Last week I lept into the breach with my first (intentional) blue cheese - a Stilton made with raw milk. I've attached a PDF copy of my make sheet along with the times and notes on the second page. Following this are some photos of various steps in the process.
The recipe was classic Caldwell with a little added Al Lewis. It went well but left me with a couple of concerns that will have to play out. First, the pH drop seemed to stall at about 4.96. I wanted to go down to 4.6-4.7 and might have been able to but the curd seemed to be drying out too fast. So, I cut the make short of the pH goal, milled the curd, added the salt and molded it. It knit well but the curds seemed excessively dry. I kept it in the mold for five days primarily to let the ends "blue up" with the sides staying essentially mold free for smoothing up at five days. Alas, the sides were too hard for this. I'll pierce it in a couple of weeks and probably use a long shaft 1/8-inch drill bit to create the holes. I am afraid that pushing a solid rod in might split the wheel. (When in doubt, whip out your 18v Ryobi and have at it, as we English say.)
More photos to come as this develops.
Great looking cheese but it would actually be a Stichelton. In accordance with the AOC Stilton is made with PH milk now. As far as I'm concerned a real Stilton is made with raw milk. ;D
Yes nice one kern 8)
Got to get uh blue goin.
viening looks excellent :)
AC4U (http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/images/smilies/smilie_thumbsup.gif)
Okay Kern, where's our update on this beauty? Where's the cheese porn? :o
Quote from: Al Lewis on March 24, 2016, 08:07:37 PM
Okay Kern, where's our update on this beauty? Where's the cheese porn? :o
Front row is full and waiting for the show to start!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P
Thanks for the cheese, H-K-J. Coming from one of the "blues kings" I shall treasure this one. ;) I'm going to pierce it tomorrow and will have some "blue" photos then. It is pretty much blue all over now but is missing the Al Lewis "looks like beautiful road-kill" rind.
Oh my... This is really pretty.
I'm having another cheese envy. Please accept my humble cheese.
Very nice! I love the notchy look. AC4U.
Quote from: Kern on March 25, 2016, 03:36:28 AM
It is pretty much blue all over now but is missing the Al Lewis "looks like beautiful road-kill" rind.
LOL ;)
Here is a picture of this baby at the first?? piercing. As noted above the rind was too dry to smooth. I was afraid that the paste also might be dry enough to crack the cheese as I inserted my 3mm rapier into the heart of this beast. Alas, the paste had softened and I had no issues. I expect to insert a trier in a couple of weeks and then will either start the second piercing or else wrap and cold fridge it. More photos either way. In the meantime I am awaiting the imminent arrival of the Al Lewis multi-color rind spores and will have a hot flash announcement when they show up. I am not without hope in this regard as I live about 25 miles downwind of Al.
AC4Y Kern, that is a beautiful cheese. If I had to guess I would have to say between you and Al that Washington state is the blue capital this side of the pond. :P
Quote from: john H on March 27, 2016, 01:16:45 AM
AC4Y Kern, that is a beautiful cheese. If I had to guess I would have to say between you and Al that Washington state is the blue capital this side of the pond. :P
Let's not forget the contributions that H-K-J and Boofer have made to world of blues! :D Thanks for the cheese.
Quote from: Kern on March 26, 2016, 10:57:43 PM
Here is a picture of this baby at the first?? piercing. As noted above the rind was too dry to smooth. I was afraid that the paste also might be dry enough to crack the cheese as I inserted my 3mm rapier into the heart of this beast. Alas, the paste had softened and I had no issues. I expect to insert a trier in a couple of weeks and then will either start the second piercing or else wrap and cold fridge it. More photos either way. In the meantime I am awaiting the imminent arrival of the Al Lewis multi-color rind spores and will have a hot flash announcement when they show up. I am not without hope in this regard as I live about 25 miles downwind of Al.
Oh wow, that cheese looks really cool like an asteroid rock in space. Do you age this one separately from all the other cheese? I am contemplating another make after my holiday, stilton or reblochon. My cave is almost full.
Quote from: Kern on March 27, 2016, 01:45:45 AM
Quote from: john H on March 27, 2016, 01:16:45 AM
AC4Y Kern, that is a beautiful cheese. If I had to guess I would have to say between you and Al that Washington state is the blue capital this side of the pond. :P
Let's not forget the contributions that H-K-J and Boofer have made to world of blues! :D Thanks for the cheese.
Thanks for the nod, Kern. :D
-Boofer-
what he said.(http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/images/smilies/smilie_thumbsup.gif)
Looking great! Thanks for the accolades John H. Pretty sure the blue king is H-K-J although is has been a group effort involving lots of people on here and the list is growing. Kern, although these things seem to appear horrible I find that the ugliness is only skin deep and that skin is very thin. If mine start to crack a bit I just leave them in the cave for a week or so without airing them and they seem to pick up the moisture and heal up.
Quote from: Kern on March 27, 2016, 01:45:45 AM
Quote from: john H on March 27, 2016, 01:16:45 AM
AC4Y Kern, that is a beautiful cheese. If I had to guess I would have to say between you and Al that Washington state is the blue capital this side of the pond. :P
Let's not forget the contributions that H-K-J and Boofer have made to world of blues! :D Thanks for the cheese.
Opppsss not enough room in my mouth for the other foot. :-[
Quote from: AnnDee on March 27, 2016, 02:34:49 AM
Oh wow, that cheese looks really cool like an asteroid rock in space. Do you age this one separately from all the other cheese? I am contemplating another make after my holiday, stilton or reblochon. My cave is almost full.
I am following Al's advice and aging it wrapped in butter muslin on the bottom shelf of my converted freezer cheese cave. I'll be watching the other wheels ready to wash with the brine/acetic acid (vinegar) solution if I see even the tiniest spot of blue showing up elsewhere.
Time for an update: Following my March 26 post above I waited two weeks and used my trusty trier to see what the effect of the first piercing was. There were strong hints of some internal bluing so I decided on a second piercing on April 8. I pierced it again and stuck in back into the cheese cave (55F/85RH) for two more weeks. Today I removed another sample (see below). The bluing looks good so the cheese was wrapped in foil backed paper and placed in the cold fridge for aging. Stay tuned.