Hi,
I have a Stilton which has been maturing for about 2 weeks. It smells great and is getting a good covering on mold as expected. It is however expanding very slightly in places as if gasses are building up inside. Is this normal for this type of cheese? I have never had a ballooning issue before. also the cheese has not been skewered yet.
T
No thats not normal,
Can you up a pic?
Depends on the bacteria that you used. Some cultures, like Aroma B will produce gas.
Hi,
The only info i have on the packet is that it is single shot OVPV culture. The attached pic does not really show it up very well. It is really only very slight and i don't detect any yeasty smells so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get any worse.
Also i plan to skewer it at about week 3 or 4. Does that sound about right?
Regards
T
Yeah, Once the outside blue dries you can poke.
I dont really see any bloating, do you mean the uneven top to bottom portion?
Hi,
The top and the bottom are slightly wider due to the way i sealed the rind, i had to smear it in quite a bit to seal it due to not milling the curds small enough i think. The puffing up was on the top yesterday before i turned it.
What humidity did you store yours at. I have mine in a sealed large tupperware container with a saucer of wat er inside. The hygrometer reads 80 - 85 but the inside is really damp to the point that condensation is forming inside. I worry about the conditions being too damp after loosing my Red Leicester this week to rot.
Photo attached of cave with Stiliton in its own container. The temperature is starting to get a bit too high, currently 16C max. Think i'm gonna have to keep them all a bit cooler if the summer continues to get warmer
T
T
While It was in the ripening fridge I've put it in a lided plastic box smaller then yours with the lid almost completly shut, I also had alot of condensation on the top but the cheese didnt gather moisture on the surface and the blue rind which had previously formed stayed dry.
About 3-4 weeks after poking I decided Its enough blue for my taste (I like my blue cheeses mild), The veining was maybe 60% from the core out.
I wraped it in dual layer cheese paper,put into a sealable plastic bag,
Sucked the air out and put in my regular fridge in the veg compartment where the temp is about 8-10c to age.
Its the cheese fest holiday soon so I'l be cracking on. (I made 2 X 600 grams).
I'm definately going to have to get the temperature down then if your storing yours at 8. I have got my hands on an old fridge but the problem is it wont go higher than 6 C. Gonna have to give this some thought.
Nah dont take my approach as the right way of doing things,
I just did it because I decided to switch my cheese fridge a bit higher (Its getting really hot and its not even summer yet) because I dont want it working 24\7 to maintain 10-12c,
Most recipies call to ripen at 50f for 90 days and switch to 40f when its "ready".
I suspect it wont make it to 40f if you know what I mean :P
I couldnt find any notes about the optimal growing temp of PR and whether high temp might make it go to overload mode like with PC , My main goal was to retard further bluing (hense limiting oxygen) while still allowing it to go on maturing.
already tasted and smelled damn good when checked for veining with an apple corer... amm sorry Proffesional cheese tester. :)
Ah i see, i thought 8 was a bit low for maturing. I think i am going to have to find a fridge that can go up to 10 - 12 c for the summer unless i can find another way to cool the cave. I have started adding ice packs but i don't think thats gonna work too well, my second idea is to find some thick slate slabs to add to bring the temperature down.
Glad yours is going well, i have to say i do like the blues strong so i don't mind if it goes a bit mad, just don't want to end up with one big lump of blue mold.
Thanks for the help as always Tomer.
T
Glad I can help,
Followed this thread I went to check the cheeses ,Since bagging them I havent checked back.
I expected a strong amonia smell since im accually suffocating it but no,
The smell was incredible. I gave my dad a sniff and his mouth was watering. 2 weeks to crack down :)
Excellent, let me know what the final results are like.
T
Quote from: TommyTW15 on May 21, 2011, 08:18:44 PM
I think i am going to have to find a fridge that can go up to 10 - 12 c for the summer unless i can find another way to cool the cave. I have started adding ice packs but i don't think thats gonna work too well, my second idea is to find some thick slate slabs to add to bring the temperature down.
Most refrigerators won't just get that warm. But you can purchase an external thermostat to plug it into which will kick it off and on to maintain the temperature you set. Lots of references on the forum.
Susan
Thanks Susan, just plugged what will become my cheese fridge in and on its lowest setting its about 9 so will go about finding an overide thermostat.
T
Please let me know if you do find one here in the UK Tommy. I couldn't seem to find one ?! I ended up buying a timer that switches my refrigerator off every 2 hours for 30 minutes or so..I get an average temperature of 12c-13c but if we get a warm spell I usually have to recalculate :~/
Your Stilton looks great, I have my first one at 4 weeks :)
I have been very happy with this one. Can you order from Amazon?
http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls-Digital-Thermostat-Control/dp/B00368D6JA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306281225&sr=1-1-catcorr (http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls-Digital-Thermostat-Control/dp/B00368D6JA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306281225&sr=1-1-catcorr)
Susan
This looks perfect, I'm just wondering if it can be used on out 240V sockets? I don't know anything about electronics so if its just a matter of added a UK 3 pin plug then Id be happy to buy one of these?
Thanks Susan ;)
I have got my fridge on its lowest setting and it seems to fluctuate between being on and off. Therefore it tends to go between 8 and 15C. It a bit of a pain but my hope is that as the summer temp increases it will settle into staying on its lowest temperature. However it still beats the staying in my cave which is about 16C constantly.
Susan - let me know if you get one of these, i'm sure you can use a socket adaptor but i have no idea of how you integrate it into the fridge itself. If anyone knows how this is done please let us know.
Also has anyone found that their Stilton has decreased in size while aging?
T
I DO have one. But I am in the US. I didn't think about the different type of outlet he would need. Maybe could get a converter? like one does for traveling. I'm not sure. Anyway, I just plugged the fridge into it. Then plugged thermostat into wall. Works like a charm!
Susan
Ah i get it now. It senses the temp in the fridge and then controls the power supply to keep the temperature as set. Sounds good. If i can't get mine right i will definately get one. I think a trvel plug adaptor would work ok.
T
Quote from: the big cheese on May 25, 2011, 09:42:49 AM
This looks perfect, I'm just wondering if it can be used on out 240V sockets? I don't know anything about electronics so if its just a matter of added a UK 3 pin plug then Id be happy to buy one of these?
Thanks Susan ;)
As an alternative, here's the one (http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=pd_cp_hi_1) I just bought a couple months back. It is not prewired, but that was not really a problem. I believe there is a selection you can make for either 120v or 220v.
You wire in the plug end to the 220v posts and wire in an outlet cord that the fridge plugs into.
I added an in-line fuse as well.
You can set the desired temperature either in C or F and then set the swing range by degree. For example, set it for 11C with a swing of 2 degrees and it will dip to 9C before turning off or go to 13C before turning on.
My world is Fahrenheit so my cave hovers around 52F. Very nice.
-Boofer-
I've got a little dorm fridge with the mini freezer in the upper right of the box, I found that it would not get warm enough on its warmest setting. What I did was take the sensor and tuck it (gently) up to the bottom of the freezer, wired a piece of Styrofoam the same size as the freezer to the bottom of the freezer.
In other words I made a sandwich with the sensor between the metal freezer and the Styrofoam. The sensor gets cold before the box does and keeps it about 12f warmer. I do get allot of condensation (pools in the bottom). So only have cheese that is waxed or vac packed in it.
I did grow a great blue cheese in a small jiffy seed starter box in there tho
Jaspar
Nice looking Stilton Mr. Banbury.
One question I have - the recepie I used didn't talk about making a rind, and I skewered the cheese pretty much straight away. Did I miss out a step?!? It's nice and blue and smelly, but has very rought edges and no overall rind, so I guess something went amiss.
The rind firmness is controled by the humidity the cheese is aged at.
You need to manage it in corralation with the blueing of the rind because at some point the food at the surface runs out and the outside blue dies and starts to dry up.
So if its still soft\moist on the outside your RH might be too high.
Puncturing it stright away wont hurt but it wont alot for internal veining since the holes will plug up and the PR wont strive (no oxygen) so you need to re do it every 3-4 weeks.
Mine does not have a solid rind yet either. The blue on the outside has turned to a dark green, kinda like blacksticks blue and is now slowly turning a tan colour. Its is by no means a solid rind though. I am keeping mine in the bottom veg compartment of a cheese fridge sealed with cling film to keep it from contaminating my non PR cheeses. I believe that this is as Tomer1 says creating a too humid enviroment and so not allowing the outside to form an actual rind. I am wiping out the compartment daily and blotting the cheese with clean cloth to prevent rot. The plan is to get another fridge to keep blues in to allow them to breath and dry out on the outside a bit.
I have not pierced mine yet but will do later this week.
T
I suggest you perf the cling film to let some moisture out.
When I had it in a plastic cintainer I left the lid just slightly open.
How likely is cross contamination though? Six of my cheese are waxed so there they will be ok but i also have a bandaged cheddar and a parm which i worry will end up contaminated.
T
Oh, not a good idea then.