Cheese Tasting Pics

[Brie]

Moving on to my next flight  of cheese--the Blues. I am a student of Sailor, and quite proud of that. Bleu de Bresse is a creamy raw-milk cheese that melts like butter in your mouth--made with cream. Bleu des Causses is a raw-milk mold-ripened cheese, hopefully you can see the blue vein in the middle. And Stilton--my favorite!

[Sailor Con Queso]

Nice job Brie. The blues look fantastic. Do you have a recipe for the Bleu des Causses? Looks yummy.

[DeejayDebi]

Those are the prettest bleus I have ever seen! 

[Brie]

Thanks guys! Sailor, for the Bleu des Causses I took some liberties with Margaret Morris's recipe for Blue Castello:

1.75 quarts whole raw organic milk
.25 quarts whole raw organic cream
Heat both to 86 degrees.  Add:
1/8 tsp MA 4001
Ripen for 1 hour. Add:
1/8 tsp. rennet.
Allow to set until curds form.
Drain curds in muslin cloth for 1 hour.
Transfer curds to Camembert molds, alternating 3 layers with a dash of P. Roqueforti in between. Drain at room temp until whey stops flowing--sandwich mold and flip several times.
Remove molds and salt on all sides.
Age at 55 degrees at 80% humidity. Turn daily. Let blue mold run wild.
Pierce cheese all over after 1 week, and re-pierce if mold covers holes.
Age for 6 weeks, then wipe off mold from surface.
Wrap in cheese wrap and store in refrigerator at 40-45 degrees.
Blue mold on outside may continue to develop--wipe off and spread this delicacy on a fresh wedge of bread--it is amazing!

[Sailor Con Queso]

I've made Blue Castello a couple of times. Great Cheese. Softer and creamier than Stilton., but I like Stilton better when using dried fruits. So is the Bleu des Causses a name for your variation?

I am impressed that the moldy cheeses are doing so well for you given the dry climate in Phoenix. You MUST be using a rippening box.

[Brie]

Yes, Sailor Blue, it is very dry here and my cheese has had to acclimate to the climate. I have two mini-fridges which allow me now to segregate the blue from the white. I still use ripening containers for the aged blues (stilton and gorg) to contain humidity. If you look at this, my second, Stilton closely, you will still see that it has the white mold line that Linux spoke about in my first. I don't know what I do to promote it, but it sure makes for a creamy cheese.