Day before yesterday I made a batch of blues tweaking the recipe a bit and using a different PR than usual--higher proteolysis and lipolysis--so should be much creamier. This is a picture of the first day of dry salting.
I decided to make one just regular--calling it Pura Vida Blue
The next I added toasted rainbow peppercorns--calling it Blue Blazes
The last I added dehydrated mango and candied ginger--no name for it yet. SUGGESTIONS?
I tried to really keep the peppercorns and mango/ginger mix away from the sides, but after draining and compressing, you see what I got. Oh well, I'm planning on trying to keep these three "rindless". Normally I just let the blue go crazy and create a rind with whatever else is colonizing my blue cave.
Those look nice! Good luck with the new PR and the rinds. Maybe "Fruit of the Bluem?
Haha...Fruit of the Bluem. That's clever
Update:
The "Fruit of the Bluem" was fine, but not really worth the effort. Maybe next time a lot more candied ginger and no dried fruit.
The Pura Vida Blue is very good, but for my "go to" standard blue it doesn't beat my Buttermilk Blue.
However, the Blue Blazes is fantastic...the peppercorns imparted a floral note throughout the cheese, and when you bite into one it is tempered by the creamy nature of the cheese. The P. roquefortii didn't growth as fast in it as in the other two (even though all the conditions--temp, humidity, aging, etc---were all the same) I suspect the peppercorns themselves inhibited its growth some. But it made for a very flavorful cheese that has a nice blue taste but not overpowering.
Man, the Blue Blazes sounds really good. I will get a Peppercorn mix when I go back to the states in September and try it,
AC4U for your delishes make. You have me salivating. I love the Blues.
Thanks Mike--very kind.
I get my peppercorns here in Costa Rica. Can you not get them in Panamá?
I can get the regular black ones but I want to try the mixed variety.