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This is to all who dwell here faithfully and give of their knowledge without hesitation.

I took a step and am now nurturing my first Stilton. I have tried with success, cheddar, gouda and a nice assiago, but why not venture into the King of Cheeses.

I bashed recipes and methods from FarmerJD, Sailor, Linuxboy, Ntai...Leaned on Ricki Carroll and Steve Shapson. You all have made it understandable and fun so far.

The recipe I came up with is as follows:
4 Gallons of Pasturized Homogenized Whole Milk
2 Pints of Regular Cream
2 Packs (1.9g) of C101 DS Mesophilic from Ricki Carroll
1/4 Teaspoon (.44g) Penicillium Roqueforti from Leeners
1 Teaspoon (14 ml) of Calcium Chloride
1 Teaspoon of Animal Rennet (Too much I fear) should have been 1/2 Teaspoon

The milk was heated to 86 degrees and the Calcium Chloride and starter cultures were added. I let it ripen for 60 minutes.

At the 1 hour point I added the rennet and timed for flocculation. When the bowl stopped moving with a slight amount of air, I blew on it, I stopped the timer. In this case it was 14 minutes. I used a Flocculation Factor of 4 per Sailor's advice. Therefore 14 x 4 = 56 minutes until checking for a clean break and ladling the curds into the drain pot.

I used a stainless pasta pot and drained in the whey for 1 hour, then lifted the pasta basket out and drained for 30 minutes.

I then put the curd into a 6"x12" mold and turned it every 15 minutes for 2 hours. I then put it in the press and used 10 pounds, 1/4 psi for 10 hours.

The next morning I removed it from the mold and milled the curd using a cookie cooling rack. It was then salted with 4 Tablespoons of Cheese salt.

I remolded the curd and put it into my 'cave' at 68 degrees F 88% Rh for 4 days. At that time I had a good amount of blue mold.

I then removed the mold, smoothed the surface cracks and put it back in the cave.

I lowered the 'cave' temperature to 54 degrees and have held it at 85% ish humidity for 10 days now. Incidentally I got the temperature and humidity setting by watch the video at http://stiltoncheese.com/. (http://stiltoncheese.com/.) If you watch closely there is a scrolling marquee on the wall that gives the exact figures of the aging room.

Here we are at 10 days.....I will keep all of you posted, that is if you are interested.

Oh, the other cheese is my second Assiago made the next day. I hope it is as good as my first one.

Looks good. Just one observation, Stilton is not pressed, ever.
The idea being an open texture to allow crevices which allow the blue to penetrate to the inside.

Very thorough dissertation. Good pics. Pretty much a how-to from my myopic perspective.  :D

You're not concerned about that Asiago turning blue?

-Boofer-

The Assiago will get a brine bath regularly to keep the blues away...If it gets too aggressive I'll put it in it's own cave.

And I pressed ever so slightly at 1/4 psi to aid in knitting per Sailor's advice. It helped knit the curd.

New births are always great this time of year, and this baby looks beautiful!

Great post and pictures.  I will be following this.  I have 2 small blues in my cave and they are completely covered in mold.  Can't wait to try them and make more.

Salute!   :D

Update...here it is at 16 days old. The Blue is very aggressive and I have ammonia being emitted.

I know that piercing is the next step, what do you folks recommend. From what I have gleaned from my research here is that 3 to 5 weeks is right, but that is a big spread.

Cheese making takes a village, and I need help raising this one.

Quote from: steampwr8 on December 29, 2010, 12:24:33 AMI know that piercing is the next step, what do you folks recommend.

I pierced one just this a.m. Used a thin bamboo skewer as used for BBQing. Worked a treat. Just wet it down so it doesn't 'grab' the curds in or out.

The blue should completely cover the cheese. That hasn't happened on yours yet, so it seems your humidity is a little low.  After 3 or 4 weeks, pierce, then re-pierce in the same spots a week later. It's not an exact science and depends on how well your cheese is maturing. If the interior is still really moist and creamy (a good thing), the piercings will tend to fill themselves in, so you will have to wait longer. I wait until the blue starts dieing and turning tan. That way there is a little bit of rind that stays open.

The hygrometer says 85% Rh and the temp is a fairly constant 55 degrees. I am using the La Crosse Tech system remote temp/humidity sensors.

I may turn on the humidifier for a day to see if it helps.

Thanks for the advice.

I took an analog hygrometer out of my den set and put it in the cave as a comparison.

I checked within 1 or 2 % Rh. Is this just a slow growth blue?

I don't see any "fuzzies". Have you scraped this?

Sailor;

The Stilton is now 20 days old.

No I have not yet scraped it. I am not sure I need to as of yet.

I think that the larger spots of 'plain' white cheese are due to my not milling them small enough.

Humidity at 90% for the last two day.

Good Evening Folks;

The Stilton is now 37 days old and still growing. It weighs right at 4 pounds.

It is alive as I have a strong Ammonia smell coming from it still.

I have pierced the cheese top to bottom since we last looked.

Let me know what I am missing please.

Oh, by the way the Stilton and Assiago were joined by a Leyden Gouda made to Linuxboy's recipe on Sunday. I boiled 2T of cumin seeds for 10 minutes, then added the cooled water to the milk. At the pressing under whey stage I folded in the boiled seeds.

Well time is surely relative. It has already been 51 days since inception.

We are half way to a good 90 day Stilton.

Let me know what I should be doing next. Any one have a trier for sale cheap. It seems that at 7 to 8 weeks the graders were trying a plug in the videos.

Looks good. In a pinch, an apple corer will work as a trier. Stilton is good at 60 days, but it's better at 90.

Sailor:

I never asked if when you pierce your Stilton's do you go top to bottom, or pierce from the sides towards the middle?

What is the mold you used?  I mean, the tube... not the blue stuff  :). 

I used a 6" diameter x 12" tall PVC water pipe. I have drilled holes in it on 1" centers to allow the whey to drain.

Our first Stilton made 90 days and we made a special evening of trying three of our cheeses.

Here is the Stilton. Crumbly, just enough. Creamy alot. Mild blue flavor with LOTS of aroma. No ammonia  or gassy smell like some bad blues...Wish you were here to share.

We opened a young Leyden, 55 days old...

And an Asiago...

How do I now bag/wax protect the pieces that I want to continue to age or can't eat right now?

DROOL

They all look great! The Stilton in particular. More tasting notes, please!

The Asiago was made the day before the Stilton. It is already very hard, much like I have read a  6 to 9 month Mezzano would be. In looking at my Make Log that stands to reason because I started at too high a temperature.

As to the flavor, it is great. Maybe tending a little too far towards Parmesan, but distinct nutty and butter flavor comes through. Grated very well and was good on ravioli.

The Stilton has a sharp first bite but a very mellow finish. No where near the sometimes gassy flavor of a commercial blue. As you can see I milled the curd a bit large so the veining was pocketed not spidery. Everyone loved it.

The Leyden is moist and creamy. A bit young yet as the Cumin is still the predominant flavor. It needs more time for the cheese to develop around the cumin.

Would be fun to share with our community.

Now isn't that a report to inspire!  All three of those cheeses look fantastic, and the Stilton looks wonderful.  Nice job, and congrats on making it the full 90 days!  I'm thinking of trying a blue soon. 

- Jeff

Gorgeous!  Now I need to make a second blue, but haven't decided which to try.

Try a Bleu du Queyras

I  have a second one in the cave now. It should be ready to pierce as it is 3 weeks old.

This is it at 4 days old.

Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on March 12, 2011, 04:26:10 PM
Try a Bleu du Queras

What pray tell is this and can I get a a recipe?

Wow, thats beautiful! What did you put in it? Cranberries?

Yes, it is pomegranite infused Craisins. We added then after it was milled and salted.

Bleu du Queyras originates from eastern France near the Italian border. It is creamier than a Stilton because it does not sit as long before salting. We also use it to make Flan au Bleu du Queyras, a savory blue cheese flan.

My recipe is from 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes page 148. The flan is on page 150.

Here's the condensed recipe version:

8 qt milk (I add extra cream), 1/4 tsp Meso (I use Aroma B), 1/4 tsp rennet (varies), pinch of P. roquefortii, 2 tsp. salt.

Heat to 86
Add culture (NOT the P. roquefortii) and ripen for 30 minutes
Add diluted rennet
Let curds set for 45 minutes (I use a 5 floc multiplier because I like it creamy)
GENTLY cut curds into 3/4" - 1" cubes. Do NOT stir.
Let curds heal for 15 minutes.
GENTLY skim off excess whey
GENTLY ladle curds into a draining bag or lined colander.
Drain for 4 hours, flipping the curd mass after 2 hours.
This time is important for the curds to build up proper acidity, especially with Aroma B.
GENTLY break up curds into large chunks, drain for 10 minutes.
Break up some more, drain 10 more minutes.
Add salt and P. roquefortii. GENTLY mix well.
Fill molds. Do NOT press.
Cover and drain for one week at room temperature (65-70F).
Flip cheeses 6 to 7 times a day (still in the mold) to promote good air circulation.
One week after the make, remove from molds.
Sprinkle each side with ½ tsp salt. This reduces the blue mold on the rind. I don't do this.
Place on a drying mat in a ripening container. Dry UNCOVERED for one week at room temp.
Pierce and after one week pierce again.
Ripen at 42F – 44F and 85% RH for one month, turning twice a week.
Ready to eat at 45-60 days. I let mine go 90.

Thank you Sir;

How do I preserve the rest of the wheel to keep it aging properly?

Steam, I have wedges of the blue I made wrapped in foil, then in a bag in the fridge to keep them from getting too strongly flavored.  Not sure if that is proper or not - I'm hoping someone with more knowledge will chime in.

Sailor - Thanks for the recipe.  What size mold does this one require?

Karen - I've lost perspective on small batches since I started my micro-creamery. ;) But I can tell you that 35 gallons will fill six 8" Tomme molds to the top. It initially takes up a little more space than a Stilton but will drain down to about the same volume after 3 or 4 days.

That's funny about the perspective, Sailor - I run into folks that can't imagine making a five gallon batch.

If I ever get down your way, I'm definitely dropping in for a visit.

Karen - I made LOTS of 5 gallon batches in my kitchen sink.

I make mine in the utility sink.  Our kitchen is rather small and once I figured out that the sink worked, I moved cheesemaking operations downstairs.