Whiskey Wash on Reblochon

[lead_dog]

Greetings,

I'd like to make a reblochon style cheese washed in whiskey. I'm comfortable making the cheese just fine but have never washed with whiskey so I'm looking for advice on the best way to do this.  Should I wash with straight whiskey or add whiskey to a b.linen brine?  Obviously I don't want bitterness, just looking for the flavor of the whiskey to complement the taste of the cheese.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[linuxboy]

Whenever you are trying to do a wash, ask yourself what are you really after? Usually, it's more than one thing, but something is primary. Options include:
- To introduce both flavor and aroma compounds from the wash
- To adjust rind flora by knocking them down physically from the treatment
- To introduce biological compounds and alter flora composition
- To prepare the way for another rind treatment such as spices, or another rind microbiological ecology

For most people, they will wash with something trying to impart the flavor of the wash. Or they will wash with morge to introduce flora. Or they will wash with weak brine to encourage some flora to grow by increasing surface Aw. The last ones do it right. The first one, almost all the commercial attempts I have tastes, do it wrong. Here are the suboptimal approaches they take:
- They equate a flavor-contributing wash to the other ones and wash every week or so, creating ecology imbalance and wasting wash, because the flavor of the wash quickly dissipates (usually within 4-5 days)
- They do not take into account chemical balancing that needs to happen to the wash, such as pH and acidity adjustment, and similarly, disrupt rind flora unintentionally.
- They manage post-wash cheese in the same way as usual, all with the idea of experimenting, and not necessarily deliberately guiding a cheese to a final flavor and maturity profile.

Here's what you have to keep in mind for whiskey specifically:
- If you want to impart the aroma and flavor, it will retain most of it if you a) wash reasonably soon before eating b) pack somehow in an enclosed space to enable flavor concentration or c) concentrate the aroma and flavor chemicals to enable more of them to penetrate
- The alcohol when diluted to 25% or less shouldn't harm the flora excessively. But age the cheese out first to near completion so you do not disrupt it
- A good way of concentrating aroma is to take shavings from a barrel and put in an enclosed space, such as a bag, with a reb. This will perfume it.
- If doing a wash, there's no need to add it to any type of morge. You can dilute and wash straight with it, or soak in a diluted whiskey for several hours. If you do add to a morge and are washing a reb, it's no longer really a reb, but may make an interesting cheese if you slowly add more and more whiskey, a la epoisses.

Hope this helps a bit to think about the formulation properly. Biggest thing is distinguish a flavor wash from a brine or morge. Need to do them differently for them to work. Must run.

[zenith1]

well thought out response LB-perfectly laid out.

[lead_dog]

Thank you LB.  I currently make a Reblochon style in small batches. The 'reason' for doing a whiskey wash is to create a regional variation using a clear whiskey made in our area.  However, I don't want to make it unless I can make an exceptional cheese...otherwise, why bother?

Currently I wash my Rebs with a b.linens brine. When I've experimented with beer or other alcohol washes in the past (whether I've made them or someone else) I've always found them bitter for my taste. I want to avoid that.

I'm not sure how I can impart the flavor by washing it reasonably soon before it's eaten unless you mean wash for a period just before selling it.  I make raw milk cheeses so that would be at 60 days.  Are you saying to not wash with whiskey until late in the process but to continue developing the rind with the wash I normally use? 

Also, to be clear, you're saying I should dilute the whiskey to no more than 1 part whiskey to 3 parts water, correct?

[linuxboy]

unless you mean wash for a period just before selling it.

This is exactly what I mean. If you are using distributors or selling to local shops, you can even give them some wash to use to keep the flavor fresh.

to not wash with whiskey until late in the process but to continue developing the rind with the wash I normally use? 

This is one option. Another option is to adopt an epoisses-like approach and add more and more gradually .

you're saying I should dilute the whiskey to no more than 1 part whiskey to 3 parts water, correct?

Only if you want any flora to keep growing. If you finish the cheese at 60 days and want to wash with whiskey before sale, go right ahead. Add some cacl2 to not create too much of an ionic differential. This high of alcohol will kill a good part of the surface flora.

[Frotte La Tomme]

could the flavor be kept in by vaccum sealing those reblochs a day after washing?

[linuxboy]

yes, please see:

If you want to impart the aroma and flavor, it will retain most of it if you ... b) pack somehow in an enclosed space to enable flavor concentration

for best outcome, pack with a little bit of the wash, store cold, and let air for half a day after opening again before serving to clients. IMHO, not absolutely best approach (packing in liquid is challenging), but commercially for practical reasons, might be necessary.

[lead_dog]

LB and all,

Just want to thank you for taking the time to reply. Exactly what I was looking for and very helpful!

I just posted another question on producing a cheese similar to Rogue River Blue in case you have any thoughts or help you can provide. It's located here: https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9390.0.html