I've been reading this forum for a fair while, but this is my first contribution!
Currently i've got a 2 month old cheddar, 5 small camenberts, 3 cambozolas and some halloumi lurking in various fridges.
I'm hoping to make my first proper blue vein cheese soon - hopefully I can end up with something close to Stilton!
I've documented most of my cheese-related exploits at http://handyface.wordpress.com (http://handyface.wordpress.com), so feel free to have a look and let me know what you think!
Welcome.
Looks good. When cheddaring, you really should keep your curd slices warm throughout the entire process - generally 90F or so.
Good luck on the Stilton.
Welcome and congratulations on waiting 2 months on your cheddar! I always have a hard time waiting. :)
Welcome, I like the tricolor sandwich cheese! Are you in London England?
Welcome Handyface. You got some interesting cheeses there. I've never even heard of Wensleydale but I am always trying new cheeses.
Welcome Handyface!
Your cheeses add colors to the life :)
I raised some blue mold on a ray bread and now waiting for it grows in my first blue cheese. Hope I'll get something looking as good as what is shown at your pics :)
Thanks for the tip Sailor Con Queso - I had wondered about temperatures during cheddaring. I tried cheddaring once in a seed propagator which kept the temperature around 30C, but the curds ended up really sticky and quite messy.
Yes i'm in London, England - living in South East, but work in the City. I have some access to raw milk through local farmers market's, but due to the expense and intermittent availability I pretty much just use standard milk.
I'm really curious about creating my own moulds, as i'm trying to keep everything as "natural" as possible ... will have to do a bit of research! Also trying to find some information about thistle rennet so I can make my own, but not having much luck!
I've signed up to twitter now too, where i'm trying to do some real-time cheese-making!
http://www.twitter.com/handyface (http://www.twitter.com/handyface)
Currently attempting another stilton-esque cheese after the last one was taken over by white mould :(
Good morning Handyface and welcome to the forum. SOme interesting cheeses, and lots of learning going on. First time though that I have seen cheese dipped in hot water and smoothed? Interesting. Anyone else done that before?
I've read several references that suggest spraying with hot water and then rubbing or scraping out imperfections.
The hot water tip came from Katie Thear's book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheesemaking-Dairying-Making-Cheese-Yoghurt/dp/0906137330/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256571421&sr=8-5 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheesemaking-Dairying-Making-Cheese-Yoghurt/dp/0906137330/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256571421&sr=8-5)).
It smooths the solidified curd out nicely!
I would think that dipping in hot water might cause a little harder rind. That could be a good thing if you want to keep the cheese moist.
Interesting, thankyou you pair.
Hi from London, are you a fan of british cheeses? Or do you prefer french?
My favourite cheese would have to be Stinking Bishop, a washed rind cheese similar to Epoisse.
British cheeses are very nice indeed, but sometimes you just can't beat a bit of real camenbert :)
By the way - are you a fan of the Mighty Boosh?