I recently have become obsessed with white mold ripened cheeses after trying a really tasty one at the local Saturday farmers market here in Portland, OR. The specific cheese that I fell in love with is called Adelle and can be found here (http://ancientheritagedairy.com/pages/our-cheese). It is a surface ripened white mold cheese, part sheep's milk, extremely creamy, slightly citric finish. I want to create a cheese that is similar, but the company has ignored my requests for their (I guess) secret recipe. Therefore, I have decided to enact one of two strategies:
A. Use the guidance of the members on this forum to reverse engineer the cheese based on the qualities I have described.
or
B. Use a portion of their final product to create a mother culture that I would then use to make a cheese with my newly created starter culture and mold harvest.
Guidance on either front would be extremely appreciated. I imagine that if I were to add a chunk of their cheese to some milk and let it sit for a while I would end up with enough bacteria to use a a starter in a make. The mold I could collect and freeze until I can do the make.
Please share your thoughts and concerns ;D
Looks to me like a semi-lactic (or lactic) set bloomy rind cheese.
You probably want to have a look at recipes for semi-lactic cheeses, either here (http://dairyfoodsconsulting.com/resources-1/), here (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/board,234.0.html), ,here (https://www.cheesemaking.com/LacticChz.html) or in any books you might have.
It's a bit hard to tell from the photo whether they have used just Geo or Geo and PC so that might be a variable which you might want to play with. The other variable would be the ration of cow's to sheep's milk, if you can get sheep's milk.
You could use some of the original cheese to make what is called a morge, and if you do a search for "morge" on this forum you will be able to find more on that. You should, however, be able to use commercial cultures if you prefer. I have not used mother cultures but I believe that there are some problems with going down that road.
The one thing which I wondered about in the website you referred to was that they list "enzymes" in the list of ingredients. The only enzyme I am aware of is lipase. When I looked further though, I realised that they list enzymes for all their cheeses, so it is probably something which MAY be included in SOME of their cheeses. The use of lipase could be another variable which you might consider, particularly if you end up using all cow's milk.
Good luck. I will be interested to hear what you come up with.
I have found that many dairy sellers improperly use the word enzyme. I can vouch for he fact that Adele does not taste like it has added lipase in it. I have seen companies use the words cultures and enzymes interhangibly.
The term "enzyme" when used in cheese typically means the coagulant (usually rennet of some kind).
Susan
I agree It is defiantly lactic acid set , I am quite sure it has PC also. Just pressed down each day to keep it thin.
The hardest part about lactic acid set is getting them dry enough before the PC sets in , if not you get slip skin.
I am currently exparerimenting with wrapping them in cloth after they have been molded and salted to suck out the surface moisture.
The slower the acidification the better the taste of the curd , and do not add rennet straight away as some recipes state . Give it 2 to 3 hours , if you are using minimal starter like I suggest . I like it to be 6.1 ph when adding rennet
Quote from: Gregore on March 01, 2017, 05:00:50 AM
I agree It is defiantly lactic acid set , I am quite sure it has PC also. Just pressed down each day to keep it thin.
I am sad to hear that it is lactic acid set style because my living situation will make it a very difficult process to carry out :-[ (the communal kitchen is on the first floor and I live on the third floor) I do have access to a big sink that I could use as a basin to put hot water in and heat my milk that way then transport it to my room for the 16-24 hours.
Any idea on:
A: which specific starter cultures?
B: which strain of PC?
C: which strain of geo?
D: How do you know it is that style?
Lactic acid set is still easy even with out a kitchen for the full make.
Warm milk to 70 f then place in another room for 24 hours with the lid on ( bedroom , closet, garage ) If it is way to cold in there ( 60 or below ) then use seed starter mat under pot.
I never make any cheese in the kitchen , too many yeasty things in there, also the most popular room in the house , and thus too much possiblity for contamination .
A: I would probably go for Flora Danica or something similar, but then I use that a lot.
B: No idea. Might depend on what is available where you are, but probably something which will give you a thin rind.
C: Again, no idea.
D: Put it down to experience. (That might sound a bit flippant but it is hard to explain.)
If your worried about keeping your milk at the correct temperature overnight then just buy yourself a rubbermaid cooler bin, been using one for years in my cheese making. Had look on that website and the cheese looks similar to Chaource or even a Humbolt Fog (without the ash).
Quote from: Savu on March 02, 2017, 10:19:16 PM
the cheese looks similar to Chaource or even a Humbolt Fog (without the ash).
I read the description for Humbolt Fog and I would agree that they are similar in appearance and even taste profile. Anyone know how Humbolt Fog is made?
Quote from: DoctorCheese on March 03, 2017, 12:31:37 AM
Anyone know how Humbolt Fog is made?
Nevermind I found descriptions on this site.
Humboldt fog is about really well drain curd before it is molded , there was a video posted some where in the past that shows it being packed and it is shocking how well drained it is .
They seem to use a screw auger to get moisture out of the curd then pack it in the molds.
I am starting out on the lactic adventure and it is very hard to get that dry of a lactic curd . I am starting to think they might cook and stir the curd a little before draining then let it go very acidic then screw auger to get it dry then mold.
The only down side to all this dryness is that they certainly lost some curds with the whey.
Just bought one today at Costco , yum.
Quote from: Raw Prawn on March 01, 2017, 09:52:22 AM
D: Put it down to experience. (That might sound a bit flippant but it is hard to explain.)
He's going to have to flip the cheese as it drains, so no way to avoid being flippant.
Wait, isn't that what that word means?? :)
Quote from: awakephd on March 03, 2017, 05:47:51 PM
He's going to have to flip the cheese as it drains, so no way to avoid being flippant.
Wait, isn't that what that word means?? :)
You aren't normal Andy. But I like that. ;D
Oddly enough, my wife agrees on both counts! :)
Had a look at the Humboldt Fog video and the screw auger is just a milling machine if you wanted to do the same then drain your curds in a draining bag or cheesecloth bag then turn out into bowl and mill the curds by hand, probably adding salt at this point.
draining in a bag and then turning as adding salt just might work .
I have seen videos of goats milk curd Just after cutting and it is amazing how firm it is .
I need to figure a way to gets homogenized cows milk to this texture , with out loosing half my curds .
Raw cows milk I could get it like that but at $15 dollars a gallon I can no longer afford to make cheese with it .
I bought one of the cheeses today and here it is. Now that I have begun making lactic set cheese myself I am noticing that the flavor of Adele is not similar to what the paste of my cheeses tasted like, but maybe after aging it will be. I think my paste tastes better. Also, I do not like it to be this runny.
That cheese looks like it was ripened too quickly, with the paste just under the rind developing quicker than the core. A colder maturation should slow that ooziness and allow the firmer core to develop more completely.
-Boofer-
Quote from: Boofer on March 12, 2017, 01:52:29 PM
That cheese looks like it was ripened too quickly, with the paste just under the rind developing quicker than the core. A colder maturation should slow that ooziness and allow the firmer core to develop more completely.
Ya these people are amateurs >:D