Hi all,
I'm new to cheese making but have now gone through 8 rounds of making a brie/camembert type (about one every other week save from the very 1st, so making without the benefit of tasting). My first attempt was successful (good mold, good paste) but I used fine salt rather than course and the result was an edible but too salty cheese. I've since used course salt and have kept the measurements and timing pretty much the same for the subsequent batches and nearly each batch has shown good mold coverage during the first aging phase (in my case this is a wine refrigerator set at 54 degrees F, flipping twice daily). My problem is this: I recently re-read the instructions and have discovered that while the suggested amount of salt for 1 gallon of cow's milk was 1.5 teaspoons (3/4 per side) I was inadvertently putting that amount on EACH of the three rounds I'd made from the gallon - in effect using triple the amount suggested. That said, all batches look great (see photos) and despite my sense that it may be a total waste, I'm continuing with the aging process after mold growth to see what happens (phase two of my aging has been wrapping after full mold growth and storing in a home refrigerator for 3 weeks set at 39 degrees F - this is the same as I'd done with successful batch #1). In the collective experience, is over-salting certain death for cheese? I've now come to the 4 week mark on one of the earlier batches and the cheese is pretty hard. Should I throw in the towel and consider this part of the learning curve or is there any hope that these cheeses will create the hoped-for paste? And moving forward, how can I properly salt my cheese. I believe there is a weight ratio somewhere? TIA for any advice.
Use Diamond Kosher salt or another flaky salt. Once your cheese had finished draining, coat all the sides with salt (quickly), then lightly tap/brush the excess off. Cheese should be about 1.5" tall.
This is how it's done commercially - the cheese takes up the appropriate amount of salt.
Your cheese looks good. If it was vastly oversalted the molds would not be able to grow.
Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like I should just let it be for another couple of weeks. In your experience, is there a sign that the paste will never form?
It should start feeling pudgy after a couple weeks wrapped in the colder fridge. Give the outer rim a squeeze.
I believe your recipe is calling for too little salt so yours should be right on track.
Should I be concerned that it's now been 4 weeks and it's still quite firm?
It can be hard to tell when it's 39 degrees (won't soften up until it gets closer to room temp). It's easier to tell ripeness when you're comparing multiple cheeses of different ages.
I would just wait til it's 40 days old and then let it temper and see how it is.
One other thing is that I recommend weighing your salt. I've found that my bloomy rinds need very little salt because they lose a lot of moisture while aging. I use about 1% of the total weight of the cheese (after draining) in salt. Usually I do 2 applications: half on one day and half on the next. The theory being to give the yeasts a little bit less salt to deal with, though I honestly don't know if it does any good. Anyway, you can get a gram scale very cheaply (~$10). Try to find something with a precision of about 0.5 grams, although 1 gram precision will do in a pinch. 2 gram precision is not good enough for weighing salt, usually. I actually measure *everything* I cook with my scale. I even have measuring cups with markings on the side, but measure liquids by weight. Once you get used to it, it's dramatically easier and better.
Thanks for the help. I'll follow up after about 60 days to share how it turned out.