First a big HELLO! to everyone out there. The return of the mad OzzieCheese to this wonderful forum has occured. I've been away for a while and now finally back. I hope you like my latest attempt at a washed rind. I decided to call this one 'Red Hound' in honor of our new addition to the family - a white Shizue cross with lovely light B.Linens coloured fleck in her coat. Ok, I'm allowed to be besotted she's a wonderful dog and I hope I can make this a memorable cheese. I'm using an adapted recipe from G.Caldwell's wonderful book.
The method is not all that different from many other Taleggio style cheese recipes except for the 'Cooking' stage. So as to start, with a clean kitchen. To make the best use of the time I've started to preheat the milk in the laundry tub with water at about 36DegC. By the time I have finished wiping down the kitchen and cleaning the equipment, the milk has been gently heated to around 27 DegC - just about culture adding temerature. The milk is about the best I can buy here in Queensland and it consistently makes excellent cheese.
The make sheet has the all the quantities but molds and cultures are adapted to cover the basic constituents of the ones listed in the book. Flora Danica is the main culture but the MA 4001 also has a Thermophilic component which G.Caldwell mentions that a little thermo will aid in the acid formation during the the Cooking phase. as my cultures are a little old I added a drop of MOT 092 9 (thermo from Sacco). For those who would like I've added my 'chicken scrawl' of the notes.
I use the flocculation method to determine the correct curd cutting time. There are several descriptions on how to perform this activity on the forum. I used 8 Litres (2 Gal) of milk and the 2.5 mls of rennet was a little too strong and using the 3.5 Flocculation factor gave a cut time of 40 minutes - five minutes less than the book method stated - but this is fine as the floc method gives the correct time time to cut. You can double check that with the 'Clean Break' test if you are unsure. Next ime - for a 8 Litre make I'll reduce the rennet to 2 mls.
The method up until the cooking is pretty standard - though I would make sure that the upper 37degC isn't exceeded as it is very close to the scalding temperature of the mesophilic cultures. As you can see mine crept to touch 38 degC - but only right at the end. The 30 minute cook time is really only to get the Thermo cultures active. The cooking stage also is NOT heat the milk to 37DegC and stir for 30 minutes. IT IS slowly raise the temperature over 30 minutes to 37DegC and then let rest for 5 minutes to let the curds settle in the pot.
As this is an experimental cheese I decided to use my Fetta square mold. One, because I wanted a square cheese to pay homage to the traditional shape and two, I wanted to test the cheese as it matures. The molds are 100mm fetta molds and I think should make a wonderful cheese. For those who are familiar with my 'Malembert' cheese making efforts, I will use the flipping method to turn my cheese during the draining phase. The crud by the end of the cooking phase should be nice and shiny and rounded. The 1 Centimeter cut is reasonably small for this type of cheese but the gradual cooking didn't decrease their size to an large degree.
After 5 minutes the curds will have settled to the bottom of the vat.
Remove the whey to the level of the curds - It use my stainless colander as sump to prevent squashing the curds.
Gently stir to break up the matted curd and gently and evenly fill the four molds.
The draining stage is almost the same as the 'Melembert' with the exception of the higher pH goal a the end before brining. The initial 30 minutes draining is aided with 5 minutes of pressing at the end and for that I just use the weight of the cheese in the mold. Place one in another and leave for 5 minutes and then reverse the stack for five minutes. This help close up the cheese without too much pressure - we want to keep as much moisture and fats in the cheese as possible.
After 30 minutes +5 and +5 it is time to start turning the cheeses every hour until the pH goal is reached 5.3-4. Because of the timing I elected to stay up until the Ph level was reached. The second image is my 'flipping rig' and the last once is just for an indication of how much they settle in size over 2 hours.
The goal pH was reached round 9:00 pm at which time I dunked the four cheeses into a premade bucket of Heavy Brine for 30 minutes.
This is where the current images run out and we'll have to discover the washing routine together as this is only my third 'Washed Rind'. G.Caldwell uses an Ale based light washing brine with some B.Linens added, of which there are so many to choose from. My choice is a nice Australian Beer (Ale) Cooper's Pale Ale - for the first attempt of 'Red Hound'. I'll post images to this as the weeks progress but for now I'll see ya later - hope you found this instructive and entertaining.
Happy to answer any questions - and we'll probably discover this cheese together.
Time for the washing routine. Please if anyone reads this and where I have made a mistake please add a comment as it is not too late to adjust.
The routine is basically wash twice a week until the desired softness is achieved - but that doesn't really tell you anything. What happened last time with my Brandy washed rind was that the surface goes a sort of slimy - not wet but slimy as the G.C starts on the surface. But the washing doesn't take into account that as with the Malemberts and the other Washed rinds I did; if you leave them in the 10-12DegC fridge, they will overripen on the outside and be still hard in the middle. So, my suggestion will be once I see the G.C. starting to show up the B.Linens wont be very far behind and once that happen I will be moving them to a cooler 5-6DegC fridge.
I'm lucky I have an understanding, lovely wife as at any time a whole bunch of ripening containers can take over the main fridge for a while. I dont know how it happened that we ended up with 5 fridges! Cheese making is hugely obsessive - or I am.
I changed the 'Ale' to another local Ale called 'Fruphy' - While the dictionary has the meaning as "a rumour or story, especially one that is untrue or absurd." it actually the word is said to derive from water carts designed and made by a company established by John Furphy of J. Furphy & Sons of Shepparton, Victoria. The steel and cast iron tanks were first made in the 1880s and were used on farms and by stock agents. Either way 'Beer Tales' mixed with good cheese is always an excellent way to spend time with friend and family.
Sorry, back on track...
I used 375mls (a real stubbie) of ale and 2 tsps of salt and then poured a little into a container for the washing.
Drain the cheese containers and wipe them out and when turning them over (do every day BT) wet the cheese cloth and wipe the cheese all over. repeat for the rest.
Once you have done that the small amount in the container should be throw out and the cloth rinsed - ready for the next time - it get a bit full of little bits. The original container should have enough for a few washes. they are then ready to put back in the fridge @10DegC.
I will update this as things happen - or don't as the case maybe. This all a work in progress and we'll have to discover it all as we go.
And yes Bailie is a lovely dog. Hopefully the rind of the cheese will be like the light tan on her ears and running down her back and the inside as creamy as she is.... yes, I know... don't judge me... never thought I'd be a dog person but turns out I am :)
AC4U.
Good to see you and looking forward to seeing this age out. I'm thinking of doing a Port Salut as my first washed rind. Cultures should be here this week.
John
Wonderful tutorial, Ozzie! Both entertaining and instructive. I pored over your Malembert makes when making my first cams, they were so helpful! It is really nice to see another Ozzie make. AC4U (although you will have to split it with Baillie, she is a cutie pie.)
Just flipping today. Nothing exciting to see here. So, it's basically turning the cheese over and wiping out the container. These containers will keep the RH high without fancy RH monitoring and moisture generating devices. Not that I can measure the exact RH but the fact that there is moisture on the lid when I flip the cheese I would say it's close.
The surface is not yet slimy, but the smell is still sweet but just getting a slight yeasty smell.
Ale wash tomorrow.
Where does one get those plastic draining things? They fit so perfectly in those red containers. I bought some of the takeaways but only the microwave one comes with a grate.
@bansidhe Sorry but I'm not understanding which draining things you are referring to. If you are referring to the white square ones I used during the hooping and draining then they are from a cheese making supply company - check out Green living Australia website. If it's the Red ones with the white grate then they are made by Decor, you can check the same website. Not sure where you are located. Sorry I couldn't be more help on that.
That's cool.. I was speaking of the white racks in the red boxes. I'll check out the site you mention. Thanks!
These are the items I use - I'm sure there are pretty available pretty well globally.
https://www.spotlightstores.com/kitchen-and-dining/kitchen-storage/containers/d%C3%A9cor-microsafe-5-piece-oblong-container-set/BP80527119 (https://www.spotlightstores.com/kitchen-and-dining/kitchen-storage/containers/d%C3%A9cor-microsafe-5-piece-oblong-container-set/BP80527119)
And .... Day 4. Something is happening already.
The yeasty slightly slippery feeling is starting on all of the cheeses and we have first bloom of Geotrichum C. According to G. Caldwell, this particular mold has yeast like characteristics and will spread like a fine matt instead of the bloomy white as seen on Malemberts (my Camembert).
Second wash today. The smell is still sweet.
I truly appreciate all the instructions and recipe. And dog pic. :D
I made tallegio once, thought it was a disaster since blue got ahold. But I washed the blue pretty vigorously off, put it in the fridge, forgot about it for awhile. And it still tasted absolutely amazing. I'll have to try your recipe next time!
Looks great! BTW, geotrichum is technically a yeast as of a few years ago. I read a paper in Nature about it. It's been flipping back and forth between mold and yeast for a long time, but they have apparently "officially" decided it's a yeast.
What I didn't understand, but which is fascinating, is that a yeast is a more evolved form of mold (is it like Pokemon, I wonder...) Yeasts are a bit weird in that they express *less* genes than molds. As a mold evolves into a yeast, it turns off the expression of genes that give it the mold like behaviour. Geotrichum is basically somewhere in between a mold and a yeast, so it still expresses some of the characteristics of the mold. Different varieties have slightly different behaviour. But apparently, it's gone far enough that they call it a yeast.
Not that it's really that important, but I though it was interesting :-) I wish I had a link to the paper... I'm terrible about that kind of thing...
Thanks for mold V Yeast dissertation. Is all very interesting. G Caldwell's book I find has probably the most up to date mold and culture info - alas, I can't get alot of the really interesting molds like Murcor, so I'm having to substitute along the way. Nearly washing time and if there are any changes I'll add something further. Yeah, Bailie is a wonderful companion.
Quote from: OzzieCheese link= :Ptopic=19381.msg147671#msg147671 date=1618106125
The crud by the end of the cooking phase should be nice and shiny and rounded.
I don't visit here as often as I used to, but this visit was especially nice.
Welcome back, Mal! And what a welcome sight to see your photo essay with
descriptive captions! Surprising that you say this is only your 3rd washed rind effort. Love your detail.
I think this may be the first time that a pet has been characterized with cheese descriptors. ;) Bailie is a sweetheart, and yes, I do see the linens shading. Very apt.
My intent is to return to the washed rind arena this year. I've been hankering for something along the lines of an Esrom (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9293.msg66375.html#msg66375). Pink & stinky. :P
Kudos, Mal, have a cheese!
-Boofer-
Hi boofer glad to see you are here. Maybe a few more like this and we'll see an improvement in the posting quality. How very dyslexic of me crud should be curd :P I've only just te joined thr turophile ranks. Plan to do more this year. I have to do something in retirement.
This is very exciting, to see the process and progress of your cheeses. Thank You for the descriptions. It helps be think about what I should be observing when I make cheese.
Yesterday was wash day and time to wash the linens - sorry for the pun. I actually was reviewing my collection of fungus, molds and spores making sure I didn't cross the streams and noticed that some of them were very old (like Zuul) in particular my B.Linens was dated best before 2015 and so was the GC. CUltures has last several years stored in the freezer and my Flora Danica and Penicillium Candidum stocks are still going strong after 5 years. I've been making Malemberts successfully off those throughout the pandemic so I wasn't going to go nuts and by
But I thought that a new cheese deserved a refresh. I'm lucky to have an excellent supplier just up the road https://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au (https://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au) and before I washed today a new GC and B.Linens supply was procured at a new 'Furphy' ale wash with an additional dosing of both.
Cheese report:
This is a little weird as each cheese - in it's separate ripening container - is different. One is still sweet smelling like a new Camembert, another just a little more sour. The ones with the first bloom of GC are nice and slick with one smelling like it's ready for the B.Linens to show up. I'm rotating the cheese in the fridge and maybe there is a temperature difference that I haven't measured.
Time to turn the cheeses and see how they are going.
Time to be a little more scientific. I have numbered the cheeses from 1 to 4 and I'll record the characteristics as such.
#1 Feel - Very nicely slick feel not wet.
Smell - nice mushroomy smell developing.
Appearance - both side and edges are showing a nice fine peach fuzz covering
This cheese is almost ready for the colder fridge. I'm going the run the normal fridge at 5-7 DegC for the first couple of washes and monitor the appearance of the Linens - if it arrives.
#2 Feel - Same as #1
Smell - same as #1 but with a little more 'Ale' in the mix.
Appearance - not as uniform covering as #1
I think this cheese will be a couple of days behind #1 going into the colder fridge.
#3 Feel - same as #1
Smell - Less mushroom smell than #1 and #2 but is starting to.
Appearance - Less G.C evident than #1 or #2 though, there are little tuffs popping up on one side.
This one might have been in the colder part of the fridge more that the first two
#4 Feel - is not as slick as the others
Smell - This one is the sweeter smelling one but not as much as yesterday.
Appearance - small tuffs appearing but behind the the others.
This might have been the longest in the colder part of the fridge. Seeing at I have a four shelf fridge I have started a formal rotational pattern
start by taking out the cheeses out starting at the bottom and stack in order. Do the required affinage activities and fill the fridge starting at position 2. As you go through the cycles every day the cheese will cycle though every shelf every four days and then hopefully get the same amount of temperature exposure.
See youse all tomorrow...
Entertaining little buggers. Looks like you've found something to delight yourself in your retirement. Good on ya'!
-Boofer-
@Boofer - Thanks Mate - I can't use the time poor excuse any more so might as well make it as complete a record as possible. What a difference a day makes #4 didn't want to be left behind and has put on a nice display of GC and there is no 'sweetness in the smell of any of them today.
Here is the todays report card.
#1 Feel - drying off still slick to touch. So, I'm going to presume the RH in the containers is good.
Smell - Just an under tone of foot odor - just no other way to say it.
Appearance - a nice GC covering.
Depending on the GC coverage it will be graduating to the colder fridge at the next wash.
#2 Feel---------- Dryish but not as much as #1
Smell-------- same as #1 but no feety smell as yet
Appearance - More tufts, more uniform covering.
I think this cheese will be a couple of days behind #1 going into the colder fridge.
#3 Feel - More slick than two #2 - this is not a wet feel but slimy but without being sticky - if that makes sense?
Smell - progressed to be like #2.
Appearance - Less G.C evident than #1 or #2 but, there are a lot more tuffs popping up all over.
#4 Feel ---------- Slickness improving
Smell--------- This was the sweeter smelling one but this has disappeared today and is more mushroomy.
Appearance - A lot more GC colonies appearing today
and all cheeses rotated in the fridge.
and we'll have a class photo before we graduate them to the colder fridge.
Today was just a cleaning of the container and flipping the cheese
#1 Feel - Dry all over today. added a paper towel moistened by a little of the wash.
Smell - Oh here comes that slightly off seafood smell (well it is to me) that I remember with the other Wash Rind cheeses I did.
Appearance - a nice matt coating of GC all over.
No B.Linens colour as yet but the seafoody smell is a dead giveaway that it is on the way.
#2 Feel---------- Same as #1
Smell-------- some feety smell but not the same as #1
Appearance - Same as #1
Still on track to be a couple of days behind #1 going into the colder fridge.
#3 Feel - Dry on top and slick on the bottom - They seem to be drying out as well.
Smell - progressed to be like #2.
Appearance - more uniform GC covering today.
#4 Feel ---------- Sticky on top and bottom
Smell--------- same as #3 in the 'feety smell' department.
Appearance - more uniform GC covering today
There is no B.Linens colour appearing as yet and they seem to be drying out a bit much. Might have to see about a light brine wash every other day and leaving the collected moisture in the containers. I feel they are progressing well. Need a light Brine with a little B.Linens added to see if I can keep the moisture level up and encourage the Linens along. Tomorrow is wash day.
For those still reading this - does this seem a little slow or about right?
Mal D
@Boofer - would you cheese wrap these at this stage or wait for the B.L to show up?
Mal
Excuse me if I missed this in your descriptions... But how are Cheese 1,2,3&4 different? Or are they the same but just are aging differently? I ask because I had a batch of four cheeses and three were stink=y early on while the fourth still isn't as smelly weeks later. I was wondering why these cheeses, all treated the same way have different character
These cheese are from the same batch, in the same type of container, in the same fridge. I'm working on the theory that there is a difference in the temperature in the fridge. And is one of the reasons I setup the regimented rotation. I've noticed that when I do my Camembert where they mature at different rates but, I wasn't too concerned as that meant that I could enjoy them over an extended period. May be your differing maturing rate might be caused by the same thing. I don't have must room so I use a series of wine fridges and a cold Bar fridge for the final stage. But that is only for these short maturing cheeses. I have a totally separate wine fridge for my long term projects.
Yeah, Mal, they seem about right for cheese paper. How old are they at this point (10 days?) and how long do expect they'll be aging in the bar fridge? I can almost smell them from here. :P
-Boofer-
@Boofer.. They are nine days today and was planning at least 6 weeks in the colder fridge - depending on how soft they get. #3 and #4 are still very much behind #1 and #2. Though never having wrapped ones before I'll probably have to peek under the hood a few times to make sure the Linens doesn't forget to make an appearance and the rampant blue from paying me a house call. Seeing as #1 is the most advanced I'll probably wrap it today and graduate the rest as they get the same 'funkiness' happening.
This photo is of #2 as of yesterday. Here is their report cards
#1 Feel - Dry all over today and slick but not tacky after the wash
Smell - definitely just off crab smell but not overpowering
Appearance - a nice matt coating of GC all over - there is a definite orange tinge appearing.
#2 Feel---------- Same as #1
Smell-------- same smell but not the same as #1
Appearance - is a little more orange coloured than #1 strangely enough.
Looks like it will be joining #1 going into the colder fridge.
#3 Feel - Same as #2
Smell - Mushroomy ever so slight feety smell
Appearance - more uniform GC covering today.
#4 Feel ---------- same as #2 and #3
Smell--------- same as #3 in the 'feety smell' department.
Appearance - more uniform GC covering today but definitely lagging behind the rest of them.
It sure does look delicious
Based on the advice of those waaayy more experienced than I have decided to continue this experiment learning some other aspects - Maturing. So, the question has always been for me - Do you wrap of not? I've decided to try both methods.
Yesterday I wrapped #1 and #2 as they were as advanced as each other by now and placed in a colder fridge running @ 6-8 degreeC. They will still be turned and aired daily for the next week and then once a week until ready.
The other two #3 and #4 will not be wrapped and I'll continue the Ale washing routine for the next week and then switch to a light brine wash once a week and leave them unwrapped and are now sharing the ripening container.
I've done both before. My experience has been that wrapping gives a slightly better environment to the cheese, but that not wrapping gives you more control. That may sound weird, but basically *on average* the wrapping is pretty darn close to what I tend to want in terms of humidity and air exchange. However, in the cases where it *isn't* right, there is no easy way to fix the problem. It's also easy to forget about them wrapped up like that. For that reason, I tend to age things without wrapping. Will be very interested to see how your experiment turns out.
The 'Red Hound' is no so red unfortunately. It might have fallen foul of the B.Linens being too old when I made the cheese in the first place. I have #3 and #4 in the same container - unwrapped - in the colder fridge. I am also going to continue the washing routine every other day with a very light brine (with B.Linens added). You can already see that they have benefitted from the extra stay on the warmer fridge. They are actually softer on the edges than 1 and 2. You never know, I might actually need to bring them first to this level of mature before moving them to the colder fridge in the future. But, for now I'll leave 1 and 2 continue as planned.
B. linens only shows up when the pH is sufficiently high. It depends on the variety, but the average is 5.8 (range is between 5.5 and 6.0 most of the time). If the cheese is a bit more acidic, it can take a long time for the geo to pull it up to that level. But once you do, you basically can't avoid b. linens from showing up if you wash it.
Daily report.
The cheeses that I wrapped have a nice 'feety' smell now and are starting to soften. The other two - which were lagging at the beginning are actually softer than the wrapped ones. The B.Linens has not made a visual appearance as yet but the smell is definitely there.
The cheeses are maturing but I have still to see any B.Linens turn up and maybe it's due to humidity. As I don't have anything to measure it with. Numbers 1&2 that were wrapped have the least smell but the most GC and slowly ripening. Numbers 3&4 I have continued to wash but also not seen any B.Linens. Their odour is different as well. Now I'm not about to call these a failure just yet but the washed rinds still elude me and it could well be from the age of my FD cultures and B.Linens stock. Any suggestions? I'll post some images tomorrow on their progress.
It should just show up naturally if you keep the rind a bit moist. Mainly just wash it again :-)
Well, these are definitely stinking up their respective containers. But, the wrapped have no sign of B.Linens anywhere - I suspect too dry.
Subjective note. The wrapped ones don't smell as much as the unwrapped. I have continued brine washing #3 and 4 and they are softening faster than #1 & 2. At the end of 6 weeks I am going to sacrifice one the the Gods of Cheese to do an internal examination and taste test of the either 3 or 4 (whichever is the most advanced) once that is done I'll wrap the other. I need to practice getting the B.Linens to appear also the RH needs to be way higher as the for the next attempt. I thought that the enclosed containers were going to be sufficient but this appears to be not the case. It's time to set the 'Cave Cube' up. I have not used it for a couple of years - Hope I still remember how to set it up.
PLEASE DON'T JUDGE ME! but last week #3 disappeared in a flurry of crackers and Pale Ales without me taking any photos or even a report card. So #3 has left the experiment but not without leaving a lasting impression. The smell was quite confronting but quickly dissipated and the remaining cheese had a wonderful umami depth and meaty flavor. Meaty might be the wrong term but it was very full and yet very, very smooth. Is could have done with a little more salt and the B.Linens was noticeable by it's absence.
Something to note that the ones that I continued to wash (#3 and #4) ripened faster than the ones I wrapped. They are still quite firm but at 6 weeks I think they have a couple more to go.
Today mark the consumption of #4 and some photos. I would definitely not call this a failure and will make these once more. I like the smaller form of the 4 inch moulds though I will increase the amount that goes into each form by increasing this to a full 10 litre batch.
The last image is of my Malembert on the left and Red(without the red)Hound on the right. Looks are similar but oh so different. I'll keep the reports coming in as I unwrap #1 and #2 in the coming weeks.
Time for a couple of Cheddars ....
They look so delicious, like little creme cakes. By chance have you ever made a Raffine? https://cheesemaking.com/products/raffine-cheese-making-recipe. The pics of that really looks like a yummy dessert, so I really want to try and make it. Though I doubt my cheese will look like that in the pictures. Anyway, have you ever made or eaten one? If so, what does it taste like? Do you have any tips in its preparation?
I have not tried Raffine. Though it differs slight from this one in process I would expect it to taste slightly tangier than mine. 'Red Hound' (though still missing the 'red' bit) was matured for longer than the Raffine's 28 days. I think this is evident in the photo on the web site. Have a look at the three main areas.
1. The rind is nice and thin as it only uses GC (which is the yeast - though some call it a mold).
2. The rind-paste interface has very defined layers
3. The internal paste. This is clearly only just started to soften and I would expect it to taste tangy cheesy.
The turning and washing will help the B.Linens (advise without evidence as I still have to achieve that bit) though I think the reason the three distinct layers in the photo is the extended aging at the beginning of 2 weeks before transferring to a cold environment
QuoteOnce wrapped the cheese can be stacked in a closed container and moved to a cool space 45-50F for a final 2-3 weeks of aging.
I think this cheese will ammoniate quite rapidly and should be consumed pretty quickly.
I think you and I should make one in tandem from the recipe - photograph and record our efforts and share with the forum.
I love that idea! When would you like to make it? I've only been making cheese for about 6 weeks.. so it will be quite interesting to see how
the same cheese differs in the hands of a novice and a sage. ;-)
Appreciate the title, though hardly sage. Being retired I can do this almost anytime but, it doesn't have to be at the same time :) How about the next time you have scheduled cheese making time and I. We both agree to make the same cheese and the first to do start an entry in the forum - something like 'Raffine Challenge' share photos and comments.
You got it! OK... I make cheese one Sundays. So, I will make the Raffine this Sunday (tomorrow). The process for this cheese is a bit different and I am a little unsure about some aspects but I will give it a go! This is great because I do need a faster aging cheese in the works. :-)
Tomorrow for me is Monday and I'll need to gather my milk together. and my wife needs the kitchen - so I will start Tuesday.
Cool! This should be fun! Thank You! I know, We Americans use too many !!!! ;-)