chee]

Yeah, I should have smoothed to bottoms, but didn't.  However, the top and bottom aren't as infected as other areas.

[Sailor Con Queso]

You really can't smooth a blue very well and you certainly don't want to press them like you would a hard cheese. However, you should be able to get a much smoother surface naturally. Even just putting the follower on top with no weight will give it better texture. I sometimes put an EMPTY juice glass on the follower to give it a few ounces of pressure.

Most recipes call for using an open mold with drying mats top and bottom then flipping the entire mold every so often. I use my regular 7-1/2" hard cheese mold with a bottom. After the curd mass has a little substance to it (a few hours), I carefully take the cheese out of the mold and flip it. I repeat this many times over the next couple of days until the draining stops. I usually get a pretty smooth surface that way - but still nowhere near as smooth as a hard cheese.

[Baby Chee]

Ok, folks... here's the scoop:


Dig it??

It's about 10 weeks after the making.  This "Stilton" aged through the evil stuff and hardened into a WONDERFULLY stinky "blue" cheese.  It really reeks like crap.  Stored around 40-50ºF for those weeks in a plastic box.

And here it is opened up with a knife today...


So whaddaya think?

I took a bit and tried it.
The cheese it hard and a little crumbly.
Not blue, of course.

Great texture.
Creamy.
A little salty.

Tastes like a nice cheese I have never tried.
No ill effects after 30 minutes.

Let me know your thoughts: should I woof it or shave off the crap and eat?


A few minutes later I did what all good men do after surviving a near death experience:
A shot of single malt scotch.

[DeejayDebi]

I it tastes good and you dont get sick by morning I'd eat it. Minus the mold of course!

[Baby Chee]

It's hours later and everything's good.  I think it was 6 hours ago since I ate that bit.

It's probably a good-enough cheese.  Just a tad salty, but nothing bad.

[Tea]

Boy you are game!!  Glad though you aren't heaving from the experience.

[DeejayDebi]

Hey Chee is that a mushroom I see growing off the side of that stilton on the top left? I thin mushrooms need wood but that sure looks like one.

[Baby Chee]

Everything good.

I believe we have cheese.  Now, how GOOD it is as a cheese, that's debatable, but it is safe to eat.  Disturbing as it looks.  However, blue mold is just the same basic thing as this garbage on this cheese: a protection.

[vogironface]

Baby Chee,  I bow to your superior manhoodines.  I do not possess the intestinal fortitude to accomplish what you have done apparently with ease.  Long live king chee!!!!

[Baby Chee]

The second, whole, cheese was almost eaten entirely yesterday.

In the morning, I used a wire to cut the meat from the garbage.  Took it to some friends.  We sat around eating it with crackers.  Very little was left after an hour.  It was pretty good.  Not as salty as the open one in the photos; creamy; good texture; rich flavor with a strong and spicy taste coming from the blue-white cheese.

The only downside is that awful mold and the stink it gives off.  Cutting away that gunk leaves little "safe" cheese to eat.

Next time I do a Stilton--no more iodized salt, right into the 59ºF cave when the blue emerges, and I'll keep a dedicated cave.