I don't normally like to brag but his one turned out so well that I just had to share a couple of photos.
I've done a few Camemberts but the last couple have been a little disappointing. After going back through my notes I suspected that I had salted them too early. This one confirms that suspicion. It is spot on.
The really good news is that when I finish this one I still have its brother to feast on.
Looks scrumptious - AC4U!
Thanks Andy. It really does taste as good as it looks.
Brag away....that's what the forum is for... Your cheese looks amazing. Not sure what the salting too early means as I hand salt mine the morning they come out of the hoops. Either way there are many roads to wonderful cheese and you have a different one. Well done and have a well deserved Cheese.
Mal
Thanks Mal. It's very encouraging to have praise from someone with such an enviable record with the type.
These were not salted until about 30 hours after hooping. The previous two makes were salted after 21 and 13 hours and seemed to have a more stabilised paste. Still, as you say, whatever works.
Wow Andrew, that looks absolutely devine!
Beautiful uniformed gooeyness...how old is this?
Looks great and have a cheese from me! I have also struggled with making Camembert. They are not as-simple-as one might think.
Looks great !! :)
AC4U !
I never managed to get to something like this, but I'll try again and again when I'll be done with my tomme and alps style cheese experiments.
I don't understand your salt timing concern.
On the technical sheets I have on hand, it's said to unmold at pH 4.6-4.8.
Salting is done at 1.7-1.8% and drying at 16-18˚C for 12 to 24H 80%RH
Then another 24Hrs of drying at 14-16˚C / 75-80%RH with 15% weight lost
Aging is then done at 10˚C / 95%RH
To my taste, I'd certainly let it ripe a bit more as the center looks like a bit hard.
But, I'm originating from France and we always had camembert of farmhouse bread and the joke about the camembert was that you had to run after because it was running like a river. When it's running, it might be a bit too aged, but the flavors in the mouth are like fireworks on the 14th of july (french commemorative day)
Not my pic, but to show a "beginning to run away" camembert:
(http://p4.storage.canalblog.com/41/23/201070/82757277_o.jpg)
Your cheese looks fantastic! Congrats! How inspirational. A Camembert (first try) is in my plans for September. I hope I can pull it off so nicely! :)
Rain
Thanks to all for the kind comments and the cheeses.
Ann, they started life on the 10th of July, so about 7 weeks the first 2 weeks at 13C before being moved to about 8C.
Cats, I could be wrong about the salting as I don't have a pH meter. I have found though, that the Cams that I have left for around 30 hours have ripened nicely whereas those salted earlier have resisted the gooeyness.
Rain, Good luck with your first Camembert adventure. I will keep an eye out for your post on this one.
Andrew, you made me realize something, so I went back to the recipe I have.
And looking closer salting is done 24H after unmolding not just after unmolding as I supposed at first read.
In the timestamp column, unmolding is J+1, and below that salting is J+2 and I did not noticed that.... and may have made mistakes with other recipes :)
I think it makes a big difference.
So yes, you're surely in the truth when you talk about 30 hours 8)
I took a note about that !
About ripening.... we used to let them ripen in the wall of the house.
Let me explain. Think about an old farm with stone walls.
So they built a niche about 40cm width and 30cm height, and about 50cm deep (thickness of the wall) by just making a hole in the wall, a net on the outer side, and a door on the inner side.
We used to let the cheese here all the time and during summer we had to eat it fast :)
I wish I could take a picture but I'm 5000km from there.
Quote from: cats on September 04, 2017, 09:36:25 PM
About ripening.... we used to let them ripen in the wall of the house.
Let me explain. Think about an old farm with stone walls.
So they built a niche about 40cm width and 30cm height, and about 50cm deep (thickness of the wall) by just making a hole in the wall, a net on the outer side, and a door on the inner side.
We used to let the cheese here all the time and during summer we had to eat it fast :)
I wish I could take a picture but I'm 5000km from there.
A fascinating insight into traditional cheesemaking methods. Thanks for that.
Timing on salting is a bit of a 'feels' thing. I let my Cams drain - while still in the hoops - overnight at room temperature. As my wife is a cake decorator we have the house at a constant 23 Deg C all year so I'm a bit blessed there as the room temp keeps the cultures active and I get a nice pH on the outside. I usually get a high 4.65 - 4.5 by the morning which is a great setup for the moulds and eventual pH rise during maturing.
Mal