Good creamline milk and new Reblochon molds... what to do?
I had trouble deciding what direction to go, but finally decided to give Taleggio a go again. Anyone looking at my past attempt would see how horrid that turned out. Well, the paste was okay, but the rind was...scary. :o
Taleggio #2Calibrated my ExStik.
whole milk Twinbrook Creamery 2 gallons
TA61 1/8 tsp
LH100 1/8 tsp
Geo 13 1/32 tsp
SR3 1/16 tsp
CACL 1/2 tsp in distilled water
dry calf rennet 1/16 tsp dissolved in ice-cold distilled water
6:30AM - checked milk - 6.88pH/54.9F - began heating to 90F
7:13 - added cultures; let rest 5 minutes to rehydrate
7:18 - stirred in cultures
8:10 - 6.65pH
8:30 - 6.60pH/87.4F (slight drop because I had taken kettle out of double boiler)
8:30 - stirred in CACL and rennet (I had been looking for 6.4pH, but for some reason 6.60 clicked with me)
8:38 - floc'd - 8 minutes - I had intended to go with a 4x multiplier, but because of the higher pH I decided to do 5x
9:18 - after 40 minutes (8 min x 5), cut curds to 2 inches
9:23 - end of 5 min rest, begin cutting to 1/2 inch size
9:40 - end of second curd-cutting, curds are sinking below whey
10:00 - scooped curds to 4 Reblochon molds - curds were pretty much to the top of each mold
10:10 - put lids on molds and weighted down with soupcan weighing a little over 12 ounces to force whey out
10:15 - noticed three issues:
- ensure curds are well-filled on bottom and sides of mold so there aren't pockets of whey
- the mold holes have a tendency to become clogged so that they whey cannot escape
- not enough holes in this mold
Didn't do the first and can't help the third right now, but resolved the second by inverting the mold, slightly withdrawing the lid and cheese, and then slightly rotating the mold bottom so that the holes were relocated.
11:00 - noticed another issue: 2 gallons of milk is enough for three molds after whey expulsion, a little too lean for four molds - cheeses are going to be a little thin - 3 gallons would have been just right for four molds.
For the next 12 hours I flipped, wicked, dried, and rotated the cheeses.
10:00PM - 5.28pH - removed molds, dried wheels, salted both sides of each wheel lightly with coarse kosher salt, and placed two wheels in one minicave and the other two wheels in a second minicave. Both minicaves went into the black cave @50F.
The cheeses look pretty good at this point. The knit could be better. They could be a little thicker. I should have renneted closer to 6.4pH and I should have scooped closer to 6.25pH. I like these molds. They are like smaller Tomme molds and that gets my imagination going about what else could be done with them (besides Reblochon, of course!).
-Boofer-
A little over two weeks into this process....
The Geo13 is doing its thing and the SR3 (b. linens) is trying to make an entrance. The cheeses are very soft but still manageable at this point. The 5x floc multiplier might have been a little too extravagant. Right now I'm handling the cheeses very gingerly so as not to poke a hole in the rind or otherwise cause them to split open and leak anything out.
Washing with 3% brine + SR3 every other day which knocks back the Geo. Watching for signs of slip-skin.
I was initially quite concerned about the relative thinness of the cheeses, but this might just be okay. They will undoubtedly ripen more quickly than my previous Reblochon "pillows" (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,7517.0.html).
-Boofer-
Three weeks and it seemed like a good time to wrap this for some slower affinage.
Looking good Boofer.
Beer and cheese, all what man needs to live ;D
Hande
Ah yes, the good life! :D
-Boofer-
Very nice things are happening at Boofers place! Everyone over to raid his fridge! >:D
Seriously, looks great. I've deliberately added b.linens to my most recent Butterkase make. I've caught wild ones I think everytime I've made it, so I figure I might as well introduce some to see if a change in strain does much. Anyway, what I'm wondering is how soon after caving did you begin your brine wash? Did you wait a week, or just start washing every 2 or 3 days from the get go?
- Jeff
Glad to see you have your priorities in order! ;) Throw in some truffles and I'm there! :)
Quote from: JeffHamm on November 22, 2011, 07:58:04 PM
Very nice things are happening at Boofers place! Everyone over to raid his fridge! >:D
Seriously, looks great. I've deliberately added b.linens to my most recent Butterkase make. I've caught wild ones I think everytime I've made it, so I figure I might as well introduce some to see if a change in strain does much. Anyway, what I'm wondering is how soon after caving did you begin your brine wash? Did you wait a week, or just start washing every 2 or 3 days from the get go?
- Jeff
I waited a week. I was anxious to get on with it, but my patience endured. I was washing every other day then to keep the geo in check. Tomorrow marks four weeks and I am very curious what's behind the curtain.
Quote from: anutcanfly on November 22, 2011, 08:27:34 PM
Glad to see you have your priorities in order! ;) Throw in some truffles and I'm there! :)
Hmmm, truffles, hey? Unfortunately, I don't own a truffle-hunting pig and I can't afford $2600/lb.
Or did you mean . . .
chocolate truffles? ;)
-Boofer-
Well, I didn't intend for this to be out at room temperature for as long as it was, but there it is.
Although this is a decided improvement over my first Taleggio effort, it still falls short of what I envision.
The cheese collapsed and puddled. Although it was tasty and very spreadable on crusty bread :) , it lacked the firmer, taffy-like consistency that the genuine article possessed. Yes, a little too gooey and flowing. :(
I think the overall product recipe works okay, I just need to do a 3.5 or 4x floc. Also, perhaps if I added a little dry milk powder to up the protein?
-Boofer-
Hi Boofer,
That still looks really good though. Perhaps following a similar make procedure, but move to colder storage for the last 1.5 to 2 weeks of a 4 week aging? You might not have to change things on make day, just the pesky bits that follow? I think you're getting awfully close though.
- Jeff
Your cheeses looks more of a Reblochon instead of a Taleggio. Still, nice looking cheeses. Its strange though, it looks yellowish instead of orange or red orange which SR3 should produce. My previous smear ripened cheeses also collapsed and went splat. But now it no longer happens to my beer washed cheese. As soon i noticed the rind was cracking because of the cheese turning runny, i wrapped a belt around it made from baking paper and put a rubber band to secure it. Similar to the technique used in Vacherin Mont d'Or.
Won't it just collapse again as soon as you remove the "belt", though? It doesn't get UN-runny with more aging, does it? (sorry, I've never done this type before, just curious)
Mine doesn't because the rind hardened again.
Well, the rind was fine while refrigerated. Once I let it come to room temperature, it couldn't stand firm any longer.
No, I was definitely a little overzealous with the x5 floc factor. I want some ooze, but not like that.
Aris, you're right...they did appear more like Reblochon, in form and fashion. The Taleggio cheeses I have had have been a little taller than this. This was the perfect form factor for Reblochon. It ripened to a tee from my myopic perspective. Not like my Reblochon #1 "pillows" which held onto a firm core.
Jeff, I did wrap these and move them to the regular, colder fridge for about 10 days. No joy.
Still, they are tasty little oozy morsels. :D If I had a pig to feed the failures, he'd be out of luck. ;)
-Boofer-