On July 10 I made about a 4 gallon Fourme d'Ambert. It's a pressed and brined blue, said to be relatively mild. It's pierced right after it gets out of the brine and dried for a couple days. It ripens relatively quickly, or so the book says. Recipe from 200 Easy Cheeses.
In the photo, taken a few days ago, the pierced holes have obvious bluing. The outside thus far has less than the few other non-brined blues I've made. I'm very curious to know what's going on inside and am finding it difficult to wait. Wish I had a cheese trier. ::)
Looks really good Gina. Keep up the good work.
Patience!
It looks good.
Yum! Austin FINALLY got a real cheese shop a few months ago and the hubby and I make weekly trips now. He is not a blue cheese fan but I'm trying to bring him around. He tried the Fourme d'Ambert and actually liked it! I love them all, the stronger the better, but I do like that you can taste 'cheese' and not just 'blue' in this one.
I might have to make this might first blue attempt! Lookin' good!
Very nice! I'm going to have to try that one!
I just ordered the book yesterday. Will have to make this one after I get the book from Amazon. Looking forward to it. Will the outside not blue up as much because it is brined? Will you still have to scrape it?
The outside of mine isnt bluing up that much and still looks like the photo, but enough for me to know the mold is active. It is bluing inside becasue I checked with a primative cheese trier. :) I am not having to scrape it thus far.
Here is another thread on that cheese, with pics. The cheese in the other thread blued much more than mine and makes me wonder if his was brined. All that matters to me however is that it tastes good. :)
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2351.msg18074.html#msg18074 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2351.msg18074.html#msg18074)
Would love to have the recipe you used for this cheese--can you post?
Fourme d'Ambert (which is apparently identicle with F.d'Montbrison)
4 Gal whole milk
1/2 tsp meso
1/8 tsp Pen. roq. spores
1/2 tsp CaCl2
1/2 tsp rennet
Heat milk to 90*F, add mold, meso, and stir. Add CaCl and stir. Add rennet. Let stand for 90 minutes maintaining temp.
When clean break, cut curd 1/2 inch. Let stand 5 min.
Stir gently, constantly for 60 min at 90*F till curds become small and firm. Let settle.
Remove whey till you see top of curds. Ladle curds into mold.
Press lightly for 1 hr. Redress and press at light pressure for another 6-7 hours.
Brine for 12 hrs, turning at 6 hrs.
Dry for two days at room temp, then pierce. Place in ripening container at 50*F
Turn daily, removing any whey.
Moldy crust will appear in about 2 wks. Continue to ripen for 1 month, then the cheese will be ready.
Wrap and store in frig for 2-3 months.
:)
Thanks for the recipe Gina, I got my book yesterday, but have not had much of a chance to look past the forward yet. I will give this cheese a go very shortly. I have not attempted a mold ripened cheese yet, so this will be a good one to start with. Have you noticed exterior molding yet? Can you post a current pic?
You're welcome, Mr.Kim. :)
Here is a photo from this morning. This cheese did not blue up as much as my Stiltons, but then it was pressed and brined. In the first photo you can see some bluing on the top, and in this photo of the opposite end of the cheese (the end with the cheese cloth folds), you can see the bluing better, though it is now greyish in color. Both ends blued better than the sides. Probably the result of more moisture from the whey draining.
All that matters to me is that it tastes good and has some blue inside (which it does). :P
Wow, looks great. Do you brine most of your blues rather than salting the curd and outside? Have you had better results doing it that way?
Quote from: Mr. Kim on August 06, 2010, 12:06:10 PM
Wow, looks great. Do you brine most of your blues rather than salting the curd and outside? Have you had better results doing it that way?
Thanks. I usually do what the recipe says with respect to salting, but just for an experiment brined these instead of externally salting with loose salt. Can't address the results of brining since I havent cut into a brined blue yet. :)
Very nice Gina - Good job!
Quote from: Gina on July 23, 2010, 06:35:22 PM
On July 10 I made about a 4 gallon Fourme d'Ambert. It's a pressed and brined blue, said to be relatively mild. It's pierced right after it gets out of the brine and dried for a couple days. It ripens relatively quickly, or so the book says. Recipe from 200 Easy Cheeses.
In the photo, taken a few days ago, the pierced holes have obvious bluing. The outside thus far has less than the few other non-brined blues I've made. I'm very curious to know what's going on inside and am finding it difficult to wait. Wish I had a cheese trier. ::)
Out of curiosity Gina, did you inject it with Vouvray during aging as is traditional for this cheese? I have the 200 cheeses book and there is no mention of injecting it with wine....which is odd since it gives this cheese a ton of flavor! Looks wonderful by the way! hope it tastes delish too!
You know how published cheese recipes and traditions are - extremely variable. ;)
Before I made this cheese I read as much as I could and most of the descriptions/videos didnt mention adding wine so I never considered doing it. If you like wine flavor in your blue cheeses, Fourme d'Ambert might be a good one to inject since it is considered one of the mildest of the blues. :)
I'm getting closer to opening this one. Maybe this weekend. If it's too mild, I probably will open that bottle of wine.... for the cheesemaker. :P
I am sure it's going to be delicious either way!! I can't wait to hear how it turned out! (Especially since I'm thinking of making this cheese too!) Keep us updated! :D
Cut into my first blue yesterday!
Done in the style of a Fourme d'Ambert.
Lovely texture, a bit creamy with a nice tang.
Need to work on the piercing to get better internal marbling though.
(http://www.newdixie.com/mikeamor/285FoodiePix/Fourme_12.jpg)
Well done, Mike!!
Glad to hear it's so tasty! Nice Job!
~Cheers
Looks very good Gina. Congrats. How long was it aged?
I made my Fd'A on July 10, so it's just about 2 mos. old. I decided to let it go a bit longer in part because we were eating other blues, but any day now...
MikeA - For a first blue, that sounds very nice. It has an interesting profile. :)
I opened my Fd'A. It's got nice fine viens, but the flavor is just OK. I do prefer other blues I've made much more than this, so I doubt I will make another. Live and learn. :)
Sorry, no picture.
I cut a 10 month old FdA for a tasting on Monday. Two of the tasters (restaurant people) said it was the best thing they had ever tasted. It was as creamy as the Stiltons but not as crumbly because of a higher pH at hooping. A little milder blue flavor than the Stiltons but a really complex, aged flavor. Unfortunately, it's the only one I have. Didn't mean to age it 10 months, but I do have extraordinary patience "sometimes". - Shhhh... Don't tell Nancy. :o
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on September 22, 2010, 09:46:35 PM
Shhhh... Don't tell Nancy. :o
Sounds like she wouldn't agree with you there. LOL
Hello,
Very new to cheese making, especially this forum, but I have an affinity for blue cheese.
Nice looking Fourme d'Ambert Gina! I would like to try an make one myself as my first cheese.
Just two questions;
What amount of weight did you use for the light pressing stage, and what size and type of mold was used?
Thank you for your help.
Quote from: Gina on July 31, 2010, 03:08:41 AM
Fourme d'Ambert (which is apparently identicle with F.d'Montbrison)
4 Gal whole milk
1/2 tsp meso
1/8 tsp Pen. roq. spores
1/2 tsp CaCl2
1/2 tsp rennet
Heat milk to 90*F, add mold, meso, and stir. Add CaCl and stir. Add rennet. Let stand for 90 minutes maintaining temp.
When clean break, cut curd 1/2 inch. Let stand 5 min.
Stir gently, constantly for 60 min at 90*F till curds become small and firm. Let settle.
Remove whey till you see top of curds. Ladle curds into mold.
Press lightly for 1 hr. Redress and press at light pressure for another 6-7 hours.
Brine for 12 hrs, turning at 6 hrs.
Dry for two days at room temp, then pierce. Place in ripening container at 50*F
Turn daily, removing any whey.
Moldy crust will appear in about 2 wks. Continue to ripen for 1 month, then the cheese will be ready.
Wrap and store in frig for 2-3 months.
:)
Cookipedia states that a sweet wine is injected to this cheese during 28 days maturing period. It would be nice to try as I have a bottle of ice wine.
Tan
http://www.cookipedia.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Fourme_d%27Ambert_cheese (http://www.cookipedia.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Fourme_d%27Ambert_cheese)
Okay--I'm going with the original version and injecting with Vouvrey. I aged it first for 6 weeks, and began injecting today. Darn, the wine came out of the holes I had punched for the blue veins! No matter, I'll soldier on. Results will follow in another month.
Brie, I have a Fourme d'Ambert that is about 1-2 weeks old. I too was considering the Vouvrey but wasn't sure if it was to be soaked, washed, or injected. As for the built in drainage system, I'm laughing with you not at you. ;)
Let me know if you figure out a technique that works. I'll try it out in a few weeks.
Perhaps that's what it's all about--just give it a "shower". I'll keep you updated.
Brie,
I procured a sparkling version of Vouvray. Since I'm still experimenting I cut mine in half so I could wash one half with vouvray and leave the other half natural. I was shocked to see the inside was still white. Apparently the holes I punched (with a medium size knitting needle) almost completely sealed themselves back in so I punched more holes. The outside was looking good though.
As for applying the champagne, I quickly discovered that the blue mold creates a water proofing of sorts. When I poured over the white side (formerly the middle) it would stick around but on the blue outside it just slide right off and the cheese was completely dry. So I made tiny scores all over the top with a knife and then the liquid would grab on.
How is the injecting coming along?
Are you "pouring" the wine over the cheese? Are you "washing" the cheese with the wine? What the heck are you doing? All experimental, but each method has different outcomes. I am using an injector needle to infuse the fouorme once per week--should be ready to cut in a few weeks--how interesting it all is!
Sorry for the late response I somehow missed this reply.
I started just pouring it over the top but I've found it doesn't stick, so now I've started giving it a little Vouvray massage. :D
We'll continue to commiserate on this one--I continue to inject once per week.
Last injection of vitamin Vouvrey yesterday--scraped the Fourme and cleaned the cave for its final affinage--getting excited about this experiment--how is yours coming along?
Second post on this topic to include this thread. It appears that d'Ambert has a sister that is doused in wine:
Produced in Belgium, production of Fourme au Sauternes was developed by affineur Jacquy Cange and is inextricably related to its sister cheese, Fourme d'Ambert.
In order to make Fourme au Sauternes, Monsieur Cange (who has worked for more than 20 years at mastering the art of creating new cheeses and developing the perfect affinage for each) cuts cylinders of Fourme d'Ambert horizontally in half and proceeds to both inject and wash the half wheels with Sauternes before maturing them for two months.
Perhaps this is why we don't see the wine injection in any of our d'Ambert recipes. Nonetheless, I did inject and it was wonderful!
I'm thinking about making this cheese. My first blue.
What floc multiplier should I use? What is pH at drain?
And, to age it 10 months as Sailor did, does it age in cave for a couple of months and then in fridge? Or, eventually clean rind and oil?
Thanks for your help.
John
Great blue to start out with. Flocc is 4--should be about 90 minutes. Have not tested PH with this cheese. It is normally aged only for a few months, which is why it is a great blue to start with. Sailor let his age longer (probably because he has so many blues aging). They all do taste better when they age longer. I would suggest a taste after the normal 2 month aging period-it should be great. If yo're thinking about injecting with wine, do if after it has aged at least a month, and then inject once per week for the next month. Let it age another month. All should be done at 50-55 degrees with 70% humidity.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Two weeks ago I made a large Fourme d'Ambert using the recipe from 200 Easy Home Made Cheeses. The cheese is now totally covered in a thick blue mould and looks nothing like the photos of this kind of cheese elsewhere. The recipe says that the cheese should be covered in a crusty blue grey mould, but this looks like the mould has taken over totally. This mould is not tasty at all.
Anyone have suggestions?
Roland
Just wipe it down with brine--it will be fine--happens all the time.