How to store crottin

[Mondequay]

I made crottin 2 weeks ago using Yoav's recipe:
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,4572.msg35649.html#msg35649

Tried our first one today at 14 days. I am amazed! This is so much better than I dared hope! Can't wait until the 3 week mark.

I am unclear about long-term storage, though. I want some for the holidays and wonder if I just need to time the make correctly or can I store some at 40F and be confident that they will not age more? I have Formaticum  cheese paper for wrapping. And how long is too long? What happens if I let them keep going in their incubator of 55F, 90% humidity? I guess they turn a lovely blue-black color but what happens to the taste?

All that being said, I am hooked on this cheese; what a wonderful adventure! I loved caring for them everyday and look forward to sharing them with my family and friends.
Christine

[susanky]

Wow!  That's a beautiful cheese!  I don't think I've ever tried that kind of cheese but now I think I must!  It looks yummy.
Susan

[peri7132]

I agree it is lovely cheese looking really good and so evenly covered with mold, I am also am hooked on these little guys, maybe someone with a lot more experience can tell you a way to keep them I would be interested to know also. What I have found is that no matter what they keep aging whether by temp at 40 of 38 degrees or paper wrapped they continue to age.

[DeejayDebi]

Very nice Mondequay! A cheese for you! Once they have aged you can wrap them and put them in the refrigerator.

[Mondequay]

Thank you, Debi, I really am proud of this cheese. I think I read that you wrap some cheeses in freezer paper. The expensive papers that I have are a wasteful rectangular shape so I will try freezer paper next. I just wrapped one to bring to work in wax paper and the paper is so thin that the wrapping is very smooth and appealing. I wonder if that would work for a few weeks in the fridge?

Peri, I wonder if storing them in the coldest part of the fridge (for me, the back of the top shelf) would make a difference. Although, sometimes my food there gets ice crystals so maybe not too far back...

Christine

[mtncheesemaker]

I use parchment paper to wrap them. If you have a deli drawer in your fridge that works well, too. They continue to age but slowly.

[Mondequay]

Thanks, Pam, I'll try parchment, too.

I just cut a 3-week old 4" crottin and it seems to be only at the 2-week ripeness of the smaller ones made in chevre molds. I guess making them larger gives a longer ripening time. My co-workers gobbled it up! 

[Brie]

That is a beautiful Crottin, Monde--it looks absolutely perfect. Crottin is meant to be eaten early--3-4 weeks for raw milk. I have aged it for up to two months and it takes on an entirely different dimension--firmer inside and more nuttier in taste. Each to their own, but interesting to taste the difference and decide for oneself. I have done both--wrap or not wrap; but in either case I still keep the humidity very high--at least 80%.